Female driver suffering life-threatening brain bleed arrested at gunpoint, accused of being intoxicated: suit
A female driver who crashed while suffering a life-threatening brain bleed was arrested at gunpoint and accused of being drunk or on drugs — then allegedly mocked and ignored by jail staff as she lay on the ground, unable to move for 24 hours, according to a lawsuit.
Nicole McClure, 40, is suing the Washington State Troopers and Thurston County Jail, accusing staff of ignoring her symptoms and depriving her of medical care as her condition worsened in March 2022.
She eventually needed to have part of her skull removed to relieve pressure building inside her brain from a frontal-lobe subdural hematoma, according to the Seattle Times.
“Nicole is a hardworking young woman who will never be the same again,” said her attorney, Anne Vankirk.
“Nicole suffers from severe traumatic brain injury and remains unable to care for herself or engage with life in meaningful ways.
“Had Nicole received immediate medical attention, her condition would have been significantly easier to treat and the outcome far less severe.”
McClure had left her work early on March 21, 2022, complaining of a headache and dizziness on March 21, 2022, according to the civil rights suit filed in Tacoma on Feb. 1.
State Trooper Jonathan Barnes spotted her driving at around 25 mph in a 40-mph zone while she also weaved in and out of her lane before she crashed into a roundabout, according to the report
Dashcam footage shows the trooper running up to her car with his gun drawn, screaming, “Get out of the car! Get out of the car now!”
He accuses her of resisting arrest — which she repeatedly denies in a dazed-sounding tone — then pushes her against the hood of her car to handcuff her, even accusing her of planning to use her keys as a weapon.
“I didn’t know I was being pulled over,” she tells the trooper in a dazed-sounding tone.
“I’m not feeling real well,” she tells Barnes and a colleague. “Please don’t arrest me.”
After reading McClure her rights, Barnes asks: “How much alcohol have you had tonight? When was the last time you had any?”
When she denies drinking, he asks: “Ma’am, when was the last time you used meth? … What about heroin?”
“I haven’t… I don’t,” McClure responds, saying she is “confused,” “dizzy” and “really tired.”
Not believing her, the trooper informs her she is also being arrested for DUI, saying: “Everything you’re telling me is you’re under the influence.”
“No, I’m just really tired,” McClure continues to insist.
Barnes then proceeded to arrest her on suspicion of intoxicated driving and felony evading, noting in his probable cause affidavit that McClure had bloodshot eyes, a flushed face and her speech was repetitive, according to The Olympian.
But he never tested her for drugs or alcohol on the scene and did not call medics, even though her car was wrecked in the crash. In his written report, he struck out a section detailing medical questions, writing instead: “Did not ask.”
Barnes brought McClure to a nearby hospital to conduct blood tests for alcohol and drugs, which all came back negative, according to the suit.
McClure was then transported to the county jail, where guards mocked her, her suit alleges.
“Nicole recalls being laughed at and told she should ‘Have another shot,’” Vankirk said.
“She was left with a notably deteriorating condition, and continuing to ask for help,” Vankirk said.
“She was found in a puddle of her own urine almost a full day later.”
Two jail staff eventually helped McClure onto a cot in her cell after they realized she was unable to stand, according to the lawsuit.
Then, when she began “vomiting uncontrollably,” McClure was moved to another cell and was “forcibly changed” out of her clothes.
“A few hours later, a member of the jail’s medical team was called and they advised that she be taken to the hospital immediately,” the lawsuit says.
There, McClure underwent emergency brain surgery and had a large piece of her skull removed to relieve pressure on her brain and “save her remaining brain function,” according to Vankirk, who said she spent 17 days in the hospital.
The Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office confirmed it has received the lawsuit.
“While we can’t discuss the specifics of any pending litigation, I can confirm that the safety of inmates, staff and the general public remains a top priority for the Thurston County Corrections Facility,” spokeswoman Tara Tsehlana said in a statement.
Chris Loftis, director of communications for the Washington State Patrol, declined to answer any questions, saying the agency would not comment as a “matter of practice and policy,”
But he told the Seattle Times Barnes was not disciplined in the aftermath of the arrest, noting that at the time, pointing a gun at someone was not considered a use of force.
The policy changed later that year, he said.
With Post wires.
