While it’s fine and dandy to aspire to become a doctor when you’re young, impersonating one is quite something else. That said, a 13-year-old British boy got a little too carried away with his mischief after he was arrested for pretending to be part of the medical staff at a hospital in Plymouth, England. After officers took the child into custody, he was later “de-arrested and given intervention/education work from the Child Centred Policing Team,” per BBC, with “no further police action” to follow the incident.
It goes without saying that some commenters on this news report would see the connection between this British boy’s minor crime and the early 90s sitcom Doogie Howser, M.D. For those outside of the know, Doogie, played by Neil Patrick Harris, was a fictional child prodigy who became a doctor at the age of 14. “Doogie Howser meets Frank Abignale Jr.,” jokes a Redditor, referring to the author behind the book Catch Me If You Can, who was one of the best impersonators in criminal history.
On the other hand, a few followers of this news report were baffled at how such an incident with a youth impersonating a doctor could even happen. “What on earth’s the world come to when a 13-year-old thinks he can just waltz in pretending to be a doctor? It’s daft as a brush—should’ve stuck to playing video games instead of playing hospital,” an X user remarks in disbelief. “We are in the stupidest timeline,” another expresses in disdain.
While the 13-year-old British boy wasn’t successful in his impersonation, seeing how he was promptly arrested, this occurrence wasn’t the first time a teenager attempted to pretend to be a doctor. Malachi Love-Robinson, who was 18 years old at the time, was taken into custody after masquerading as a doctor in West Palm Beach, Florida. He was sentenced to 3.5 years for “practicing medicine without a license, grand theft, and various fraud charges,” according to WPBF 25 News.
On another comical note, several followers of the recent British boy’s arrest were focused on the bizarre comment that the impersonator was “de-arrested.” “De-arrested? I’m innocent! De-arrest me right now!” quipped a commenter. “I don’t think there’s such a word as de-arrested. At least not until now I guess,” ponders a second. Whatever the case, it’s clear the report from the Devon and Cornwall Police meant he was ‘released without charges.’
