Table. Patient and Health Care Personnel Harms From Law Enforcement in Health Care Settings.

Incident year	Incident location		Characteristics of survivor(s) and victim(s)				Brief narrative description of event
	Hospital	City, state	Age	Gender	Race and ethnicity	Mental illness
Patients shot by police officers
2013	Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin	Wauwatosa, Wisconsin	22	Male	Black	NA	Man was shot while fleeing arrest from police in the hospital, where he was visiting his baby in the neonatal unit. In the altercation with police, the baby sustained a skull fracture.10
2013	Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary	Boston, Massachusetts	36	Male	White	NA	Incarcerated patient reached for an officer’s gun when his handcuffs were removed, resulting in another officer shooting the man in the chest.11
2015	Marymount Hospital	Garfield Heights, Ohio	NA	NA	NA	Y	Altercation between police occurred while patient was undergoing psychiatric evaluation, resulting in patient being tased and shot in the back of the neck by an off-duty officer. Both local police and hospital police were involved.12
2015	Harbor-UCLA Medical Center	Torrance, California	26	Male	Hispanic	Y	Incarcerated patient with bipolar disorder reached for an officer’s gun when his handcuffs were briefly taken off, prompting an officer to shoot him.13
2015	St Cloud Hospital	St Cloud, Minnesota	50	Male	NA	NA	Patient was shot with a stun gun by hospital security after the patient took a gun from a county deputy and shot the deputy. The patient went into cardiac arrest and died.14
2016	Centra’s Lynchburg General Hospital	Lynchburg, Virginia	28	Male	White	Y	Altercation between police occurred while patient with bipolar illness was undergoing psychiatric evaluation and had become upset and anxious after hours of waiting. The patient disarmed an armed security guard of his stun gun and was shot 4 times in the back, leaving the patient paralyzed.15
2016	St Joseph Medical Center	Houston, Texas	26	Male	Black	Y	Patient with bipolar disorder admitted to the psychiatry unit was shocked with a taser and shot in the chest by 2 off-duty police officers moonlighting as security guards, who arrived when a nurse summoned security because the patient was refusing to tie his gown.5
2017	University Medical Center	Las Vegas, Nevada	NA	Male	White	Y	Patient with mental illness and suicidality pointed a stun gun at a nurse and security guard after taking the stun gun from an unattended bag left by the guard. Patient was subsequently shot by a police officer.16
2018	Orlando Regional Medical Center	Orlando, Florida	33	Male	White	Y	Patient with mental illness being evaluated for chest pain and anxiety attacks threatened to “shoot anyone who came near him.” Officers approached him, he appeared to reach for a gun, and 3 officers shot him, although it was later determined patient was unarmed.17
2019	Cape Fear Valley Hospital	Fayetteville, North Carolina	NA	Male	Black	Y	Patient under arrest was shot dead after trying to grab the gun of the police officer accompanying him in the hospital.18
2020	Dallas VA Medical Center	Dallas, Texas	NA	Male	White	Y	Patient with mental illness including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder was shot and killed by 2 hospital police after he tried to attack them with a knife.19
2020	Community Hospital	Munster, Indiana	22	Male	Black	Y	Patient admitted to psychiatric ward attacked a nurse and disarmed an armed security guard, resulting in the patient being shot and killed by another armed security guard.20
2020	Harbor-UCLA Medical Center	Torrance, California	38	Male	Hispanic	Y	Patient in mental health crisis shattered a window in his room with a medical device and then attempted to enter a nearby room, resulting in him being shot 7 times and killed by a county deputy.21
2021	Mount Carmel St Ann’s Hospital	Westerville, Ohio	27	Male	Black	Y	Patient with mental illness was killed after a struggle with police who discovered he had a gun concealed in his pants.22
2022	Duke University Hospital	Durham, North Carolina	38	Male	Black	Y	Patient with substance use disorder attempted to reach for police officer’s gun and was subsequently shot and killed.23
2022	Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital	Vero Beach, Florida	29	Male	White	Y	Patient in the ED after attempting suicide was shot and killed by 2 officers after running through the hospital with a pair of scissors and raising them in the direction of police.24
2022	Baylor Scott and White Medical Center	Irving, Texas	34	Male	Black	NA	Patient in the ED for medical reason was noted by hospital staff to display “unusual behavior” and have a firearm, prompting them to involve a police officer. Both hospital and city police were called, with at least 5 officers arriving on the scene. The patient fired his gun and was then shot and killed by the officers.25
