Court Rejects Forced Medicating Of LAX Airport Screener

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court says a judge should not have allowed the government to forcibly medicate a former security screener at Los Angeles International Airport accused of making threatening calls in 2013 demanding terminals be evacuated.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the course of treatment the judge approved for Nna Alpha Onuoha was not medically appropriate. The court said it included higher dosages of an anti-psychotic drug than are generally recommended and the improper administration of a long-acting version of the drug.

It sent the case back to a lower court to consider additional medical recommendations.

Onuoha, a former Transportation Security Administration officer, suffers from schizophrenia and was deemed incompetent to stand trial. Prison officials sought to medicate him to restore his competency.