Anonymous Source Releases King-Harbor Hospital Tape

Last year in May, Edith Isabel Rodriguez died at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. Her death became national headlines because Rodriguez was dying (literally throwing up blood on the floor) in the waiting room as nurses and other hospital staff continued to ignore her as they walked by. Rodriguez's husband, Jose Prado, and another person in the waiting room called 911 explaining that she was in need of help. But dispatchers refused saying she was already a hospital.

A tape caught all of this, but the County of Los Angeles refused to release it to the family or the media. It was "confidential, official information" that would "jeopardize the ongoing criminal investigation into the death." But someone sent the LA Times an excerpted tape this week, which they have posted (abbreviated version is above, and the raw version is posted on their website).

The police eventually arrived to the hospital for Rodriguez, but not to help her. A nurse called the police saying she was causing a disturbance and in running Rodriguez's name, they found she had a parole violation. Police took her into custody, but she died on a stretcher during the transfer.

A similar incident happened at Kings County Hospital in New York City where the disturbing and shocking video was released Monday night.