Boston settles for $1.3 million with man caught having a stroke and denied care | News

The City of Boston settled a $1.3 million settlement for a man who had suffered a stroke, but was instead arrested without the police, EMT or hospital staff assisting him. It was one of the largest settlements of its kind, according to the Boston public radio station WBUR.

Al Copeland62 years old, was driving in Boston one night in April 2019, when he started feeling nauseous and pulled over in front of Berklee College of Music. The police found him slipping on the wheel and arrested him, even writing in the report that they smelled of alcohol. Copeland says he hasn’t drunk alcohol since 1995.

Copeland was taken to the police station and was barely able to stand. Police let him use the bathroom in his cell, but in a stroke, he fell to the floor, hitting his head on the wall as he fell. Police records show officers left him alone in his cell to “sleep off”.

It was only after Copeland began vomiting — five hours after the police first arrested ⁠ — that an ambulance was called.

Copeland was taken from that cell to Tufts Medical Center. Police records show that paramedics also assumed he was drunk. They let him languish in the emergency room for another seven hours.

His wife Valerie finally found her husband. Only later did the doctors confirm that he had no drugs or alcohol in his system, instead that he had suffered a stroke. She believes her husband was abandoned because he is black.

Copeland spent several weeks in the hospital before being transferred to rehab. He had to leave his job. Today he has difficulty walking even eating.

Tufts apologized for its part in what happened to Copeland, but told WBUR they could not comment on his care or any legal dealings with his case. Since this incident, they have added social workers to assist patients who are unable to communicate and established a center for diversity, equality and inclusion to reduce disparities in care.

The Boston Police Department investigated when an attorney for the family contacted the city. Investigators have blamed two officers and a sergeant for neglect of duty – not for claiming to have spotted Copeland drunk driving and put him in a cell unattended. They were accused of not reacting quickly enough after Copeland fell and hit his head.

The ministry has yet to discipline the officials, even though the internal investigation ended more than a year ago, according to WBUR.