A Florida intensive care unit nurse allegedly stole fentanyl from a critically ill patient’s IV infusion and later returned to the room in an apparent attempt to take more, police said.
Leslie Ann Pope, 54, was arrested Oct. 8, months after a patient’s family member reportedly saw the ICU nurse use a syringe to withdraw liquid from a fentanyl IV infusion at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port St. Lucie, CBS 12 reported, citing the Port St. Lucie Police Department.
Investigators said Pope then placed the syringe in her pocket and left the room.
The alleged incident occurred June 24, according to the news outlet.
The following evening, police said, Pope returned to the patient’s room and approached the IV equipment. A family member intervened before she could proceed further.
Detectives who reviewed surveillance footage saw Pope handling protective caps on the IV equipment, CBS 12 reported.
Investigators, however, could not establish whether she obtained any additional medication during the second incident.
Police said Pope was not assigned to care for the patient from whose IV infusion she allegedly took the fentanyl.
According to Brittany McNally, a public information officer for Port St. Lucie police, Pope told investigators that an alarm she described as an “upstream occlusion” required her to intervene with the IV.
The patient’s significant other, who had professional experience in a medical setting, challenged that explanation.
“But again, she’s not even assigned to that patient, so there was no initial justification for her to even be in that room at that time addressing that patient,” McNally told CBS 12.
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“The family member actually was well versed in the medical field and had a history of working in that environment, which caused her to raise questions and caused her to notify the chain of command at the hospital.”
The hospital launched an internal investigation and contacted the Florida Department of Health, which then notified police, McNally said.
Police opened their investigation in August. Pope was arrested Oct. 8 with assistance from the Palm Beach Marshals Task Force.
She faces multiple felony charges, including grand theft of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance.
Investigators have not determined what Pope allegedly intended to do with the fentanyl. She has denied the allegations.
“We don’t want to speculate what she could be using it for, whether it’s personal or, you know, selling it,” McNally said.
“We don’t have that information at this point.”
McNally said Pope had worked at the hospital for about six months.
“We take these allegations very seriously. The individual no longer works with us, and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement,” Cleveland Clinic said in a statement to CBS12 News.
“Because this is an active investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
The hospital did not provide details as to when Pope’s employment ended or if she was fired, according to the outlet.
The Post reached out to Port St. Lucie Police Department and Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital for more information.
