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Diabetic man sues for subway maltreatment

NEW YORK, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A diabetic New York City man sued the city, alleging police treatment on a subway presented a danger to his health, court records showed.

Juan Castillo, 25, alleged in his suit he spent 30 hours in lock-up without diabetic medication because officer John Rocha arrested him for resting his foot on his seat after Castillo injected himself in the thigh with insulin, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

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On Sept. 17, Castillo he took a subway train from his Manhattan residence to his job as a career counselor in Queens, the Post reported.

As is customary for him, Castillo pricked himself in the right thigh through his business suit, but Rocha focused on Castillo's foot, which was on the seat -- and charged him with disorderly conduct, the Metropolitan Transit authority said.

"Mr. Castillo momentarily lifted his right knee up and wedged his right heel on his seat, underneath his right buttock, so that he could more easily rub his thigh at the injection site (to prevent clotting)," the suit read.

Rocha ordered Castillo off the train and Castillo was placed in a booking facility pen where he was kept without insulin for more than 30 hours, despite pleas for his medication, the lawsuit said.

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"He began to throw up and ... started drifting in and out of consciousness," the suit says.

Castillo was brought then before a judge who dismissed the charge, the Post said.

By then, however, Castillo was so weak, he was taken to the hospital where he stayed for two days.

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