By Sarah Horner
Pioneer Press
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — A video released Thursday by Maplewood police documents a man’s attack of nurses at St. John’s Hospital over the weekend.
Charles Emmett Logan, 68, is shown in the footage bursting into a nursing station just before 2 a.m. Sunday and wildly swinging a metal bar at staff in the area.
In one instance, he can be seen beating a nurse and causing her to fall to the ground.
The video was captured on the Maplewood hospital’s security system.
Logan died after police tackled him to the ground three blocks from the facility.
Police shot him with a Taser after he refused to drop the metal bar, but the probes failed to properly connect with him and couldn’t deliver an electrical current, police say.
An officer then tackled Logan and placed him in handcuffs.
Logan went limp in the officer’s arms and was rushed back to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Medical reports on his cause of death are still pending.
The metal bar he was wielding is used to attach hospital equipment to a hospital bed.
One of the injured nurses suffered a collapsed lung, one a broken wrist and two had cuts and bruises.
They were identified as Leslie A. Lichey, 40, of Wyoming; Brooke C. Scott, 22, of Brooklyn Park; Nicole P. Eenisse, 32, of Lino Lakes; and Kelly A. Roberto, 30, of Hudson, Wis.
The Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents the injured workers, released the following statement about the incident:
“The hearts of Minnesota nurses go out to the families of the patient and the nurses who they hope will begin to heal from this tragedy.
Once again, nurses showed their dedication by responding to the emergency situation to help all the health care workers injured in the attack. Sadly, this incident is another act of patient on nurse violence that nurses and health care workers face every day. Only their training, education and courage prevented this sad situation from becoming worse.”
The violent behavior was reportedly extremely abnormal for Logan, a father and veteran mechanic for Metro Transit who had been admitted to the hospital after suffering recent bouts of confusion and delusions.
He had been involved in a dispute with some members of his extended family before the outburst, but it’s unclear what effect, if any, that had on the attack, Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell said.
“This was very out of character. ... We’re talking about like a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy,” Schnell said.
“Virtually every element of this is tragic,” Schnell said. “Certainly for the man himself, and we still don’t really know what happened to him. Second, for his family, obviously, he was someone’s dad, brother, uncle, cousin and then, of course, for the nursing staff who were just going about doing their work. ... Folks knew he was struggling, but I don’t think anyone expected this would end in violence.”
He added that attacks on medical staff are rare.
The hospital, which is part of HealthEast Care System, declined to answer questions about the incident. A staff member released the following statement:
“The safety and well-being of our employees, patients and families of St. John’s Hospital are our top priority. HealthEast employees have been notified of the potential release of this video footage and we have met with individuals directly affected by this event to ensure they are aware and fully supported. Those employees have asked that their privacy be respected.”
Public record laws required police to release the video because the investigation into the attack is closed, Schnell said.
Logan’s family declined to comment.
Copyright 2014 the Pioneer Press