When police officers arrest a suspect who needs medical treatment before a transport to jail, they don’t always stay to wait for that treatment.
“Sometimes it happens and they stick around,” said Fairfield Twp. Police Sgt. Brandon McCroskey.
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Police quickly caught Martin, who ditched his hospital gown as he ran into a wooded area across the street from the hospital. He did not face additional charges for running from the hospital, police said.
Before the trip to the hospital, he was charged on a pair of misdemeanors — obstruction of justice (for running) and possession of a drug abuse instrument (a hypodermic needle). He was also arrested on multiple warrants out of Hamilton city and Butler County courts.
Martin is being held without bond in the Butler County Jail. He has multiple charges out of Hamilton Municipal Court that span several years, including charges of failure to comply with a court order and a probation violation, according to court records.
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McCroskey said it’s generally a courtesy for hospitals to call police when discharging a patient who is wanted, and they usually comply with the requests. Occasionally, he said, nurses and staff delay discharge in order for police to arrive.
Getting to the hospital depends on staffing and call volume of the day.
“It’s like anything else, our staffing is what it is,” he said. “If we’re tied up on things, it might be a while. If we can get there as soon as we can, we will. But unfortunately we can’t always sit with them for hours and hours while tests are ran for a non-violent offender.”
They will wait if the suspect allegedly committed a violent offense or felony. But officers must take a suspect to the hospital if they complain of a medical issue, “whether it’s real or not.”
McCroskey said those with warrants seemingly “have figured it out” and will hope officers won’t stick around when they are discharged.
There are legitimate issues, McCroskey said, and those need to be looked at “but a lot of people do that to keep from going to jail or to delay going to jail. They have to be medically cleared because we don’t want something to happen to them and then we’re liable.”
Bethesda Butler Hospital is a subsidiary of TriHealth, and system spokesperson Michael Mattingly said staff “treated (Martin) just like any other patient,” and TriHealth security officers were at the hospital. He said police did ask staff call once he was treated and to be discharged.
But before treatment was complete, Martin “decided to leave the emergency room” and was quickly apprehended by police, he said.
“We are working with police to review the situation and, if necessary, develop specific procedures regarding patients hand-offs,” Mattingly said.
Martin will appear on Wednesday, March 6 in Hamilton Municipal Court on warrants. He will eventually appear in Butler County Juvenile Court for failure to pay child support and failure to appear, according to court records.
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