Hey All,

First post here- Went to a concert in Brooklyn last week and was identified by one of the event staff that I looked a bit wobbly. They told me to go to the back of the venue and drink some water/sober up a bit. No problem.

Flash forward an hour or so, event staff ask for my ID. I nicely declined, arguing that there was no reason for me to provide it, as I was fairly sober by this point. I tell them I’m just going to uber home and sleep it off. On staff police officers (pretty large venue) see us arguing and threaten to cuff me unless I provide an ID. I refuse and tell them I just want to go home.

At this point I am recording the interaction on my phone because of how absurd it is. The officer proceeds to tell me that I can either provide my ID and go home, or be physically restrained and go to the hospital for supposed “intoxication.”

In hindsight I should have given him my ID probably, but I don’t know…

Flash forward, I am forced onto a gurney and taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Fair amount of the interaction is recorded on my phone until they took it from me.

Once at the hospital, I am dead sober. I refuse all medical care, stating that I am not intoxicated and there is no reason for me to be there. However, they refuse to let me leave until a doctor discharges me. They make me sit on a gurney for the next 5 hours to be seen (my phone and wallet still locked up by police.)

Finally, a doctor sees me and says I can leave. Today, I am hit with a $5.5k hospital bill. The receipt shows zero tests and the extent of details simply says “smell of alcohol on breath.”

Is there anything I can do to fight this?

TLDR; drunk at concert, asked for ID, refuse, police officer powertrips (recorded on my phone), sends me to the hospital against will, charged 5k.

Edit 1: Thanks for all the replies. To answer some questions people have discussed:

• Why not just give them my ID? Probably should have. At the time I felt like there was no crime committed and the officer couldn’t articulate what I did wrong, so why would I hand over my ID.. Also didn’t want the venue staff to 86 me.

• I kept asking the staff and officers if I was being accused of a crime. They said no. So I said I’m going to leave and go home, to which they also said no. To be frank, when I took out my camera to record the officer, that’s when he quickly escalated the situation and threatened to cuff me.

This is why I’m asking if there’s legal discourse, since it seems like the officer sent me to the hospital purely out of spite and now I have a huge bill.

Some folks have mentioned in NYC medical debt doesn’t affect your credit? Is there a route of simply ignoring the bill and being ok?

Thanks again everyone. Really appreciate the replies. :)