Nurse Files Lawsuit Against City for Arrest Without Cause, Cop's Excessive Force

By Camela Furry in News on Sep 22, 2009 2:20PM

A nurse at Illinois Masonic has filed a lawsuit against a police officer and the city of Chicago claiming the officer arrested her when she didn't collect a blood sample from a suspected drunken driver, according to Chicago Breaking News. The lawsuit states a city police officer named Rodriguez asked Lisa Hofstra, the head nurse in charge of the emergency room the morning of August 1st, to take a blood sample from a man to determine his blood-alcohol level. Apparently Hofstra asked Rodriguez to wait until she could consult with her supervisor because it was against hospital protocol to take a blood sample from someone who was not admitted as a patient. Before the supervisor could respond, the officer cuffed Hofstra and put her in the back of a squad car for about 45 minutes before she was released from custody.

Hofstra said in a press conference Monday, "I in no way intended to block this police officer's ability to do his job", and "He went about it in the wrong way...I would like him to be reprimanded." The lawsuit claims Rodriguez used excessive force when handcuffing Hofstra, and arrested her without probable cause. No amount of damages has been specified.