A post by Pat

Derek Thomas, the nephew of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, says he was beaten and tased at a New Orleans area hospital after refusing to put on a hospital gown. Initial reports said he was taken to the hospital because of a possible suicide attempt. Security guards punched him in the lip, yanked his hair and tased him when he tried to leave the hospital. He is an epileptic, a fact made known at the time he was brought to the hospital. His family says he suffered a massive seizure as a consequence of the violence inflicted on him.

Clarence Thomas’ Nephew Tasered in Hospital Scuffle

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ epileptic nephew suffered a massive seizure after being beaten and hit with a stun gun during a scuffle at a New Orleans area hospital, his family said.

Derek Thomas, 25, was admitted to West Jefferson Hospital on Thursday after what some news outlets described as a possible suicide attempt. When orderlies asked Thomas to put on a hospital gown, he refused and tried to flee the facility. That’s when security guards stepped in, and a scuffle ensued. Details were reported by several news agencies.

Mr. Thomas says he was not trying to commit suicide or harm himself. He accidentally took an overdose of his medicine when he felt a migraine coming.

Derek, who wears his hair in dreadlocks, claims the security guards asked him if he lived in the 9th ward of New Orleans suggesting profiling was a factor in the way he was treated.

He sees dreadlocks. He sees a young black man. He asked me that, thinking that, you know… I said, “I’m from college.”

Derek’s sister, Kimberly, says the entire incident was recorded by hospital security cameras and they would like to see that video. When she asked hospital staff who were present if they saw what happened, all claim they were busy doing something else at that particular moment.

A hospital spokeswoman told several news outlets that officials are investigating the matter, but that they’re unlikely to be able to release details because of patient privacy laws.

Justice Thomas is said to be outraged over the incident and will head to New Orleans to look into what happened.

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10 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. IloiloKano says:

    Wanna bet our Dear Leader will choose to stay mum on this incident? However, I already know what the World’s Bestest White House Spokesman will say: “Er, um, I, I, uh, I, er, um, the um, uh, I, I’ll have to uh, I’ll get back to you on uh um that.”

  2. Ken-P says:

    I’m sure we’ll hear more about this. I’ve had suicidal tendencies for most of my adult life and it never stopped me from putting on a hospital gown; I’ve done that a number of times. If the guy is nuts and got violent with security guards because of that, I’m not surprised he got hurt. He shouldn’t get a pass because he’s related to Clarence Thomas. That’s what I think.

    • IloiloKano says:

      1. The young man is an epileptic and has stated that he took an overdose, by accident, when he felt a migraine coming on. In absence of evidence to the contrary, I assume that is what happened. I’ve neither read nor seen evidence to the contrary, so I assume (and you should too) that he is not “nuts”.

      2. By all accounts thus far, when orderlies asked him to put on a hospital gown, he refused and tried to leave. That is not a violent act; however, if he violently resisted after orderlies would not let him leave, then in my mind (and it should be in yours too) any resistance, including violent resistance, was justified.

      3. He shouldn’t get a pass? A pass for what? Where did you get the idea that anyone was giving him a pass for whatever you think he did wrong anyway? Because the story mentioned that he is the nephew of a Supreme Court Justice? Do you seriously believe that if something happened to Malia in public, however insignificant otherwise, that there would not be news coverage with a headline such as “President Obama’s Daughter…”? Right or wrong, that’s what makes a news story “news worthy”, and it will never change, so you might as well get used to it.

      4. If I were put in a similar position, you can bet I would have caused grievous bodily harm to anyone trying to prevent me from leaving. And I would have felt completely justified.

      Maybe I misunderstood your post. Perhaps you were simply pointing out that we may not have the whole story, and that we shouldn’t condemn the hospital staff unless and until we confirm the young man’s story. And if that is what you meant, then you and I are not at odds. But I would point out that your post appears to make assumptions about the nephew, also without the full story.

  3. Laura says:

    I use to work as a security officer (Temporarily and never again!)and what they did was unacceptable. You do not physically assault someone simply for refusing to wear a gown! Security officers are only suppose to observe and report, that is an unlawful security company.

