Hospital Guards Stun Guns Man With Baby In His Arms

[AfterMidnight]

but I still do not see how the hospital had legal right to stop this man from taking his child.

Because your life isn't your own any more. Give the hospital an elevator that won't work unless you follow protocol (yes, I understand), give a rent-a-cop a tazer and you damned well better follow orders.

It used to be called kidnapping. Now, if you fight back, you're somehow breaking the law.

Just imagine tender loving care from the hosopital, and the potential for a flesh eating virus. What more can we ask from American health care?

 

[SadieMae]

Even with something medically wrong with the baby they would have released the mother unless she had cash on hand or KICK *advertiser censored* insurance OR a DR willing to flub her medical state in order to garner her more of a stay.

My Daughter is 18 years old and even back then it was ONE day maybe 2 nights if you gave birth late in the evening.
And I had insurance!

Richie who is now 13 was kept a few extra days but I was sent home! I can only assume there is more to this story... but I still do not see how the hospital had legal right to stop this man from taking his child.

I don't either. I know hospitals have forms you must sign to refuse medical treatment if you want to be released. But I don't know if it applies to newborns. Seems it should since the hospital has no legal right over the parents, unless it is a clear case of abuse. Wouldn't the hospital still need to get a court order first to keep the infant patient?

 

[Amraann]

I don't either. I know hospitals have forms you must sign to refuse medical treatment if you want to be released. But I don't know if it applies to newborns. Seems it should since the hospital has no legal right over the parents, unless it is a clear case of abuse. Wouldn't the hospital still need to get a court order first to keep the infant patient?

That is what I thought.

 

[MagicRose99]

In the thread about the boy being beaten in Walmart, people were amazed that nobody tried to help that little boy... in this thread everybody is amazed that the staff was trying to protect that little baby...

There is more to this story than we know... we did not see this man with the baby. Perhaps he exhibited signs of drug use or displayed abuse. The couple in the article above says they felt threatened when he said he'd hold the floor "hostage"... maybe staff wanted to ensure the baby's safety.

It's no ones fault by the "father's". Now, he's just after money. I hope he's arrested for abuse and tossed in jail myself.

 

[Amraann]

In the thread about the boy being beaten in Walmart, people were amazed that nobody tried to help that little boy... in this thread everybody is amazed that the staff was trying to protect that little baby...

There is more to this story than we know... we did not see this man with the baby. Perhaps he exhibited signs of drug use or displayed abuse. The couple in the article above says they felt threatened when he said he'd hold the floor "hostage"... maybe staff wanted to ensure the baby's safety.

It's no ones fault by the "father's". Now, he's just after money. I hope he's arrested for abuse and tossed in jail myself.

The man was not beating the baby. He was attempting to take the child home.
I see a huge difference in the two stories.

 

[MagicRose99]

The man was not beating the baby. He was attempting to take the child home.
I see a huge difference in the two stories.

I didn't say he was beating the baby. IF the article is true, it states he was agitated, pacing, and threatening staff and patients. Staff was trying to protect the baby... THAT is the "huge difference" between the two stories.

 

[tennessee]

I would think that the hospital is providing the MRIs on the little girl for free and hoping the parents aren't smart enough to get a second, even third opinion. She could have a brain injury from being dropped like that. I would guess that the rent-a-cop has been released from duty by now and that the hospital is already reviewing procedures to cover their a$$e$.

For me, there is no excuse for tasering someone holding a days old infant.

 

[Amraann]

I didn't say he was beating the baby. IF the article is true, it states he was agitated, pacing, and threatening staff and patients. Staff was trying to protect the baby... THAT is the "huge difference" between the two stories.

I would be agitated as well if I had received crappy medical care (or felt a loved one was) and then was refused to leave with my loved one.

 

[angelmom]

I saw this video the other night on the news. This "father" was holding the baby in one arm like a football (almost slung over his arm) and pacing around like a caged lion. They were clearly trying to talk him down. As the other couple who witnessed the incident said in the previous post, it was the middle of the night and he was threatening to turn it into "a hostage situation."

All they wanted him to do was sign the forms saying that they understood they were leaving against medical advice, etc, accept responsibility for payment, etc. You can't just get medical care and leave without paying or making arrangements to pay. You can't just take the mother and baby if the doctor still feels they need to be in the hospital without signing a release accepting the responsibility for those actions. Otherwise something could go wrong and then this guy could (and probably would) turn around and sue the doctors and nurses and hospital and anyone else he could think of.

And yes, some people are in the hospital for 4 days. With my c-sections I was there for 4 days each time, and they considered keeping me longer with my first because I had a fever, and my third because my DD had lost more weight than they were comfortable with and her temp was low. Luckily the situation turned around each time and I was able to go home. I do know people who have had to stay longer to get their blood pressure regulated, etc, after a complicated delivery or when a baby seems to be having feeding problems or trouble regulating their body temp. There is no way I'd have left until the doctor thought it was safe.

