A woman who crashed her car while suffering a stroke was sent away at gunpoint and handcuffed by Washington police before being mocked by prison staff as she lay on the ground unaided for more than 24 hours.
Nicole McClure ultimately spent 17 days in the hospital after part of her head was removed by surgeons and is suing Thurston County police for ignoring her symptoms after the March 2022 crash.
Dashcam video shows Officer Jonathan Barnes slamming her over the hood of his car and asking, “When was the last time you did meth?” When was the last time you used heroin?’
“I don’t…I don’t,” she begged, “I’m confused. I think I’m tired.’
She was vomiting and incontinent for more than a day in the provincial jail before a doctor examined her, and she was eventually rushed into emergency surgery.
Nicole McClure was arrested at gunpoint after a low-speed crash in Thurston County
The 40-year-old was taken from her car and handcuffed over the hood of a patrol car by Trooper Jonathan Barnes, who accused her of using drugs but failed to take a test.
In fact, McClure suffered a severe stroke that required emergency brain surgery
“Nicole remembers being laughed at and telling her, ‘One more chance,'” attorney Anne Vankirk said in a statement.
‘Had Nicole received immediate medical attention, her condition would have been significantly easier to treat and the outcome much less severe.’
McClure, 40, had left work early due to headaches and dizziness when she was spotted by Barnes driving too slowly and leaving her lane while trying to get home to Olympia.
She didn’t respond when Barnes tried to pull her over and ended up crashing her car at a roundabout.
The officer pulled his gun on her and yelled at her as he approached the wreckage and she stepped outside with her hands up.
He accused her of resisting after she failed to respond to his demand that she drop the car keys clutched tightly in her hand.
“She’s trying to use these keys to stab,” he said on the tape.
“She’s trying to use these keys as a weapon.”
McClure spent 17 days in the hospital and her lawyers claim she is permanently disabled by the unnecessary delay in her treatment
In his written report, the officer crossed out a medical questions section with the note “Not Asked.”
“Nicole remembers being laughed at and told, ‘Take another chance,'” as she lay on the jail floor for more than 24 hours, attorney Anne Vankirk said in a statement
Barnes, who won the ‘Core Values Award’ at his troops’ graduation ceremony in 2019, arrested her on suspicion of drunk driving and felony evading but did not test her for drugs or alcohol at the scene and called no doctors, despite the crash.
In his written report, the officer also crossed out a medical questions section with the note “Not Asked.”
He instead took her to a nearby hospital where he made no mention of the crash but where she was given blood tests for alcohol and drugs, which ultimately came back negative.
While in prison, pressure built up in her brain due to a subdural hematoma in the frontal lobe.
“She was left in a noticeably deteriorating condition and continued to ask for help,” Vankirk said.
‘Almost a full day later she was found in a puddle of her own urine.’
Two prison staff then helped her onto a bed in the cell after realizing she could no longer stand, and when she ‘began to vomit uncontrollably’ she was moved to a second cell and ‘forcibly’ stripped of her clothes.
“A few hours later, a member of the jail’s medical team was called and they recommended that she be taken to the hospital immediately,” the lawsuit alleges.
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.”
She was hospitalized for almost three weeks and her lawyers claim she has been permanently disabled by the delay in her treatment.
“Nicole is a hard-working young woman who will never be the same,” Vankirk said.
“Despite the fact that she was observed to be involved in a car-disabling collision, she was not offered a medical evaluation,” Vankirk said.
“She suffers from a severe traumatic brain injury and remains unable to care for herself or cope with life in a meaningful way.”
The Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the lawsuit had been served.
“While we cannot discuss the details 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.