  4. RADAR says:

    There’s a dirty little secret in the health care community. It’s called the ’72’. Patients going to hospitals or psychiatric centers for treatment can be held against thier will for 72 hours or more if staff determine they are a threat to themselves or others. In alot of cases it’s justified. In too many it is a way to scam the patient’s insurance company. In Las Vegas there was an outpatient psych office that treated people with depression etc. They would give them questionaires about thier medical history. One question was have you ever thought about suicide. Wanting to be truthful to those helping them they would say yes. Not that they’re going to or have attempted it; they have just thought about it. Now they own them for 72 hours. And guess who’s paying for the stay? Blue Cross Blue Shield. It’s a great scam. P.T. Barnum would be proud.

    • thierry says:

      completely true and longstanding. when i was quite young , i overdosed but was mobile. in the emergency room they were beside themselves with glee when they found out i had good insurance. i recall them telling me the place they were sending me to was ‘ like a country club’ and that judy garland had been there- a selling point apparently.

      the first thing they do when they get you to the psych hospital is convince you, while large men in white loom over you, that it’s in your best interest to, after the 72 hours, voluntarily sign yourself in. they strive to keep you in for however long your insurance will pay then cycle you through a regular hospital that has a psych ward because it stretches out the payable period. once the insurance no longer pays they can’t dump you out fast enough no matter how ill you may or may not be. they tell you you can come back the next year when your benefits restart.

      i am not surprised by this- it’s treating a black man automatically like he is a criminal because he is black and because of where he is assumed to live. (plus they’re rent a cops. they don’t go through the training real cops have to complete.). i can say from experience among my friends that if you’re a young black man going near a hospital with any symptoms that can be associated with street drugs you could very well be treated instantly like a criminal, not a patient . all the uproar over arizona and that obnoxious professor in cambridge, with not a whiff of the racism proved, but there will be nary a peep about this because he’s related to a black hated conservative man sitting on the highest court in the land.

      and it is thus that they reveal that they are the ones with the race problem, perpetrating the Culture of Oppression for their own benefit while real victims of racism are ignored and hidden away if they can’t be used to a specific political purpose..

  5. naga5 says:

    yeppers-5150!
    it can be quite an income stream.
    i’ve seen it cut both ways. one of my patient’s mom told me she got a 72 hours hold. she told a social worker that she felt like killing her child and herself. the kid was severely disabled. her native culture inbued a certain amount of shame, guilt and blame for producing a disable child. she told her truth and got 72. she said she would never do it but the held her anyway. gee, who took care of the kid during the stay? tough call.
    my son was doing emt transport stuff and he assured me that on a legit 5150, he’d make sure cops were around for the real arresting. he said he wasn’t going to risk getting hurt or the liability of accidentally hurting a combative patient. it was above his proverbial paygrade.
    rick

  6. Pat_S says:

    I’m waiting to see how the usual media suspects react to this. I think we still need to know more facts.

    Because Clarence Thomas is involved, the media could either 1) ignore the story 2) attack Thomas for being on the racist rightwing plantation 3) villify Thomas’ nephew as a dangerous drug-taking maniac 4) point out what many of the commenters here have said—hospitals rip-off vulnerable people

  7. morecowbell says:

    Ok, here is how it works.

    Every emergency room has a psychiatric nurse or doctor on the premises. They come in and do an evaluation in the emergency room. If you say you are going to hurt yourself or someone else, the hospital has the power to keep you there (although different states have different rules). If you committed a suicidal gesture (overdose or cut your wrists), then your in, done deal. Whatever Derek’s situation a doctor decided he needed to stay. If they want to keep you and you decide to leave, they have the authority to stop you, because at that point, the hospital is liable if you go on a killing spree and then off yourself. If you do escape, then the cops are called and the fun is really over.

    If I were Derek’s parent and a doctor decided he needed to stay, as outrageous as the force used seems to be, in my mind, restraining him may have actually saved his life.

    • thierry says:

      respectfully, hospitals and doctors have been known to abuse their right to’ pink slip’ people. i have personally seen the power abused and was involved in litigation over this specific issue.oh, and i won.

      i have conversely seen people who had their heads in ovens on a belly full of pills not be pink slipped because their insurance had run out.

      it’s worth mentioning that if we do not get obama care repealed, the government will be actively and directly involved with controlling the doctors and processes that can use the 72 hour pink slip against people. not that the government, like hospitals and rent a cops now ,would ever ,ever violate someone’s rights or person in an unjustified manner because they are so pure of heart and deed.

      ask frances farmer.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wev8W9PDAg

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