Body cam footage shows Arizona woman giving birth while unresponsive
WARNING: The video attached in the article may be disturbing. Viewer discretion is adivsed.
PHOENIX, Ariz. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - A patient at a healthcare facility gave birth while she was in an unresponsive state back in December of 2018, and the Phoenix Police Department has released body cam footage from that night.
A chaotic and emotional scene inside Hacienda HealthCare. Christmas decorations were still up to spread joy, while unexpected terror unfolded.
"And when I looked it was...the baby coming," a nurse remarked.
Phoenix Police and law enforcement officers responded to the care facility after nurses called 911 when their patient gave birth to a baby boy, who at first was not breathing. A former Hacienda employee remembers what happened with the staff member who first discovered the victim in labor.
"When she opened the diaper, there was a head. And that poor aide didn't work for a month. She was so distraught, so traumatized by the whole thing," the employee described.
Shocking discovery
The video showed Phoenix police officer trying to figure out who has access to the room.
It was then revealed that one of her nurses, Nathan Sutherland, was the rapist and he was convicted of sexually assaulting her after the baby's DNA matched his.
The former employee said not one person suspected Sutherland, so much so, there was relief he was working in the days after what happened.
"One of the parents came up to him one night and said, 'I'm so glad you're working tonight. I know my child is always safe when you're here,'" the employee detailed.
Hacienda HealthCare was reached about the new body camera video, but they released a statement saying:
"Seeing video from that night almost five years ago is still gut-wrenching. Our hearts again go out to the victim and her family, and we remain disgusted by the behavior of the nurse who harmed a patient.
Almost five years later, virtually everything about Hacienda HealthCare is different. We have new board members, new leaders, new personnel, new security infrastructure, new procedures and new resident care protocols."
