Officer who arrested Utah nurse fired from his other job — but he's still a cop

The Salt Lake City police detective who forcibly arrested a nurse for refusing to break the law has been fired from his part-time job as an ambulance driver, the Associated Press reported.

The ambulance company that employed Detective Jeff Payne said Tuesday that comments he made after arresting the nurse led to his termination.

What he said

Not only were body cameras rolling when Payne wrongly arrested nurse Alex Wubbles last July, but they were rolling when he told a fellow officer how he planned to retaliate over the incident.

"I‘ll bring them all the transients and take good patients elsewhere,” Payne said of his job as a paramedic.

Transients are patients who have short stays in the hospital.

The decision

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, Gold Cross President Mike Moffitt said Tuesday that following an internal investigation, he concluded it was best to part ways with Payne.

“[Payne’s actions] violated several company policies and left a poor image of the company,” Moffitt said. "We determined today it was best to part ways."

Gold Cross also directed dispatchers to examine Payne’s transportation records since the incident with Wubbles, which happened on July 26, and nothing inappropriate was discovered.

Payne was hired at Gold Cross in 1983 as a full-time medical technician and later became a paramedic. After he joined the police department, he stayed with the ambulance company on a part-time basis.

More fallout

Not only has Payne been terminated from his ambulance job, the longtime cop was also placed on administrative leave from his job at the police department pending a full investigation.

The Salt Lake City police department made the announcement last Friday. They also said a second officer was suspended, though they didn't say who or why.

In addition, Salt Lake County district attorney Sim Gill confirmed last week he has opened a criminal investigation into the incident.