Police: Nude nurse attacks Palm Bay patient

A home healthcare nurse was taken into custody for observation Sunday after Palm Bay police said she stripped off her uniform and attacked a patient under her care.

The incident happened about 2 p.m. Sunday at a home on the 800 block of Hawaii Avenue after someone at the residence called police to report that the nurse removed her clothing and was acting erratically.

"It was in the patient's home. The patient was also battered," said Lt. Greg Latulippe of the Palm Bay Police Department. "The whole thing is unusual. We're also looking at charges."

The unidentified nurse was completely nude when officers arrived. "The nurse apparently decided to take off her clothes and not act normally. The officers managed to convince her to be handcuffed. She is now in protective custody and was taken in for an evaluation," Latulippe said, adding that it was not immediately known what triggered the behavior.

The extent of the home healthcare patient's injuries was not known. Police were contacting the nurse's employer as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident.

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com or Twitter@JDGallop