Police sued after woman with brain bleed jailed for being drunk

Nicole McClure of Washington State left work early on March 21, 2022, complaining of headache and dizziness. Two symptoms of the undiagnosed brain bleed that would leave her crashing her car, and would soon leave her with permanent disabilities if left untreated. Enter State Trooper Jonathan Barnes who, according to a lawsuit, would prevent such treatment, thinking her a drunk driver. Barnes, seeing her swerve slowly over the road and crash into a roundabout, pulled her out of the car at gunpoint, accused her of trying to attack him with her keys, and had her thrown in a jail cell. According to the lawsuit, McClure was left lying on the floor of a jail cell for over 24 hours, eventually in a pool of her urine and vomit. It was only a day later when she was not ‘sober’ that the police thought to seek medical assistance; Barnes had, in his haste to arrest her, forgone the standard medical questions and even crossed them out on his written report, stating ‘did not ask.’ Had he asked, McClure may have received life-saving treatment sooner, and be spared a lifetime of disabilities. McClure required having part of her skull removed to relieve the pressure, enough to save her life, but not her brain function.