A Covington doctor has been indicted by a Kenton County Grand Jury on a charge of attempted murder for stabbing a female patient. Dr. Douglas Rank initially faced an assault charge after the incident in February.
Dr. Rank has been in the news before. We've covered his troubles in the past with state medical boards.This time, police say he was admittedly drunk and on drugs when neighbors rushed in on a violent scene.
Dr. Douglas Rank owns 12 West Pike Street in Covington. He has an office on the first floor and an apartment on the third. The attack apparently happened in the apartment about 7:45 p.m. on February 21st.
Doug Hamilton, Neighbor: "All I heard was a scream. But it was the type of a scream that you know something is wrong. I went up to the top of the steps and they were fighting."
According to the police report, several neighbors intervened, but not before the woman was stabbed several times.
Lt. Col. Spike Jones, Covington Police: "We would consider her injuries to be life-threatening at the time she transported to University Hospital for treatment of those injuries. Based on that criteria, he was charged with assault first."
According to the police report, Rank had consumed a fifth of brandy and taken two Clonezapam muscle relaxers.
Doctor Rank is board certified in psychiatry and internal medicine, but his problems with medical boards have generated reams of paperwork. He admittedly had sex with one patient and got into more trouble for allegedly prescribing medication to another. But what happened last night was a surprise to everyone.
"To my information, we haven't had any problems with him as far as criminal behavior in the past. To me this is a new occurrence for this individual."
"He has some inner demons, apparently, that he needs to be working with and now he'll get the help that he needs."
Dr. Rank is held on a $50,000 cash bond but he will likely face a new arraignment for the upgraded charge.
