A Michigan nurse faces a federal charge after authorities say she helped an injured immigration detainee walk out of an Ann Arbor hospital while in federal custody.
Chloe Renae Freeman, 33, of Whitmore Lake, was charged on August 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan with instigating or assisting the escape of a person under arrest. The federal misdemeanor carries a maximum of one year in prison and a fine.
The charges arise from an incident on the night of May 28 at Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital, where Freeman worked as a registered nurse. An affidavit from FBI Special Agent Michael Wagner states that U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted a targeted enforcement operation in Ann Arbor around 9 p.m., focusing on a man recorded as “OBP.” Federal officials identified him as a Mexican citizen deported in December 2022 who had not received permission to reenter the United States.
Agents confronted the man near Washtenaw Avenue and Pittsfield Boulevard; he fled, tripped over a curb, and struck his face on the ground, the affidavit reports. Border Patrol placed him into custody on an administrative immigration arrest, administered first aid for a head wound, and summoned emergency responders, who transported him to Trinity Health for medical evaluation.
During his hospital stay, staff ordered a CT scan. A CT technologist later told investigators that after the scan concluded, Freeman and another nurse entered the suite and directed the technologist to leave the patient in the imaging room rather than return him to his regular room.
Investigators found that electronic hospital badge logs recorded Freeman using her credentials to access the CT room at approximately 11:31 p.m. One minute later, surveillance footage captured the detainee exiting through the emergency ambulance bay doors.
Trinity Health confirmed that Freeman is no longer employed at the hospital. “Because this is an active legal matter, we are unable to comment on the specific allegations or ongoing court proceedings,” the healthcare network said in a statement.
Court documents show that federal prosecutors had not located the detainee when they filed the complaint.
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