When they say that CPS has the baby because of a history of domestic violence and that this guy has already been charged with calling the security guard and threatening his life, that tells me a whole lot about this story. This was not a concerned father who felt his wife was not getting adequate care and was going to lovingly nurture her and the baby in their home. That baby may be lucky to be away from her "daddy."

 

[sherri79]

I saw this video the other night on the news. This "father" was holding the baby in one arm like a football (almost slung over his arm) and pacing around like a caged lion. They were clearly trying to talk him down. As the other couple who witnessed the incident said in the previous post, it was the middle of the night and he was threatening to turn it into "a hostage situation."

All they wanted him to do was sign the forms saying that they understood they were leaving against medical advice, etc, accept responsibility for payment, etc. You can't just get medical care and leave without paying or making arrangements to pay. You can't just take the mother and baby if the doctor still feels they need to be in the hospital without signing a release accepting the responsibility for those actions. Otherwise something could go wrong and then this guy could (and probably would) turn around and sue the doctors and nurses and hospital and anyone else he could think of.

And yes, some people are in the hospital for 4 days. With my c-sections I was there for 4 days each time, and they considered keeping me longer with my first because I had a fever, and my third because my DD had lost more weight than they were comfortable with and her temp was low. Luckily the situation turned around each time and I was able to go home. I do know people who have had to stay longer to get their blood pressure regulated, etc, after a complicated delivery or when a baby seems to be having feeding problems or trouble regulating their body temp. There is no way I'd have left until the doctor thought it was safe.

When they say that CPS has the baby because of a history of domestic violence and that this guy has already been charged with calling the security guard and threatening his life, that tells me a whole lot about this story. This was not a concerned father who felt his wife was not getting adequate care and was going to lovingly nurture her and the baby in their home. That baby may be lucky to be away from her "daddy."

:clap: :clap: :clap: we only know a little of this story because the father is on the news. the people who know more are... the hospital- they felt he was a danger to the child. the other parents on the floor- they felt he was a danger to this child. the police- they arrested him not the gaurd. the DA- he pressed charges on him. the judge/jury- they found him guilty of atleast some of the charges. cps- they took the child from him.

now we are saying a man who has a history of beating his wife and who witnesses say was threatining to turn the whole thing into a hostage situation was no danger to the baby and should have taken it in the middle of the night? if they had not tazered him and 30 seconds later we got to watch him throw the baby to the floor and stomp her head we would all still be second guessing them. we would be screaming "why didnt they tazer him! a bump on her head is better than him killing her."

 

[Jeana (DP)]

:clap: :clap: :clap: we only know a little of this story because the father is on the news. the people who know more are... the hospital- they felt he was a danger to the child. the other parents on the floor- they felt he was a danger to this child. the police- they arrested him not the gaurd. the DA- he pressed charges on him. the judge/jury- they found him guilty of atleast some of the charges. cps- they took the child from him.

now we are saying a man who has a history of beating his wife and who witnesses say was threatining to turn the whole thing into a hostage situation was no danger to the baby and should have taken it in the middle of the night? if they had not tazered him and 30 seconds later we got to watch him throw the baby to the floor and stomp her head we would all still be second guessing them. we would be screaming why didnt they tazer him! a bump on her head is better than him killing her.

I have definately GOT to get me one of them tazers.:innocent: :innocent:

 

[Amraann]

Quote from AngelMom Above ..

"All they wanted him to do was sign the forms saying that they understood they were leaving against medical advice, etc, accept responsibility for payment, etc. You can't just get medical care and leave without paying or making arrangements to pay. You can't just take the mother and baby if the doctor still feels they need to be in the hospital without signing a release accepting the responsibility for those actions. Otherwise something could go wrong and then this guy could (and probably would) turn around and sue the doctors and nurses and hospital and anyone else he could think of."


Actually YES you can just leave. To detain someone is illegal.
You cannot force someone to sign something.
You cannot detain someone until they agree to sign something.

 

[angelmom]

Actually YES you can just leave. To detain someone is illegal.
You cannot force someone to sign something.
You cannot detain someone until they agree to sign something.

True. You can't force a person to do those things. Normal, law abiding citizens do them, and bad things happen to your credit if you don't do them, but you are right, they can't physically detain you.

However, the hospital does have a right and an obligation to protect that baby. And this dad acting and speaking in a threatening way, trying to take the baby out in the middle of the night, would also have made me try to convince him not to leave.

ITA with the poster above who said that if the baby had been harmed by the dad, we would all have been screaming for the security guard's head, asking why he didn't taser the dad, and saying that a fall would have been better than death. Remember the baby a few years ago whose father flung and smashed on the ground like a rag doll and beat to death in front of the cops?

Hindsight is 20/20, but that guard had a whole floor full of new mommies and babies to think of. He had a huge, angry guy with a 4 day old infant in his arms threatening a hostage situation. It may not have ended perfectly, but it could have been MUCH worse.

 

[kcksum]

True. You can't force a person to do those things. Normal, law abiding citizens do them, and bad things happen to your credit if you don't do them, but you are right, they can't physically detain you.

However, the hospital does have a right and an obligation to protect that baby. And this dad acting and speaking in a threatening way, trying to take the baby out in the middle of the night, would also have made me try to convince him not to leave.

