BabyUniversity.com › Forums › Hot Topics › Headlines › Woman asks cops 21 times for help; baby dies
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Woman asks cops 21 times for help; baby dies

post #1 of 20
2/1/07 at 3:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
A woman says police ignored her pleas for help when she was pregnant. KMBC's Bev Chapman reports.
Initially, I was irritated because this was only a video on CNN. There's no way to link to it, but if you go to their homepage, you can click on the link to view it. Once I saw the video, I realized that a story just couldn't cover this the way the video clip did.

Not only did the female officer ask the woman "How's that my problem?" when the woman claimed she was pregnant, bleeding, and needed to get to the hospital, but you can also hear her tell the woman "It's called a menstrual cycle".

Granted, the woman had outstanding warrants against her, but they treated her like she was wanted for murder. Heck ... had she been shot, she would have been taken directly to the hospital, then questioned later. Not sure if they would have been able to stop the labor if she had gotten there quickly, but the attitude these cops had was horrible! And a female cop at that!!
Reply
post #2 of 20
2/1/07 at 3:32pm
OMG that is awful!!!!!

I wonder what is goign to happen to those cops....i mean heck they completely and totally ignored her cries for help for her unborn baby
Reply
post #3 of 20
2/1/07 at 3:36pm
Reply
post #4 of 20
2/1/07 at 3:43pm
OMG, that poor woman. They should have called an ambulance right away when she said she was having problems. If it ends up a person is lying, charge them for it later and stick them with the bills to cover the expenses but better safe than sorry.
That is just too sad.
Reply
post #5 of 20
2/1/07 at 3:47pm
There is still just a video and no actual article but AOL is now titling this "Woman Sues Cops over Miscarriage".
Reply
post #6 of 20
2/1/07 at 4:06pm
Here's a link to the article.

I'm torn here. I was always told that in the first trimester, there is little, if anything, that can be done to stop a miscarriage. So I'm not comfortable with saying the officers are responsible for the baby's death - in a first trimester miscarriage, the embryo is often already non-viable by the time the bleeding starts.

However, I do agree with the woman's stance that they should have called an ambulance for her, or escorted her (or just taken her) to the hospital themselves, as she specifically requested medical assistance. In not doing so, they unneccesarily endangered the woman's life. I mean, had she started bleeding because this was an ectopic pregnancy, like my last one, and her tube burst... she could have died because they ignored her pleas. THAT is unconscionable.

On the other hand, you have to admit the woman was acting weird... if you think you are losing your baby, and want to rush to the hospital, do you stop at the store first? Do you pull over and put a fake tag on your car en route? Seems strange, don't you think?
Reply
post #7 of 20
2/1/07 at 5:21pm
Thread Starter 
Granted, they probably could not have saved the baby, BUT as you said ... if it had been an ectopic pregnancy, that woman could be dead now. When I had mine, even the hospital and doctors told me that I was "just" having a miscarriage. So it really isn't up to the police officers to decide whether it's serious enough to warrant medical attention. I agree with Elaine that they should have called an ambulance, then sorted the rest out later, espeically since the woman offered to let the female police officer verify the bleeding.

The thing that really bothers me is that the article actually makes the officers sound calm and somewhat compassionate. That is NOT the tone they used on that tape. They were condescending and heartless ... "It's called a menstrual cycle" ??? WTF???

Yes, the woman had some warrants against her and may have been doing something questionable at the time, but this problem goes further than the arresting officers. I have to assume that she told this same story to police once she was booked and nobody even attempted to verify the accuracy of her story. What if she had died? They'd have a much court case on their hands!
Reply
post #8 of 20
2/1/07 at 5:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawn
So it really isn't up to the police officers to decide whether it's serious enough to warrant medical attention.
I whole-heartedly agree. I don't doubt the woman has reason to complain - I'm not certain she should get anything at all in a lawsuit, and I don't think she should get anything for a "wrongful death" lawsuit. I do think the cops need to be slapped soundly, and maybe parked at a desk for a really long time.
Reply
post #9 of 20
2/1/07 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I'm torn as to whether she deserves any monetary award, however, I wonder if the opinion would be different IF the baby had been say, 7 or 8 months and a viable pregnancy?

Also, in light of the events, they are actually asking for a reasonable amount (I think it was $25k) ... much less than I think many people would have tried suing for.

