WA trooper mistook woman’s brain bleed for drunken driving, lawsuit alleges

A State Patrol trooper mistook a woman’s life-threatening brain bleed for intoxication, arresting her on suspicion of drunken driving and booking her into the Thurston County Jail, where officers mocked her as she lay on a cell floor for a day before receiving medical attention, a lawsuit claims.

Once at a hospital, in critical condition, doctors removed a large piece of Nicole McClure’s skull to relieve the pressure building inside her brain from a frontal-lobe subdural hematoma, according to a federal civil-rights lawsuit filed in Tacoma. She now has permanent disabilities.

“Nicole is a hardworking young woman who will never be the same again,” wrote her attorney, Anne Vankirk, in a statement after filing the lawsuit Feb. 1. “Nicole suffers from severe traumatic brain injury and remains unable to care for herself or engage with life in meaningful ways.

“Had Nicole received immediate medical attention, her condition would have been significantly easier to treat and the outcome far less severe.”

According to the pleadings, dash-camera video and State Patrol arrest reports, Trooper Jonathan Barnes tried to stop McClure the evening of March 21, 2022, after he noticed her driving too slowly and wandering from her lane of travel. McClure, then 38, had left work early after complaining of a headache and dizziness and was headed home, according to the pleadings.

Barnes flashed his emergency lights to initiate a stop, however McClure didn’t respond and continued driving slowly until she collided with a traffic roundabout, disabling her car, the lawsuit said.

Dash-camera video shows Barnes rush up with his gun drawn and pointed at McClure, yelling for her to get out of the car. Barnes then roughly pushes her onto the hood of his cruiser and struggles to handcuff her while accusing her of eluding police.

Barnes reports on his radio that he has a woman in custody, with “no use of force.” As other troopers arrive, Barnes accuses McClure of trying to use her keys as a weapon because she won’t drop them. The keys were clasped in her left hand, the side of her body affected by the brain bleed, according to the lawsuit.

Barnes repeatedly asks McClure if she was on drugs or had been drinking. “When’s the last time you used meth?” he asks. “When was the last time you used heroin?”

“I haven’t … I don’t,” she said. “I’m confused. I think I’m tired.”

The lawsuit alleges that without conducting field sobriety tests, Barnes arrested McClure on suspicion of intoxicated driving and felony evading. The trooper didn’t call medics to the scene, despite the collision disabling her car, and took her to a hospital for a blood draw, the filings allege.

According to the lawsuit, Barnes told McClure that if she had pulled over immediately and had been “cool,” he would have let her continue home.

Chris Loftis, a WSP spokesperson, said the agency is aware of the lawsuit but doesn’t comment on pending litigation. He said Barnes wasn’t disciplined.

WSP policy states that pointing a gun at someone is a reportable use of force, according to Loftis.

The lawsuit claims Barnes didn’t tell hospital staff that McClure had been in a crash. The filings also point out that in his written report, the trooper crossed out a section detailing a series of health and medical questions, printing “Did not ask” across the strikeout.

“Despite the fact that Nicole was observed to be in a car-disabling collision, no

medical evaluation was offered to her,” Vankirk said in her statement.

After the blood draw — which would later show McClure had no drugs or alcohol in her system — Barnes took her to the Thurston County Jail, where the lawsuit alleges she was again passed over for medical attention for more than 24 hours.

“She was left with a notably deteriorating condition and continuing to ask

for help,” Vankirk said. “Nicole recalls being laughed at and told she should ‘Have another shot,’” which she took as a taunting reference to the belief that she was drunk, not sick.

According to the lawsuit, McClure was left lying on the floor.

“She was found in a puddle of her own urine … almost a full day later” Vankirk said. The jail responded by having two employees help her onto a cot, leaving her a clean jumper “although she was unable to stand.”

When McClure began vomiting uncontrollably, she was moved to another cell and “forcibly changed” by another employee, Vankirk said.

“A few hours later, a member of the jail’s medical team was called, and they advised that she be taken to the hospital immediately,” according to the pleadings.

Tara Tsehlana, a spokesperson for the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which defends the jail, said the county was served with the lawsuit Monday.

“While we can’t discuss the specifics 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,” she said.

McClure underwent emergency brain surgery the day after her arrest, with surgeons removing a large piece of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain “and save her remaining brain function,” according to Vankirk, who said McClure was hospitalized for 17 days.