Black Detroit hospital worker sues after he was asked to play gunman at work, only to be arrested

A black worker at a Detroit child psychiatric hospital is suing after being asked to play a gunman for an active target practice that ended with his arrest after his bosses failed to share their plans.

Brandon Woodruff, 32, had been working at the site for five months when his supervisor asked him to join the exercise four days before Christmas 2022.

But neither the police nor the patients or their families were informed of the plan, and many employees were also unaware of what was about to happen.

When Woodruff — a father of a child — showed up with a fake gun, patients panicked and called 911, prompting 50 officers in tactical gear to rush to the scene and arrest Woodruff.

“While the terror, panic and humiliation of those trapped in Hawthorn were real, there were no intruders, no AR-15s and no ‘shots fired,'” the suit states.

Instead, the state of Michigan created the terror and panic at Hawthorn Center as an ill-conceived “security exercise.”

“Even the dozens of law enforcement officers who responded to the frenetic 911 calls from those trapped in the building thought there were intruders with military-style weapons; they too prepared to risk their lives to save the children and adults who tried to protect them.’

Woodruff’s lawsuit was filed a month after families and staff filed their own class action lawsuits seeking damages.

A physical description of Woodruff, a black man soon to be a father, was circulated when the alarm went off and an unarmed Woodruff was told to walk the corridors of the hospital noting how people reacted.

Woodruff said he was uncomfortable with the idea, but complied.

But when he entered the building, he was deeply distressed by the fear he saw.

Woodruff was unaware that the people in the building had not been warned about the drill, the lawsuit said.

He told The Detroit Free Press he was a woman who sprinted “as if she were running for her precious life.”

Woodruff added, “It was one particular room that caught me off guard, one of the living areas.

“That’s how it was barricaded” with mattresses and chairs, Woodruff said.

“I had this uneasy feeling, like maybe these kids think this is real. I like to leave them alone in this area. They’re probably a little scared and don’t know what’s going on. So I left that area and just moved on.”

Those who were in the 911 building, sending what they feared were last texts to loved ones.

A woman whispered during her 911 call, asking a dispatcher, “Is the police here?”

When the operator said officers were checking things out, the caller said, “Please, please, please help me.”

The dispatcher told her to keep calm and that he was with her.

“I’m so scared,” she whispered.

After receiving 911 calls about an active shooter, officers were dispatched: 22 heavily armed police officers rushed downtown from Northville and Livonia townships.

Michigan State Police also rushed there.

When they arrived, officers quickly grabbed their tactical weapons and heavy equipment.

In front of the building, two people – one of them was Woodruff – told police it was just a drill.

But they were then told to lie on the ground until police confirmed their story.

Woodruff, face down, used his smartwatch to call his wife, who recorded what she heard.

According to the lawsuit, Woodruff feared for his life and wanted to make sure his wife heard about the last moments of his life.

Woodruff’s lawyers say he “heard the safeties coming from the police officers’ guns.”

They said, “Mr. Woodruff feared for his life.”

He had not been told that the police did not know it was an exercise.

Woodruff did his best to obey the fearful, sometimes contradictory orders of the police officers, lying down on the floor, then slowly moving towards them with his hands raised, and finally lifting his shirt and turning a few times to show that he was not armed,” the lawsuit says.

Footage shows Woodruff handcuffed.

He was kept under police control for at least 30 minutes while police resolved the situation.

The exercise took place at 10:30 am.

At 5:11pm, Victoria Petti, the hospital director, emailed staff to explain what had happened and apologize for “the stress,” saying she accepted that it “affected you all in different ways.”

Woodruff’s lawyers argue that the exercise was only announced to supervisors in advance, with strict instructions not to inform subordinate employees or children.

On a typical weekday morning, there are about 50 children and 200 staff at the center, they said.

“An active intrusion alert was announced on the above-ground system this morning,” Petti wrote.

Although this was an exercise, it was not advertised as such.

“Understandably, many in the building became frightened and some called 911. A tactical team responded to these calls and arrived armed and fully equipped.

“I want to convey how deeply I am sorry this happened and for the stress it has caused.

“I have spoken to many of you today and hope to reach others in the coming days.

“I know this has affected you all in different ways.”

That’s what two former employees of the Hawthorn Center said Click Detroit they were left with lasting trauma from the attack.

One said, “After the exercise was over, many of the children actually needed to be sedated, so they had to call emergency services for outside hospitals.”

Another explained, “I couldn’t stop crying, tears were rolling down my eyes, I couldn’t stop shaking, I was shaking uncontrollably,” said one of the staff.

“It has created anxiety, trouble sleeping. Every time this is mentioned, it’s like reliving the event.

“So every little noise that you hear, that I heard especially, I felt like, okay, are they in the hallway, you know, I really have nowhere to hide that will protect me. So I just felt like, you know, this is probably going to be, you know, my last day here.”

David Horeine, whose son was a patient at Hawthorn during the exercise, said the terrified parents put themselves between the door and their children, hoping to save them.

He told Click Detroit: ‘But the children were told that if the adults went down, the children would have to fight for their lives.’

Horeine said they were not told what had happened by the hospital, not even afterwards.

We’ll find out through Facebook. We were never informed by the hospital of what happened that day.’

Horeine, who has joined the class, called for people to be fired over the exercise.

‘I don’t mince words. So I will say I think people who orchestrated this event should be terminated. I think it was gross negligence.’

The families and staff filed two class action lawsuits.

One lawsuit is against the state, as the Department of Health and Human Services manages the Hawthorn Center, while the other lawsuit targets specific members of the hospital staff who initiated the unannounced active target practice.

The lawsuits are seeking a comprehensive investigation by the Attorney General, full accountability for what the plaintiffs consider to be a grossly irresponsible decision, and damages.

Woodruff said he struggles to get a job but needs to support his family.

His attorney said he sometimes missed work due to the stress of the exercise, and due to the taking of time and a state miscalculation on credit for military service, Woodruff was told he was ineligible, by less than a day work, for parenting. leave when his baby was born in February.

His lawyers also said he was denied a request for mental health care in March.

The initial guidance offered by the hospital was “half-hearted” and no one in the administration apologized.

“There was no transparency about the aftermath of this,” he said.

“I feel like they don’t care what happened and they’re trying to downplay it and sweep it under the rug because they know we’re about to leave this building.”

The state health department said they were reviewing procedures.

The authority said in a statement it understands that “patients, staff and the community were affected by the December incident.”

The Joint Commission requires the state’s psychiatric hospitals to conduct a risk-vulnerability assessment at least every two years to identify potential emergency situations, including active firing.

“MDHHS is working with township law enforcement and Michigan State Police on an enhanced training and drill process for active intruders as part of updating emergency operations policies.”