Urgent Care Center Figures in Shooting Investigation—But How Much Can They Say?

An unknown man and woman delivered a second man with two gunshot wounds to an urgent care center in Kitsap County, WA last Friday—and then sped away, leaving law enforcement to wonder if they were simply good Samaritans, witnesses, or somehow involved in the shooting. The victim was treated in the urgent care center and then taken to a nearby hospital with non–life-threatening injuries. It remains to be seen how involved the urgent care center’s staff will be in the investigation. However, the intersection of civic duty, legal obligations, and adherence to patient privacy laws can complicate healthcare providers’ cooperation with law enforcement proceedings that involve their patients, even if a crime takes place in the healthcare facility (though that was not the case in the Washington shooting). This topic is addressed thoroughly in a new article on the JUCM website. Click here to read Law Enforcement and Healthcare: When Consent, Privacy, and Safety Collide.