Patients subject to excessive use of force
2009	Bridgewater State Hospital	Bridgewater, Massachusetts	NA	Male	White	Y	Patient with paranoid schizophrenia died of a heart attack when strapped to his bed by security guards not trained on appropriate restraining techniques.26
2010	Cincinnati’s University Hospital	Cincinnati, Ohio	45	Male	Black	Y	Patient with bipolar disorder hospitalized for a psychotic episode was dragged into a seclusion room by at least 7 hospital officers who tased him multiple times and placed him in restraints. He subsequently experienced a cardiac arrest and died.27
2011	Yale-New Haven Hospital	New Haven, Connecticut	53	Male	Black	NA	Patient in ED with his daughter for medical evaluation was preparing to leave when he was approached by officers who pushed him; threw him to the ground, resulting in concussion and rotator cuff injury; and restrained him. His daughter, who attempted to protect him, was also physically restrained by staff.28
2014	Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center	Chicago, Illinois	24	Male	Black	Y	Hospital police were seen on surveillance footage punching and shoving a patient undergoing mental health evaluation, who was restrained and handcuffed.29
2015	MedStar Washington Hospital Center	Washington, DC	74	Male	NA	NA	Patient left the hospital without being discharged, was escorted back to the hospital by 2 guards with whom there was an altercation. The man subsequently died of “blunt force injuries.”30
2016	VA hospital	El Paso, Texas	70	Male	Hispanic	NA	Patient had an altercation with 2 hospital security guards and was placed in a chokehold and beaten, experiencing shoulder injury, ear and hand pain, and difficulty swallowing following the incident.31
2017	Napa State Hospital	Napa, California	64	Male	Hispanic	Y	Patient with bipolar disorder was upset and shouting obscenities. A staff member pushed her personal alarm, prompting 4 officers to arrive, with 1 slamming the patient’s face into a concrete wall resulting in a fractured eye socket, concussion, broken teeth, and facial cuts.32
2017	Largo Medical Center Indian Rocks Road Campus	Largo, Florida	27	Male	Black	NA	Patient was noted to be combative with hospital staff, prompting hospital staff to call police. When approximately 7 to 9 police officers arrived on the scene, patient subsequently fought with officers and they tased him multiple times and restrained him. He subsequently went into cardiac arrest and died.33
2017	Grant Medical Center	Columbus, Ohio	38	Male	Black	Y	Man visiting a family member that worked at the hospital was hit with a baton, pepper sprayed, and forced to the ground by 2 hospital officers and a security guard. He allegedly swung at security personnel when he was leaving the hospital.34
2018	Kansas City VA Medical Center	Kansas City, Kansas	66	Male	NA	NA	Patient was stopped by VA police because he was going the wrong way in the parking lot. In altercation that ensued, the patient was tackled, experienced a traumatic brain injury, and died 2 days later.35
2018	Hospital	Mesa, Arizona	23	Male	Hispanic	NA	Patient was transported to a hospital due to injuries he sustained from police violence outside the hospital. In the ED, patient tried to flee his room but was pushed back by officers who threw him onto a wall, gouged him in the eye, and struck his head with a large flashlight.36
2018	Advocate Christ Medical Center	Dolton, Ilinois	51	Male	NA	NA	Altercation with hospital security led patient to be shot with a stun gun, restrained facedown with handcuffs by hospital security guards, and injected with sedatives by medical staff. He subsequently died.37
2018	Detroit Receiving Hospital	Detroit, Michigan	NA	Male	Black	Y	Patient with mental illness in hospital for a mental health crisis was apprehended by hospital police when she was wandering naked in the hospital. She became agitated and spat and bit security guards and hospital staff. A police officer swung at her and kept swinging at her and hitting her even after she turned her back to him.38
2019	Doctors Hospital	Augusta, Georgia	NA	Female	NA	NA	Patient in ED became agitated after waiting for a long time, raising her voice and cursing to get nurses’ attention. A nurse and security officer responded and moved her farther away from the door where she was stationed in a wheelchair. When she attempted to stand up, security placed her in a chokehold and dragged her over the back of the chair. Patient sustained bruises and scrapes on her back.39
