In July, 2009, two nurses, both friends and former co-workers of mine, were indicted and arrested on the felony charge of "misuse of official information." The gist of the indictment was that the nurses, Ann Mitchell and Vicky Galle, in making a complaint of questionable and dangerous medical practices of one Doctor Rolando Arafiles Jr., had revealed confidential information about patients and their medical condition. The complaint, of course, was made to the proper Texas state agency, the State Medical Board, to which complaints about physicians are supposed to be made.
In the flurry that followed in Winkler County, you would have thought that a major terrorist cell had been discovered. The good doctor made a phone call to his friend, Sheriff Robert Roberts, and the police were on the trail. Was Sheriff Roberts after a dangerous felon? Maybe a despicable white-collar criminal who had betrayed the trust of his employees? Maybe a drunk and violent person? No - just two nurses who had worked at Winkler County Memorial Hospital in Kermit, Texas for at least the past decade. They do indeed sound like dangerous, or at least conniving, criminals. No doubt Robert Roberts saved the county from the ravages of these two women.
The sheriff investigated the case as if he WERE after terrorists. The ladies' work computers and other records were confiscated. Their offices were searched for incriminating evidence. I am sure no forensic computer crime technique was left unturned in the pursuit of justice. Unfortunately for the Sheriff, and his good friend (and maybe future cell mate) Dr. Arafiles, it turns out (as was obvious from the start, my friends) that these two nurses had not violated any laws, and were in fact SUPPOSED to be protected by the Texas Whistle Blower's Law. In any case, this was hardly a criminal matter that Sheriff Roberts had ever been involved with before. Later on, at the trial, the Sheriff was forced to admit under oath that the same situation had occurred before. A nurse at the local hospital had reported her concerns to the Texas Medical Board, the Board conducted the appropriate investigation and reached its conclusion. Guess what? The Sheriff did not involve himself in that case. Why not? All the same conditions applied then as they did to the Mitchell/Galle case. Sheriff Roberts DID NOT BELIEVE A CRIMINAL ACT HAD OCCURRED.
I wonder why the Sheriff felt he needed to investigate this particular case. Why did the County Attorney not drop the charges against these ladies? He was surely aware of the Whistle Blower's Law. I suppose now Sheriff Roberts and County Attorney Scott Tidwell are both asking themselves these questions. But is too late, on several levels. The careers of Nurse Ann Mitchell and Nurse Vickie Galle both came to an abrupt end after they were fired by the Hospital Administrator. But beyond that, they lost so much of their time, a lot of their money, and any trust they might have had for the legal system in Winkler County. The anxiety and misery they both experienced cannot be calculated in money. I am sure they will never be completely at peace as long as they continue in the medical profession. By the way, former Hospital Administrator Stan Wiley is also under indictment. All three men face charges of Retaliation. The Sheriff and the County Attorney also face charges of Official Oppression and (ironically) Misuse of Official Information.
Ann Mitchell and Vickie Galle have been legally vindicated, and have won a civil verdict as well. But the money these ladies received will hardly make their lives "normal" again, nor will it reward them for their lost sense of personal security. I can only imagine how these ladies feel, how they are coping now. I know they are strong, and I know they will both move on to better things. As for Sheriff Roberts, his good friend Dr. Arafiles, County Attorney Scott, and Mr. Wiley, it appears that in the near future they will all be able to empathize with Ann Mitchell and Vickie Galle, and the ordeal they went through at the hands of these men.
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