Police officers sued for allegedly 'abandoning' man during mental health crisis
ABC News
A man in a mental health crisis last year was "abandoned" by police in a parking lot late at night, only to be hit by a car shortly after, a lawsuit alleges.
An Illinois man discharged from a hospital during a mental health crisis last year was "abandoned" by police in a parking lot late at night, only to be hit by a car shortly after, suffering traumatic brain injuries, a recent lawsuit alleges.
A complaint filed last month in Will County Circuit Court alleges that two officers with the New Lenox, Illinois, police department committed willful and wanton conduct after dropping 24-year-old Qusai Alkafaween off in a dark, empty parking lot shortly before midnight on Dec. 5, 2020.
The complaint also alleges that Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox negligently discharged Alkafaween during his mental health crisis when "he was a danger to himself and others and unable to protect himself."
Officers from the Orland Park Police Department brought Alkafaween, of Worth, Illinois, to the hospital that day after a gas station attendant reported he was "acting erratically," Jack Casciato, a partner at Clifford Law Offices in Chicago and one of the attorneys representing Alkafaween, said during a press briefing Wednesday.
