Cops Mistake Disabled Man’s Symptoms for Mental Illness and Arrest Him

In May of 2014, 37-year-old Virginia resident Gordon Goines, was having trouble with his television reception. After calling the cable company, a technician determined that his cable was probably being stolen by a neighbor, and suggested that he talk to the police. Goines then walked over to the Waynesboro Police Department, and informed the police of the possible theft.

He was followed home by two officers, who noticed that his speech was slurred and that his gait was unsteady, and figured that he must be mentally ill. He was cuffed and taken to a medical center, where an employee also determined that he was mentally ill. He was then locked up in a mental facility for five days against his will, and was not allowed to contact his family or friends. The only problem, is that Gordon Goines isn’t mentally ill. He suffers from cerebellar ataxia, a neurological disease similar to Lou Gehrigs which caused the aforementioned symptoms.

Furthermore, neither the police nor the medical employee who diagnosed him, were medically trained to determine if someone is mentally ill. The Rutherford Institute has since filed a lawsuit on the behalf of Goines, and the police have responded by claiming that they had ‘probable cause’ to detain him. John W. Whitehead, president of the organization, has good reason to fight for Gordon’s case. “By giving government officials the power to declare individuals mentally ill and detain them against their will without first ensuring that they are actually trained to identify such illness, the government has opened the door to a system in which involuntary detentions can be used to make people disappear.”