ITA with the poster above who said that if the baby had been harmed by the dad, we would all have been screaming for the security guard's head, asking why he didn't taser the dad, and saying that a fall would have been better than death. Remember the baby a few years ago whose father flung and smashed on the ground like a rag doll and beat to death in front of the cops?

Hindsight is 20/20, but that guard had a whole floor full of new mommies and babies to think of. He had a huge, angry guy with a 4 day old infant in his arms threatening a hostage situation. It may not have ended perfectly, but it could have been MUCH worse.

great post.
I work in an ER. The dad could have walked out without signing forms all he wanted. However, when it is a minor child all bets are off. If the staff felt that child was in medical danger were it to leave, they were obligated to protect that child no matter what. When you have an irrate parent, you must immediatly act in the best interest of your patient.
I have seen people want to walk out of our ER with a child who needed to be admitted. We won't make you stay at our facility, but we will hold the child there until child services can come and make sure the child is taken or treated some where. All they wanted that man to do was wait, wait until some calls were made. He made the threatening statements, he was acting irratic, he forced their hand. The tazing was the lesser of a possibly much bigger evil.
I think its pretty damn awesome we live in a country where health care professionals are willing to put themselves and their own safety on the line to protect the safety of their patients.
Aftermidnight, head to a third world country or even Mexico to see what bad health care looks like, Americans have it made when it comes to health care. No where in the states do you get turned away from an ER if you can't pay, no where.
I won't turn this into an argument about health care....those of us on the front lines everyday know what's going on. Those care givers did exactly what they were trained to do. No one should lose their job. In fact, they should be given an award for protecting the rest of the people there and for keeping that baby alive.

 

[Amraann]

True. You can't force a person to do those things. Normal, law abiding citizens do them, and bad things happen to your credit if you don't do them, but you are right, they can't physically detain you.

However, the hospital does have a right and an obligation to protect that baby. And this dad acting and speaking in a threatening way, trying to take the baby out in the middle of the night, would also have made me try to convince him not to leave.

ITA with the poster above who said that if the baby had been harmed by the dad, we would all have been screaming for the security guard's head, asking why he didn't taser the dad, and saying that a fall would have been better than death. Remember the baby a few years ago whose father flung and smashed on the ground like a rag doll and beat to death in front of the cops?

Hindsight is 20/20, but that guard had a whole floor full of new mommies and babies to think of. He had a huge, angry guy with a 4 day old infant in his arms threatening a hostage situation. It may not have ended perfectly, but it could have been MUCH worse.

I will agree that many would be screaming ... However .. I am wondering if his words were taken out of context.
Like he was meaning that the HOSPITAL was creating a hostage situation ... not that he would!

And not signing would not ruin ones credit... NOT paying would

 

[AfterMidnight]

"I'm in the emergency room. My wife is dying and the nurses don't want to help her out," he said in Spanish through an interpreter.

"What's wrong with her?" a dispatcher asked.

"She's vomiting blood," Prado said.

"OK, and why aren't they helping her?" the dispatcher asked.

"They're watching her there and they're not doing anything. They're just watching her," Prado said.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/health/13503186/detail.html

Yep, finest health care in the world.

 

[MagicRose99]

So, by one hospital's actions you're judging ALL hospitals? This hospital is in a terrible part of town and it doesn't have the best reputation... but, just because this hospital E.R. was run by and staffed by uncaring idiots does NOT mean that ALL hosptials are.

 

[AfterMidnight]

So, by one hospital's actions you're judging ALL hospitals? This hospital is in a terrible part of town and it doesn't have the best reputation... but, just because this hospital E.R. was run by and staffed by uncaring idiots does NOT mean that ALL hosptials are.

And it also doesn't mean that many of them aren't. I have my share of hospital and doctor horror stories and can relate to this man. For instance, there was the time I went into the hospital for a bladder reposition. Only by the grace of God did I discover the doctor was also going to give me a hysterectomy. Several years later he lost his liscense for doing that to lots of other women, all in the same hospital. Nobody noticed????? They were protecting the health of their patients?????

 

[Jean]

Update

Tasered father misses court date, forfeits bond

(8/17/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - A man who was tasered by police while holding his newborn son failed to appear in court on Friday morning.

William Lewis was arrested after an incident caught on surveillance video showing Lewis holding his newborn as he and his wife tried to leave a Houston hospital against hospital policy.

During the confrontation he was tasered by an off-duty police officer.

He has been charged with retaliation against the officer. Because he did not appear in court, his bond was forfeited.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5580027

 

[Taximom]

Update

Tasered father misses court date, forfeits bond

(8/17/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - A man who was tasered by police while holding his newborn son failed to appear in court on Friday morning.

William Lewis was arrested after an incident caught on surveillance video showing Lewis holding his newborn as he and his wife tried to leave a Houston hospital against hospital policy.

During the confrontation he was tasered by an off-duty police officer.

He has been charged with retaliation against the officer. Because he did not appear in court, his bond was forfeited.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5580027

Hmph. Go figure.