This unfortunate news item comes from Dave Reynolds at Inclusion Daily Express.
Florida Police Mistakenly Jail British Tourist For Public Drunkenness
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
June 3, 2005
Posted by rollingrains at June 7, 2005 05:37 PM
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND--Brian Hood's holiday adventure to the SeaWorld Orlando theme park turned into a nightmare last week as police mistook his disability for drunkenness, the Mirror reported.Hood, 35, has Huntington's Disease, a genetic condition that causes coordination and speech problems.
Police followed Hood around the attraction for a period of time before they arrested him and put him in jail.
His mother, Edna, told the Mirror on Wednesday that her son was held for four days, during which time police did not allow him to have his medication nor to contact the British Consulate.
"He kept telling them 'I'm disabled' but they wouldn't listen," she said.
She explained that Hood's family was not aware of his arrest until after he failed to show up on the scheduled flight home.
"When I finally spoke to Brian he was in tears," she said.
Hood was finally released over the weekend. He has since returned to Liverpool.