A nurse who was dragged out of a hospital for refusing a police officer permission take a blood sample from an unconscious patient has been awarded $500,000 compensation.

Alex Wubbels was following hospital policy when she told Detective Jeff Payne he needed a warrant or the consent of the patient to draw blood after a July 26 car crash.

The officer had neither and then arrested Wubbels when she refused his request, dragging her outside the University of Utah hospital in Salt Lake City and handcuffing her as she screamed she had done nothing wrong.

The incident, which occurred on July 26, was caught on camera and caused widespread anger at the time.

Alex Wubbels holding pictures from the body camera footage of her arrest. She has now been awarded $500,000 compensation from the University of Utah and Salt Lake City

Wubbels, who was later released without charge, has now been awarded a payout from the University of Utah and Salt Lake City.

She plans to use part of the money to fund legal help for others trying to get similar body-camera video.

'We all deserve to know the truth, and the truth comes when you see the actual raw footage, and that's what happened in my case,' she said.

'No matter how truthful I was in telling my story, it was nothing compared to what people saw and the visceral reaction people experienced when watching the footage of the experience I went through.

'The police have to police themselves. This is something I never would have expected to happen, but I'm also honored by the weight of it.'

She said she also plans to give a portion of the $500,000 to a nurse's union and help lead a campaign to stop physical and verbal abuse of nurses on the job.

Alex Wubbels was filmed screaming as she was led away in handcuffs after being arrested by detective Jeff Payne

The nurse was following hospital procedures but was dragged out of the hospital by Payne, who has subsequently been fired

Wubbels says she will give the compensation money to the nurses union and to help others fight to obtain body camera footage

University of Utah hospital officials said in a statement they support Wubbels and have changed their procedures and training on how police and health care workers interact to ensure nothing similar happens again.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown has since apologized and fired Payne after an internal investigation found he violated department policies.

Brown said in a disciplinary letter that he was 'deeply troubled' by Payne's conduct, which he said brought 'significant disrepute' on the department.

Payne is appealing that decision, saying the firing was an unfair reaction to the negative publicity.

Lt. James Tracy, a police supervisor who ordered the arrest of the nurse, was demoted to officer and also is appealing.

The patient was an off-duty Idaho reserve police officer driving a semitrailer when he was hit by a man fleeing police in a pickup truck. He later died of his injuries.