Six months ago, a 63-year-old Meadville man was wrongly arrested and forced to take anti-psychotic drugs. Jeez, I hate to think what would have happened if Eugene Wright wasn’t an older white dude. Wright is now suing over a case of mistaken identity and says he still has nightmares about the incident. I mean, how can you blame the guy?
As Wright recounts, he was standing outside his home when he was confronted by Meadville police and a representative with Stairways Behavioral Health. "They explained to me earlier that day at 10 a.m. I was at an orthopedic office threatening people. I was at work,” Wright told the local news.
The now retired Wright says the authorities never checked his identity before taking him to Meadville Medical Center, despite his protests that they had the wrong person. In the federal lawsuit his attorneys filed against the police department, the medical center and Stairways Behavioral Health on Wednesday (Jan. 3), Wright asserts that he was forcibly injected with antipsychotic medication, Haldol, as well as Ativan, a sedative used to treat anxiety disorders.
"I was powerless. I had no control of what was going on down there," Wright recounted.
When they realized they had the wrong Eugene Wright, doctors apologized and gave him a $50 steakhouse giftcard to make up for all the trouble.
I feel mad for Mr. Wright, but if anyone wants to arrest me in exchange for Ativan and steak, feel free to slide into my DMs on Twitter. Kidding! (Sort of.)
