Hospital guard severely injured when man bites thumb over mask policy, Texas cops say
A man is accused of assaulting a security guard — including biting his thumb — police said, after becoming upset over a hospital’s mask policy in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Chad Staelens, 37, was arrested Monday on a charge of assault on a public servant after he became upset with Kell West Hospital’s mask policy . After he was asked to leave several times, Staelen attacked a security guard, striking him in the face and neck area, the Wichita Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Staelen then bit the thumb of the security guard after he lifted his hands “to push Staelens away,” causing severe injury, the post said.
This isn’t the first time the hospital had to deal with someone getting upset over the mask mandate at the hospital, the CEO of Kell West Hospital, Jerry Myers, told News 6.
“We don’t know if they’re coming in because they have COVID,” Myers said according to News 6. “We don’t know their symptoms until they arrive with a mask on and certainly if they’re going back to visit. You can’t go see patients if they’re on the floor and not have a mask on.”
The guard was treated on scene.
This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 6:09 PM.