Utah County judge throws out Payson police lawsuit

PROVO — Roderick Anderson says he was tired and just needed to sleep, not get hauled off to the hospital.

So when Payson police officer Scott Taylor called an ambulance for him, worried about a head injury, Anderson sued Taylor and the Payson Police Department, the chief of police and the city for inflicting unnecessary medical expenses.

Tuesday in 4th District Court, Judge Samuel McVey tossed out the case, ruling Taylor had acted appropriately and used common sense when he believed Anderson was struggling with a head injury.

"I don't believe the officer believed the plaintiff was in danger of his life, but could have been in danger of a very serious outcome, which could have eventually led to a life-threatening situation," McVey ruled at the outcome of the bench trial.

Taylor had arrived at Anderson's home in late October 2006 around midnight after receiving a 911 call of a possibly impaired driver.

As Taylor approached Anderson, who was removing items from his trunk, Taylor noticed a far-away look in Anderson's eyes.

While they talked, Anderson told Taylor his head hurt and explained he had dropped a weight on his head at a gym, even letting Taylor feel the dent in his skull.

Anderson later testified it was a 10-year-old injury; however, Taylor said he was led to believe the injury had occurred that day.

The erratic driving, the glassy stare and the head injury left Taylor wondering if Anderson needed medical attention.

"I was concerned if I left him there alone that something bad would happen to him," Taylor said. "With a dent in his head, I don't know what could have happened to him. I didn't think he should be left alone."

So, after helping Anderson carry in some papers from the trunk, Taylor stuck around and watched Anderson, who he said was polite and quite talkative.

After Taylor couldn't get a hold of family members, and believing Anderson's condition was worsening, Taylor called for an ambulance — against Anderson's wishes, said Anderson's attorney Daniel Irvin.

"The patient has a right to say, 'I don't want treatment,'" Irvin said. "Even if they're lying there dying, (and don't want treatment) we shouldn't treat them. He was conscious and (didn't) want treatment."

Irvin said toward the end of the night his client asked the officer to leave, that he wanted to sleep.

Taylor says Anderson never once told him to leave.