Black hospital worker almost shot by cops in mass shooting drill: lawsuit

A hospital worker is suing his employer after he was almost shot by police during a mass-shooting drill that patients, staff and authorities were made to think was real, The Independent reported.

The Hawthorn Center psychiatric hospital in Northville Township, Michigan, asked 32-year-old Brandon Woodruff to pose as a gunman as part of the drill. Woodruff and a co-worker agreed, not knowing that the hospital purposely did not inform the staff, patients or the local police about the drill, the report states.

As the drill was underway, several frightened people called 911, causing heavily armed police officers to arrive on the scene. Woodruff was handcuffed and told to lie on the ground as officers trained their guns on him.

Woodruff and several other employees, along with two sets of parents of child patients, have filed multiple civil lawsuits against the Michigan state health department and against four hospital officials.

Woodruff, who is Black, said he's been traumatized and suffers from “anxiety, fear, depression and even suicidal ideation” and struggles to go to work each day.

The Michigan Attorney General’s Office is investigating the incident, the Independent reported.