Dear Editor,
Once again, the city is making preparations for another case of Ocean City cops allegedly violating a citizen's civil rights.
Officer Laura Hall and her supervisor, Sgt. Daniel Dubbs, have good reason to feel confident that their union contract will cover them with taxpayer dollars, and no consequences.
In April 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the police must obtain a search warrant before blood is drawn from a DWI suspect. A year earlier, we learned that Officer Hall arrested Ms. Norma Powell for erratic driving. Sgt. Dubbs ordered Hall to take Ms. Powell to Shore Memorial Hospital to get a blood sample. The cops also had Ms. Powell to drink 10 cups of water, and a catheter was placed into her bladder for a urine specimen.
Officer Hall in her street uniform was allegedly an active participant in the catheterization at the hospital. Thus any semblance to a sterile or even a clean procedure, if this is true, was nowhere in evidence. Ultimately, Ms. Powell's lawsuit alleges that she was infected with a very aggressive staph infection — MRSA — associated with hospital environments. Ms. Powell was charged with driving under the influence of narcotics. In June 2013, Ms. Powell pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of reckless driving.
With the multiple legal drugs she took for her arthritis, thyroid disorder and anxiety it is very likely this resulted in her driving problem. No results of her blood or urine tests are mentioned, which leads me to believe they were negative for both alcohol and narcotics.
An unnamed attorney representing Shore Memorial Hospital attempted to deflect hospital responsibility by his absurd claim that the blood draw and catheterization were ordered by the Ocean City police. Is Officer Hall an employee of Shore Memorial and medically qualified to participate in such a procedure?
The blood draw would have settled the blood alcohol level without the alleged contaminated catheterization.
Was the catheterization an act of aggressive vindictiveness?
Will Ocean City seek to establish the truth in this alleged violation of the law, personal attack and civilized conduct?
Will the taxpayers continue to allow the city to cover up alleged police misconduct with no consequences?
Who is responsible for holding the police accountable?
Chief Callahan?
Mayor Gillian ?
The taxpayers/voters?
Stay tuned.
Steven Fenichel, MD
Ocean City
