A Safford police officer was dispatched to Mt Graham Regional Medical Center on Friday, September 29, 2023 in response to a disorderly patient in the ICU. The patient wanted to check himself out of the hospital against doctor’s orders. The patient had become very belligerent and had been strapped to the bed.
A security guard was called to the ICU to help keep the patient subdued while nurses disconnected things so he could be released. The patient allegedly tried to strike the security guard, but because of his restraints, hit the bedrail instead. The security guard tried to calm the patient down and get him to relax, but the patient spit at him, hitting in the face and two more times on his shirt. The security guard told responding officers that he applied a pressure point to the man’s head and turned it away until nurses could get a mask on him.
The man was released from the hospital and booked into the Graham County Jail for aggravated assault.
