Woman dies after being forcibly removed from hospital

However, when Dawson refused to leave, hospital authorities called the police to arrest her for disorderly conduct and trespassing.

Barbara Dawson was just steps away from the entrance to Calhoun Liberty Hospital when she collapsed.

An autopsy will be performed on Dawson, with the results to be released Wednesday. Both the Blountstown Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are conducting investigations into her death, while Tallahassee law firm Parks and Crump, representing Dawson’s family, is planning on filing suit against the hospital and/or the police department. Dawson’s family says she wasn’t ready to leave the hospital because she was still in pain.

They say a nurse refused to give them Dawson’s oxygen tank because they had found she was breathing fine. Donar claimed that Barbara had originally been hooked up to an oxygen tank, and even though she kept insisting that she needed it, a hospital staff member came in with a pair of scissors and simply cut off the oxygen supply at about 4:45 a.m. The woman was also said to have begged the officers not to arrest her. The officer uncuffed her and hospital staff wheeled her back into the hospital, though her vital signs looked good. Meanwhile, the Calhoun-Liberty County NAACP says they want justice for those responsible for the death.

She was there seeking treatment for breathing difficulties.

She died shortly after that.

WJHG Officials from Calhoun Liberty Hospital defended their actions in Dawson’s death.

The responding officer was polite to Dawson, and told her she was free to receive medical care elsewhere, Mallory said.

She went on to say they cannot comment on why Dawson was removed from the facility but says in such cases the safety and comfort of all patients is considered. Once they were outside, Dawson collapsed, and the officers removed the handcuffs. Her family said she had a longstanding history of breathing problems. Dawson was black, the family’s lawyer said.

Donar said that Dawson has clashed with hospital personnel in the past. At one point, hospital staff ordered Dawson off the property when she brought a friend in for treatment, Donar told the Tallahassee Democrat.

The Tallahassee NAACP is investigating. “Because here we have an innocent person taken into custody and now they’ve lost their life when all they did was come and ask for medical help”.

Landry said he and others are glad state law enforcement officers are getting involved, “but we strongly believe the death was due to negligence by the police department and hospital”.