South Florida Doctor Accused Of Attacking Hispanic Man, Hurling Racial Slur At Him
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office is reviewing a case against a local doctor to determine if the case should be elevated to hate crime enhancement.
The case involves 58-year-old Dr. Jennifer Wright, an anesthesiologist who worked at Mount Sinai Medical Center on Miami Beach.
According to Hialeah PD, on Jan. 20, the day of Joe Biden's inauguration, Dr. Wright was shopping at the Publix on E 2 Ave. and 54 St.
When she went to check out, she placed her items on the conveyor belt. But, according to the victim, Wright was standing too close.
The victim told police he asked in Spanish to please keep her distance, repeating himself in English. Police said Wright mumbled "bad words" under her breath.
It appears the encounter escalated once Wright paid for her groceries and found the victim in the parking lot. The victim claims Dr. Wright called him a racial slur for a Hispanic person. The arrest form detailed further foul language directed at the victim.
The picture painted by the victim's account doesn't add up to Wright's neighbors.
Joel Lazara, who's lived next to Wright for years said, "Yeah, she's a good neighbor. I mean she helped out with us, she's being friendly. She's being neighborly."
According to Wright's social media posts, it appears she aligns herself with the political right. Images showed support for former President Donald Trump. One picture showed her wearing a MAGA hat. She displayed memes depicting, "IT'S OKAY TO BE WHITE" and "WORLD KNOWS TRUMP WON #MAGA."
A further alleged tirade while in the Publix parking lot might lend itself to evidence of Wright's political leanings.
According to the report, the victim said Wright screamed at him, "We should have gotten rid of you when we could. We should have burned you all. This is not going to be your Biden's America. This is my America. This is my country. We are going to get rid of every single one of you."
Wright has been charged with criminal mischief, tampering with a victim and battery with prejudice.
CBS4's Keith Jones reached out to Wright and her attorneys, but did not hear back.
In a statement to CBS4 News partner the Miami Herald, Coral Gables attorney Carlos F. Gonzalez said, "We look forward to discrediting this ugly attack against our client that is filled with lies and twisted information to fit someone else's political agenda."
"Everybody has their views, and we respect that. She respects everybody's views. It's just one of those unfortunate accounts," said Lazara. "Everybody has their story. We haven't heard her story as to what really happened. So we have to be fair. I mean, we're already judging her for actions, but something might have happened that provoked her."
It appears Dr. Wright has lost her privileges at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
The hospital released a statement, which read:
"Mount Sinai's top priority is the safety of our patients, visitors and employees. To the extent that we are aware of an incident involving any employee or contractor, the appropriate agencies and authorities have our full cooperation. At this time, Dr. Jennifer Wright is no longer responsible for patient care, pending the completion of a full investigation."
