Fourth-degree assault charges were recently filed against a leading Whidbey General Hospital administrator, Chief Nursing Officer Linda Gipson.

She’s accused of choking a restrained patient who was allegedly not cooperating with hospital staff. While the jury is still out, it seems WGH decision makers aren’t waiting for a verdict to decide her innocence.

From an initial letter to the newspaper backing Gipson, which was sent out before police had concluded an official investigation — one that led the prosecutor to believe enough evidence existed to file charges — to their most recent refusal to hand over an internal investigation to newspapers and the prosecutor’s office, they’ve made their position and their support clear.

In fact, this issue came up in court. The deputy prosecutor wrote in a motion that the hospital administration “have unequivocally established the hospital administration’s official position that the defendant is ‘innocent.’ ”

The hospital’s seeming position is a mistake. Standing by employees is one thing, but making predeterminations is another, especially when the alleged victim is a patient.

In addition, the witnesses against Gipson are nurses. Taking sides doesn’t seem like a wise move on the part of the administration.

Everyone in the United States is innocent until proven guilty, and Gipson may well be. There is certainly much evidence to say that hospital workers have a tough time caring for patients who may be mentally unstable, but a verdict is for a judge to decide — not hospital decision makers.

The hospital and its attorneys should make every effort to cooperate with county prosecutors and let the legal process work.