2019	St Joseph’s Hospital	Elmira, New York	49	Male	White	Y	Patient in mental health crisis was noted to have attacked an officer (although this was disputed by the family, who report he was simply wandering in the hallway). The officer subsequently struck the patient’s face against the hospital floor, pressed his foot onto patient’s neck or head area, grabbed him by his hair, and slammed his head and face into the floor additional times. The patient died.40
2019	Cherokee Medical Center	Gaffney, South Carolina	42	Male	White	NA	Patient who was under arrest and admitted for shortness of breath because combative while in the hospital struck the officer at his bedside. Hospital security deployed a stun gun, and then the man became unresponsive and died.41
2021	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital	Charlotte, North Carolina	16	Male	White	Y	Mother of patient in mental health crisis asked for security officers’ help to get him inside the hospital, which led to escalation in force. Officers grabbed him by the throat, threw him to the ground, repeatedly used a stun gun, hit him in the chest, and slammed his face to the ground.42
Patient arrests
2015	Hospital	Blountstown, Florida	57	Female	Black	NA	Patient refused to leave after being discharged, reporting continued symptoms and difficulty breathing. Staff at hospital called police who came to arrest her and escort her outside. She collapsed in the parking lot and was later noted to have a blood clot in her lungs on autopsy.43
2015	VA Hospital	Phoenix, Arizona	34	Male	White	NA	Patient was at the hospital and was deemed a trespasser. When police came to arrest him, he allegedly kicked officers and bit one’s thumb. He was arrested and charged.44
2016	Meadowland Hospital Medical Center,	Secaucus, New Jersey	29	Male	NA	NA	Patient became combative with hospital staff, prompting staff to call the police. When police arrived, the situation escalated and patient became more combative, kicking a nurse, spitting at a security guard, and throwing a headbutt at the police officer. He was arrested.45
2016	Baptist Health Medical Center	Little Rock, Arkansas	20	Male	Black	NA	Patient receiving treatment at a hospital shoved a hospital security guard in an altercation and was arrested.46
2019	Freeport Health Network Memorial Hospital	Freeport, Illinois	NA	Male	Black	NA	Patient being treated for pneumonia and asthma at the hospital was accused of stealing medical equipment when a hospital guard found him on a walk with his intravenous pole. Hospital guard called police officers to arrest the man.47
2019	Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	33	Male	NA	Y	Patient with mental illness was arrested after he slapped an emergency department employee.48
2021	Ben Taub Hospital	Houston, Texas	35	Male	Black	NA	Patient was arrested after he grabbed at the gun of a police officer who was escorting the patient to the bathroom, and the gun went off.49
Sexual assault
2015	Sequoia Hospital	Redwood City, California	23	Female	NA	NA	Hospital security supervisor, who was also a police officer, lured at least 2 women into the hospital where he posed as a physician and conducted inappropriate medical examination in a utility closet. He had posted an advertisement for a modeling job and told them they needed the examination as a condition of employment.50
2018	St Bernard Hospital	Chicago, Illinois	NA	Male	NA	NA	Patient arrested for a misdemeanor and in the hospital undergoing a psychiatric evaluation was sexually assaulted by a police officer while cuffed to his bed. The officer grabbed the man’s penis and performed oral sex on the patient.51
Hospital personnel being shot, injured or arrested
2017	The University Hospital	Salt Lake City, Utah	NA	Female	White	NA	Police handcuffed and arrested nurse for refusing a police request to draw blood from a patient according to hospital policy.52
2017	VA Hospital	Fayetteville, Arkansas	NA	Female	NA	NA	Police arrested and charged nurse with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest because she wanted to report misconduct from a VA police officer.44
2018	Cleveland Clinic	Cleveland, Ohio	NA	NA	Black	NA	Two employees for a vendor that supplies food to patients at the clinic were stopped and confronted, and 1 was pinned against the vehicle by hospital police.34
2020	Brigham and Women’s Hospital	Boston, Massachusetts	NA	NA	NA	NA	Municipal police shot a hospital valet when responding to a mentally ill man brandishing a fake gun.53
2020	Indiana University Health Hospital	Indianapolis, Indiana	NA	NA	Black	NA	Two janitors were accused by hospital police of making a drug deal on the job and lost their janitorial jobs. It was later determined that they were exchanging the key to a building that needed to be cleaned according to the lawsuit.54

Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; NA, not applicable; VA, Veterans Affairs; Y, yes.