Black man in hospital gown with IV arrested outside Illinois hospital for disorderly conduct

A black man who said he was treated for pneumonia and asthma at an Illinois hospital was arrested with two others going for a walk outside wearing a hospital gown and wheeling his IV equipment.

Shaquille Dukes wrote in a Facebook post that he was admitted to a Freeport hospital for double pneumonia while on vacation in the beginning of June. He said he was told by doctors to walk around for a little while, so he went outside.

But Dukes was stopped by a hospital security

The guard called the Freeport Police Department, and several officers arrived, video of the incident shows. 1

9659002] Dukes said police told him he was being arrested for attempted theft "of the IV equipment that was clearly attached to my arm." He said that when he informed the arresting officer that he was being treated at the nearby hospital, the officer said, "I don't care why you're here to jail." his IV was removed, "and it was NOT a doctor," and his rescue inhaler was taken away from him.

He said while he was being driven to jail, he started to have a seizure and asthma attack, but officers did not return the inhaler for nearly four minutes. "When I became unresponsive, it miraculously appeared," Dukes wrote.

The Freeport Police Department said in a statement that Dukes' IV was removed by a staff member of the hospital, Freeport Health Network (FHN), at the patient's request

Statement said police were called to the scene on June 9 because an FHN employee called them to report Dukes and two others. All three were arrested for disorderly conduct, and two face charges of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

Police said the incident is under investigation and asked, "the public to reserve judgment while a complete review of the incident is performed."

Dukes said his brother was one of the other people arrested. "This is one of the most racist cities in America," Dukes wrote. "This ends today."