Oklahoma Woman Seeks Medical Treatment, Is Jailed Instead, Dies

23536

23536

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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/jan/22/oklahoma_woman_seeks_medical_tre

A pregnant Oklahoma woman who went to a hospital seeking treatment for extreme pain was instead jailed after police found pain pills on her and died in jail shortly thereafter. Jamie Lynn Russell, 33, becomes the third person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

According to KFOR-TV News Channel 4 in Oklahoma City, Russell went to the hospital in Pauls Valley seeking help for severe abdominal pain. Hospital staff reported that Russell wouldn't cooperate and was in too much pain to even lie down, so they asked a Paul's Valley police officer to assist.

And that's when Russell's medical emergency morphed into a drug bust. The police officer found two prescription pills on her for which she did not have a prescription, so she was arrested and jailed on drug possession charges. She was found unresponsive in her cell less than two hours later.

"There is nothing my staff in the jail could’ve done differently,” Garvin County sheriff Larry Rhodes said. "She had a medical release from the hospital stating that she was fit for incarceration," Rhodes said. "It’s very regrettable for the family. My heart and prayers go out to them."

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has cleared the jail staff of any criminal wrongdoing.

The state medical examiner's office later confirmed that Russell died from a ruptured ecoptic pregnancy, where the embryo implants outside the uterus.

Russell's friends and family are pointing the finger at the hospital. "Jamie was seeking help; she was in extreme pain," family friend Kemper Kimberlin told KFOR. "We want to see this come to light. Something's wrong and needs to be fixed."

It may take a civil wrongful death lawsuit to find out exactly what's wrong—and how a hospital can turn a pain-tormented woman over to police to be jailed instead of treated.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/jan/22/oklahoma_woman_seeks_medical_tre
 
It's legally the hospitals fault, but realistically its both the hospital and the jails fault for letting this woman die. That sheriff really aught to admit this.
 
Imo its kind of her fault to for not checking her pockets before she left the house or car, although she was probably not worried about the pills while going through so much pain i don't blame her. She should have been left at the hospital and once stable they could start talking about making a drug bust for 2 lousy pills. 2 pills cost someone their life its a shame.

"There is nothing my staff in the jail could’ve done differently” No shit Larry, your not running a hospital there.
 
As a physician who has a learned mistrust of law enforcement, it makes me shake with anger whenever I see the police prioritize a person's punishment for breaking the law over their need for urgent medical attention. It happens firghteningly often when 911 is called on a situation involving both serious injury and lawbreaking.

Would it really have been that hard to treat the woman, and then serve her a summons as she was being discharged?

Providing this is not a one-sided story that's missing major parts (like, for example, the woman going out of her way to piss off the cop) I'd really like to see this used as fuel for a public awareness campaign.
 
2c-goinsane said:
Imo its kind of her fault to for not checking her pockets before she left the house or car
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This is what is called "blaming the victim".
The woman did nothing wrong.
She was in intense pain, and you want her to make sure that she has all her prescription information ready before she goes to the ER to beg for help? You want her to check her pockets, even though she can't stand up?
Be careful - it is very easy to get sucked into the biases and lies of the drug war, even if you consciously know that it is all bullshit. As you explained your thinking later in your post, you came to say that you don't blame her, but you did start by blaming her before that. Even BL folks easily forget that the drug war is filled with evil propaganda that ruins lives, and that there is nothing immoral about using drugs.
 
slimvictor said:
This is what is called "blaming the victim".
The woman did nothing wrong.
She was in intense pain, and you want her to make sure that she has all her prescription information ready before she goes to the ER to beg for help? You want her to check her pockets, even though she can't stand up?
Be careful - it is very easy to get sucked into the biases and lies of the drug war, even if you consciously know that it is all bullshit. As you explained your thinking later in your post, you came to say that you don't blame her, but you did start by blaming her before that. Even BL folks easily forget that the drug war is filled with evil propaganda that ruins lives, and that there is nothing immoral about using drugs.
Click to expand...

I said kind of slimvictor, after all if she didn't bring them with her she would probably still be alive because she would have got the medical attention she needed instead of going to jail. From what i read on ruptured ecoptic pregnancy is that it rarely leads to death.
 
How do you diagnose ectopic pregnancy in a patient who doesn't know she's pregnant?

The triage nurse probably said "drug seeker" and forced a discharge.
 
this is truly saddening and uncalled for aspect of the war on drugs

i dunno if it woulda made a difference for her situation, especially the complications with her pregnancy

but if you got 2 pain pills in your pocket why not take em before you go into the ER for pain

regardless shame on the police for being more concerned with a drug busts then someones well being, but then again thats just the nature of the drug war i guess
 
I think I agree that she probably got labeled with classic drug-seeking behavior. It's too bad that the person with the 'other side of the story' is now dead
 
2c-goinsane said:
From what i read on ruptured ecoptic pregnancy is that it rarely leads to death.
Click to expand...

Wrong.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9611704

23536 said:
How do you diagnose ectopic pregnancy in a patient who doesn't know she's pregnant?

The triage nurse probably said "drug seeker" and forced a discharge.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is what I think. I'm guessing this woman had something about her which made the triage nurse suspicious. I wonder if the hospital's side of this story is that she cried wolf too many times. Still doesn't make it right that her pain wasn't taken seriously.

Personally, I've never seen the police in any hospital ER, even in the inner cities, unless they're there to chaperone a patient who's already incarcerated.

As for the hospital not knowing she was pregnant, for all we know they actually got around to doing a urine dip hCG on her before they put her in the clink. It's a pretty quick, easy, and reliable test. I'm not saying they did, but it would fit with the time frame of this story.
 
Personally, I've never seen the police in any hospital ER, even in the inner cities, unless they're there to chaperone a patient who's already incarcerated.
Click to expand...

Here in Flint mich the county hospital has police stationed all over..... metal detectors to enter, and if they find drugs theres a very good shot they will ignore or simply confiscate.
 
2 pills....wtf.

and its sickening when drugs and medical need meet with the police. When a kid OD' in my old appt (he lived) the cops who got there first started searching the place and didnt do shit to the kid laying on the floor gasping for air. they actually stepped over him to get to the rest of the appt. not only until the emts arrived a few minutes later was he treted. we had locked all the drugs up before the cops got there, but they seemed more concerned about finding some dope rather than helping the kid who was ODing on the floor. same thing happened to me when i od'd, the police started searching me and wouldnt let the medics get at me until my friend started yelling at the cops to get the fuck out of the way, shit sickens me.
 
^After watching 5 seasons of the Wire I came to think all Baltimore cops were sensible guys like Lester Freeman and Jimmy McNulty.
 
this was in the county...city cops actually have stuff to do..homicides, real drug operations, county cops sit around and do speed traps hang out at 7-11 because they get free donuts for being a deterrant and look for "suspicious" ppl leaving the city because they "always" have drugs on them lol. i hate the baltimore county police. they are always there when you dont want them to be, and nowhere when you actually need assistance. city cops hardly give out trafic tickets for speeding (the cameras do that) if they catch you with a small amount of bud or something theyd toss it and probably let you go if you were cool with them. the county cops would throw your ass in cuffs, and put your gram of weed in the 30 gram glass jar and say you have 31 grams of weed worth an estimated 1,000$. lol they sucks.
 
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