WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — A current member of the legendary Motown group the Four Tops is preparing to file a lawsuit against Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, alleging he was mistreated and racially discriminated.
"I would never imagine that I would have ever been a Four Top, but I'm grateful,” said Alexander Morris, who has been with the group for roughly five years.
The native Detroiter was named the new lead singer of the Four Tops in late 2018 — a fact he says led to an intense ordeal inside Ascension Hospital in Warren earlier this month.
"It doesn't matter if I'm successful or not. Because I'm black, then automatically, I'm discarded, automatically I'm worthless,” Morris said.
On April 7, Morris, who had heart surgery two years ago, suffered a medical emergency and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. He says after an electrocardiogram, his medical treatment stopped when he told the doctor he was the lead singer of the Four Tops.
“At that moment, the temperature of the room changed and I found myself in the hallway for over an hour and 40 minutes having to ask for oxygen because I couldn't breath,” Morris said. “I'm trying to figure out what I have done because I haven’t done anything.”
Morris says a security guard had him put in a straight jacket and told Morris that he would receive a psych evaluation. Morris says his wife was still in the waiting room, unaware of what was going on.
“At that point I said, 'No, I tell you what: remove the IV from my hand. I'll have my wife take me somewhere else to get help,''" Morris said. "At that point he told me 'No, what you’re going to do is lay your Black a** on that gurney or you’re going to be restrained.'”
Morris contends there was never an argument or confrontation that led to the harsh treatment and need for a psych evaluation. He says it wasn’t until he finally convinced a nurse to look at pictures of him performing in Los Angeles ahead of the Grammy's that they then canceled the psych evaluation and his medical treatment resumed.
“He could have potentially passed as a result of their waiting three hours from the moment he arrived to providing him with any type of treatment,” said attorney Maurice Davis, who is representing Morris.
Davis says they’re filing a lawsuit alleging general negligence, medical malpractice and false imprisonment. Morris spent five days in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs. He says the hospital gave him a $25 Meijer gift card for the mix-up.
“To know that as a Black man, my life equated to $25 to Meijers, there’s no way for me to get that out of my mind,” Morris said.
In response to the forthcoming lawsuit, Ascension Michigan issued a statement:
"The health, safety and well-being of our patients, associates and community members remains our top priority. We remain committed to honoring human dignity and acting with integrity and compassion for all persons and the community. We do not condone racial discrimination of any kind. We are unable to provide details on cases under investigation."
