Doctor Sentenced For Choking Lone Tree Nurse

DOUGLAS COUNTY, CO — A Colorado doctor was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail for choking a nurse at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office said.

Mark Randle Ryan, 58, pleaded guilty on March 9 to one felony count of second-degree assault by strangulation and one count of third-degree assault. His sentence includes a three-year deferred judgment on the felony count, three years probation on the misdemeanor count, 100 hours of community service, mental health treatment and anger management therapy, the DA's office said. Ryan's medical license has been relinquished.

Ryan was working as a contract anesthesiologist at Sky Ridge Medical Center on Oct. 8, 2018, when he and the charge nurse in the recovery room had a disagreement about him turning off the vital-sign machines of patients recovering from surgery, the DA's office said.

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The nurse reminded Ryan not to turn off the machines. He grabbed her by the throat and squeezed her neck "so that she felt pain and saw stars," she told Lone Tree police.

“Mark Ryan strangled me in a recovery room filled with patients and staff in a selfish act of violence,” the nurse told Judge Theresa Slade during the Monday sentencing.

“I was assaulted by a man who took an oath to do no harm. I feel he might have killed me if no one else would have been around.”

The nurse reported the incident to officials at the hospital. Later that night she contacted police, who arrested Ryan.

“Few people in society have as much responsibility as the medical professionals we trust to treat us in the hospital. This defendant was an anesthesiologist, who worked in stressful situations every day to monitor patients during surgery,” District Attorney George Brauchler said in a statement.

“No occupation, regardless of stress, provides an excuse for assault, especially strangulation. The message here is clear: Teacher, electrician, attorney or doctor … viciously attack a coworker and go to jail.”

During the Monday sentencing hearing, the judge noted the lasting damage choking can have on a victim.

“This happened in front of other patients and in front of other professionals,” Slade told Ryan. “When you did this to [the nurse], she couldn’t care for other patients, and you put them at risk. You don’t get to act this way, ever.”