Louisiana Mother Says Doctor Denied To Help Her Son Over ‘Gangsta Apparel’
A Louisiana mother says a Christmas sweater is the reason a doctor refused to perform surgery on her son, who has been shot according to KATC 3. Shelly Jack says her teenage son was denied treatment at a doctor’s office. The mother told the news station she believes her child was profiled because of his race and clothing.
“You could see my son was upset. I was more hurt for him because he’s not a gang member. He’s 17. That doesn’t give him the right to profile him because of something he was wearing,” Shelly Jack told KATC 3.
“It’s a red sweatshirt. It has Santa Claus on it. It says gangster and wrapper, but with a w at the bottom,” she says. “You know Santa Claus is like a gangster gift wrapper. It’s a joke. Just a funny shirt.”
Jack says a doctor at Mercy Regional Medical Center located in Ville Platte, Louisiana didn’t get the joke.
“And he looked at him and said “You have the nerve to come in to my office with this gangsta apparel after you got shot in the leg and all the kids got shot due to gangster activity,” Jack told the news station the doctor said. Jack says her 17-year-old son isn’t a member of a gang, and wasn’t part of a shooting. The mother says her son was trying to pull a friend out of a fight that started at an apartment complex. Then when shots were fired, a bullet ended up in the teen’s leg. He was originally treated for his injury, however, was told he’d have to make an appointment with a surgeon to get the bullet removed, she says.
After the appointment was made, Jack says they were denied service at the appointment.
“I said I don’t see the problem but he can take it off, and he said “no you don’t come into my office with this gangsta gear. That’s disrespectful to me and everyone else in here.” And he ranted on how he wasn’t going to participate in helping a gang member..; That’s what I got from it,” Jack said.
Days later after his original appointment was set up the procedure was done by another doctor. The mother says they were able to make another appointment with another surgeon from the same hospital, she said. Mercy Regional sent a statement to KATC 3, “Our hospital takes all complaints very seriously. We complete a full investigation on each complaint filed. All complaints are confidential and we maintain the privacy of each patient.”
“It hurt my feelings because i know my son, he doesn’t, he’s not perfect, but he trying. He’s in high school about to graduate. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. That doesn’t give him the right to profile him because of something he was wearing.”