A Florida ICU nurse allegedly stole fentanyl from a critically ill patient’s IV infusion — and tried going back for more, according to police.
Leslie Ann Pope, 54, was nabbed on Oct. 8, several months after a patient’s family saw the ICU nurse use a syringe to withdraw fluid from an fentanyl IV infusion at the Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port St. Lucie, CBS 12 reported based on information from the Port St. Lucie Police Department.
She then pocketed the syringe and left the room, according to investigators.
The alleged encounter took place on June 24, the outlet later reported.
The next evening, Pope brazenly returned to the patient’s room and approached the IV equipment once — but a family member intervened, police said.
Footage reviewed by detectives show Pope manipulating protective caps on the IV equipment, the outlet reported.
However, investigators were unable to determine whether Pope swiped additional medication during her second attempt.
Cops said Pope wasn’t even assigned to the patient she allegedly ripped the fentanyl from.
Pope told police that an alarm — she described as an “upstream occlusion” — required her to intervene with the IV, according to Brittany McNally, a public information officer with Port St. Lucie police.
However, the patient’s significant other, who had experience working in a medical environment, disputed Pope’s claim.
“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.
“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 conducted an internal probe and contacted the Florida Department of Health, who notified police, according to McNally.
Cops began investigating in August and Pope was arrested on Oct. 8 with assistance from the Palm Beach Marshals Task Force.
She was slapped with a slew of 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 the nurse allegedly intended to do with the drugs — while Pope 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.”
Pope worked at the hospital for around six months, McNally said.
“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.
