76. A Latino woman dies while in custody after being arrested by the LA County Sheriffs Dept meanwhile Paris Hilton still recieving special treatment while in Jail!

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A woman who lay bleeding on the emergency room floor of a troubled inner-city hospital died after 911 dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility, newly released tapes of the emergency calls reveal.

Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, died of a perforated bowel on May 9 at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. Her death was ruled accidental by the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Relatives said Rodriguez was bleeding from the mouth and writhing in pain for 45 minutes while she was at a hospital waiting area. Experts have said she could have survived had she been treated early enough.

County and state authorities are now investigating Rodriguez's death. Relatives reported she died as police were wheeling her out of the hospital after the officers they had asked to help Rodriguez arrested her instead on a parole violation. Sheriff's Department spokesman Duane Allen said Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing.

In the recordings of two 911 calls that day, first obtained by the Los Angeles Times under a California Public Records Act request, callers pleaded for help for Rodriguez but were referred to hospital staff instead.

"I'm in the emergency room. My wife is dying and the nurses don't want to help her out," Rodriguez's boyfriend, Jose Prado, is heard saying in Spanish through an interpreter on the tapes.

"What's wrong with her?" a female dispatcher asked.

"She's vomiting blood," Prado said.

"OK, and why aren't they helping her?" the dispatcher asked.

"They're watching her there and they're not doing anything. They're just watching her," Prado said.

The dispatcher told Prado to contact a doctor and then said paramedics wouldn't pick her up because she was already in a hospital. She later told him to contact county police officers at a security desk.

A second 911 call was placed eight minutes later by a bystander who requested that an ambulance be sent to take Rodriguez to another hospital for care.

"She's definitely sick and there's a guy that's ignoring her," the woman told a male dispatcher.

During the call, the dispatcher argued with the woman over whether there really was an emergency.

"I cannot do anything for you for the quality of the hospital. ... It is not an emergency. It is not an emergency ma'am," he said.

"You're not here to see how they're treating her," the woman replied.

The dispatcher refused to call paramedics and told the woman that she should contact hospital supervisors "and let them know" if she is unhappy.

"May God strike you too for acting the way you just acted," the woman said finally.

"No, negative ma'am, you're the one," he said.

The incident was the latest high-profile lapse at King-Harbor, formerly known as King/Drew. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is investigating claims of recent patient care breakdowns, including Rodriguez's case.

Federal inspectors last week said emergency room patients were in "immediate jeopardy" of harm or death, and King-Harbor was given 23 days to shape up or risk losing federal funding.

Dr. Bruce Chernof, director of the county Department of Health Services, which oversees the facility, has called Rodriguez's death "inexcusable" and said it was "important to understand that this was fundamentally a failure of caring." He has said conditions are improving, though.

A call Wednesday seeking comment about the 911 tapes from the department's communications office, which handles information about the hospital, was not immediately returned.

Dr. Roger Peeks, the chief medical officer at the hospital, was placed on "ordered absence" Monday, the Times reported. Health officials declined to elaborate, saying it was a personnel matter. Dr. Robert Splawn, chief medical officer for the health department, was named interim chief medical officer, the newspaper said.

I guess since her Grandfather could'nt afford to pay Sheriff Baca off she did not deserve necessary medical treatment prior to going to jail! If she were a white, rich, celebrity she would have recieve excellent medical care and lived instead of being dragged off to jail without being seen by a doctor!

Posted at 4:46PM on Jun 14th 2007 by Andrea

77. Soooo - Paris is having seizures due to withdrawal from various "legit " drugs she takes (we can only assume it is all legit drugs that she had in her system).

And just how many people are put in jail that suffer like conditions due to drug withdrawal? Are they given the special treatment that Paris has been given. I do not think so.

Every turn of this entire Paris woohaa just enlightens our eyes as to just how the rich get preferential treatment.

Dad is shopping Vegas for a place to have her out of jail party. The rich folks idea of shopping around is finding who will pay THEM for the honor of holding the party at their place (in this case $50,000) AND pay airfare and accomodations for who know how many people involved!

Oh, yeah, poor rich people my behind.

Posted at 5:14PM on Jun 14th 2007 by Jean

78. In case no one knows... not only does Paris have ADD she also needs her tranquilizers to calm down. When you party like a rockstar, recreational drugs are involved not to mention drugs to calm them down when they're not partying. No one, including her family knew, that's why they never gave "her meds" to take to prison. That's why she's all freaking out and depressed--- it's called WITHDRAWAL, people.

Posted at 3:41AM on Jun 15th 2007 by Bella M.

79. don't tell me she isn't getting preferential treatment, she broke probation. everybody seems to forget that when you do that you go to jail. next time you break probation tell the judge you'll only go for 23 days and see what he tells you!

Posted at 1:40PM on Jun 15th 2007 by teresa ibarra

80. Nancy Grace? What makes anybody think she had anything to do with the transfer? She's just a loudmouth, and most people can't stand her.

They should put Paris in a cell, not in another medical unit which is costing the taxpayers out the rear end. There was never anything wrong with her, except that she didn't want to be in jail. So what.

Posted at 1:46PM on Jun 15th 2007 by So what