Staff at the Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation Center laughed as a decorated World War II veteran took his last gasps of air after frantically calling for help six different times, according to a shocking new investigation from 11Alive.com.

The investigation included the release of a never before seen hidden camera video that not only completely contradicted statements given by the nursing home staff but also proved, without a shadow of doubt, that the nursing home essentially let the decorated veteran die as if it were a joke.

The video is so disgusting that attorneys for the nursing home repeatedly tried to stop its release, going through a series of court battles with the local news station in which they hoped that the media would be ordered to censor the footage.

Thankfully, the judge in the case ruled in favor of actual journalism and the nursing home, after seeing no other possible outcome, eventually dropped their appeal to the Georgia State Supreme Court.

In the 11Alive investigation, the news outlet details the fact that a nurse who was on duty at the time directly lied about what actually happened before being confronted with the hidden camera video.

In the video deposition, former nursing supervisor Wanda Nuckles tells the family’s attorney, Mike Prieto, how she rushed to Dempsey’s room when a nurse alerted her he had stopped breathing.

Prieto: “From the time you came in, you took over doing chest compressions…correct?”
Nuckles : “Yes.”

Prieto: “Until the time paramedics arrive, you were giving CPR continuously?”
Nuckles : “Yes.”

The video, however, shows no one doing CPR when Nuckles entered the room. She also did not immediately start doing CPR.

“Sir, that was an honest mistake,” said Nuckles in the deposition. “I was just basing everything on what I normally do.”

[…]

When nurses had difficulty getting Dempsey’s oxygen machine operational during, you can hear Nuckles and others laughing.

Prieto: “Ma’am, was there something funny that was happening?”
Nuckles : “I can’t even remember all that as you can see.”

“The video shows the veteran calling for help six times before he goes unconscious while gasping for air. State records show nursing home staff found Dempsey unresponsive at 5:28 am. It took almost an hour for the staff to call 911 at 6:25a.m,” the 11Alive report read.

Amazingly, the Georgia Board of Nursing told 11Alive that the nurse seen in the above video, as well as another nurse on duty at the time, were only forced to surrender their licenses in September of this year, almost three years after the disgusting incident!

“Nursing board president Janice Izlar says she cannot confirm when the state knew about the video, but the board’s action came shortly after 11Alive sent her and other board staff a link to view the video,” 11Alive continued.

The deceased veteran, 89-year-old James Dempsey was a decorated World War II veteran who was from Woodstock, Georgia. Dempsey’s family received a settlement from the nursing home in 2014 so were unable to comment on the investigation.