A Black woman says she was discriminated against by staff at Saint Luke’s Health System when they had her forcibly removed by police after she sought care at the hospital’s Leawood location in 2021.

Muriel Martin, 76, of Kansas City, filed a federal lawsuit on May 19 in the U.S. Court for the District of Kansas saying she was discriminated on the basis of her race.

In May 2021, Martin went to the emergency room at Saint Luke’s community hospital in Leawood, 13200 State Line Road. She was having “excruciating pain” in her abdomen causing cramping, nausea and vomiting, the lawsuit said.

Martin has an implanted port which delivers medication. Nurses did not have the right needles to access the port so a doctor tried to insert an IV through her jugular vein, the lawsuit said, causing extreme pain.

She “pleaded for an alternative method,” to which the physician allegedly said, “It’s obvious you don’t want to be here, why don’t you leave?”

Martin said she wanted to be treated.

Shortly after, Leawood Police Departments entered her room and told her to leave, the lawsuit said.

She told them she was too unwell.

According to the lawsuit, Officer Jacob Woods grabbed her by the shoulders and arms, lifted her out of the gurney and shoved her into a wheelchair.

Martin asked if she could wait in her car to be seen by a different doctor or be picked up by a relative.

The officer allegedly put his hand on his Taser and told her to “leave or suffer the consequences.”

She left.

The lawsuit names as defendants Saint Luke’s Health System, the City of Leawood, Woods and Police Chief Dale Finger.

It lists seven counts including racial discrimination, deprivation of civil rights and excessive force. It also says that Martin was a victim of implicit bias against African-Americans and unequal treatment “attributed to enduring racist cultural beliefs and practices.”

When asked about the officers’ response, if the department reviewed the encounter and about the lawsuit, Capt. Brad Robbins, a spokesman for Leawood police, said the city and the police department had no comment regarding the litigation.

Saint Luke’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last year, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that 20% of Black people said they were treated unfairly because of their race while getting health care compared to 5% of white people surveyed.