Bottom line is that those two cops were way out of line and deserve some serious reprimanding and perhaps additional training/counseling. I don't doubt that there were also some people at the station itself that should be held accountable as well.
Reply
post #10 of 20
2/1/07 at 7:22pm
It's a bit suss if you ask me. If she was having a missacrriage, she would have called an ambulance or friend instead if stealing a car from a grocery store.
How can they proove she was pregnant? There was no baby by the time she was checked (if she was indeed checked)
Reply
post #11 of 20
2/1/07 at 7:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawn
... I wonder if the opinion would be different IF the baby had been say, 7 or 8 months and a viable pregnancy?
My opinion would be different then - because the baby would have been savable, almost certainly. I also doubt this would have happened if she'd been 8-months pregnant - they could have seen easily that yes, she was pregnant. At 3 months, she wasn't showing, and because of circumstances, the cops made an assumption (a bad one) that she was lying to try to get out of something (putting fake tags on the car). I can completely see someone trying to get out of trouble that way, you know? But it's not the officers' call to make. When someone requests medical attention, they should get it, period.

I'm not big on punitive lawsuits, because I think this country has gotten so sue-happy. The woman was not financially hurt by events, though she was humiliated, and feels like it's the cops' fault she miscarried, so perhaps she deserves some compensation. I think it's more important that the cops get educated and/or counseled on procedures in cases like this, though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawn
Bottom line is that those two cops were way out of line and deserve some serious reprimanding and perhaps additional training/counseling. I don't doubt that there were also some people at the station itself that should be held accountable as well.
Absolutely.
Reply
post #12 of 20
2/1/07 at 7:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ouchywoo
It's a bit suss if you ask me. If she was having a missacrriage, she would have called an ambulance or friend instead if stealing a car from a grocery store.
How can they proove she was pregnant? There was no baby by the time she was checked (if she was indeed checked)
I don't recall reading that she stole the car, just that she had stolen tags (and since she was released a few hours later, I have to assume that the car was NOT stolen).

As for proving she was pregnant, that would be pretty easy with a blood test to check for hCG levels. One would also have to assume that if she is suing, that she has proof she was pregnant, such as a record of prenatal visits??
Reply
post #13 of 20
2/1/07 at 8:18pm
It states in the video that she GAVE BIRTH to a premature boy who lived a full week after being delivered.
Reply
post #14 of 20
2/1/07 at 8:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elaine
Did anyone else notice during the video that she GAVE BIRTH and they say that the baby boy lived 1 week before dying?
Now that I didn't see. It certainly wasn't in the article, at least. That would make a difference.
Reply
post #15 of 20
2/1/07 at 8:23pm
lol, I editted what I said right after your post... but basically the same meaning. If you watch the video again, the news woman says that towards the end.
Reply
post #16 of 20
2/1/07 at 8:26pm
Now I'm going to have to watch the video, because that article said she was 3 months along. There's NO WAY a 12 week old embryo is going to survive outside the womb for a week - something's not adding up.
Reply
post #17 of 20
2/1/07 at 8:48pm
Thread Starter 
Oh! I forgot about that! Just replayed it ... it said 1 minute, but obviously it wasn't "just" a miscarriage either.
Reply
post #18 of 20
2/1/07 at 9:23pm
I think it was one minute and either way those cops had the wrong attitude. If she was 5 or 7 months and wasn't showing she looked like a bigger woman would they have believe her then? I doubt it. The went in thinking she was in the wrong and they wanted to find something so they didn't care what she had to say. I think they do deserve to be sued and actually those two cops should lose their job! I have a friend currently who's went thru something simular, actually worse.
Was in an auto accident yes alcohol was involved husband and wife, she got out after the car stopped wasn't able to find DH called for help a person driving by stopped but didn't see anything. The CHP comes runs her history she's had DUI's so just thinks it's another DUI, and arrests her. She's yelling my DH is missing from the car. They don't even bother to look for him. Hrs later after she's been taking to jail and the hosptial for care she calls a family memember who goes out to the accident site only to find her DH's dead body. Now you tell me that officer did his job.

I think to many police are doing the job with the wrong attitude. I'm sorry but even people who have prior crimes agenst them need emergency assistance to. I believe a police officers first duty should be to believe what they are told until proven other wise.
Reply
post #19 of 20
2/2/07 at 2:16am
Hmmm...I certainly don't think it's right, however, I can see where the cops thought she was just lying. It is unbelievable the number of medical problems people come up with as soon as they hear the word "jail". We like to call them the "Miranda Induced medical problems". Yes, she should have most definately been checked out, but it most likely would not have changed the outcome.
Reply
post #20 of 20
2/2/07 at 1:02pm
Oops sorry guys... must have heard it wrong.

I don't think the baby would have survived at that point anyway so I really don't see how a wrongful death lawsuit is going to stick but I do think the cops should pay in some way for endangering the woman.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headlines
BabyUniversity.com › Forums › Hot Topics › Headlines › Woman asks cops 21 times for help; baby dies