Life Matters

Police understanding of mental illness

By Linda Petersen
Posted 8/24/16

Policemen and firemen have tough jobs and I respect them very much. They have to make many choices every day and it must be very challenging to deal with unruly people. I have a concern when they have to interact with individuals who are mentally ill,

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Life Matters

Police understanding of mental illness

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Policemen and firemen have tough jobs and I respect them very much. They have to make many choices every day and it must be very challenging to deal with unruly people. I have a concern when they have to interact with individuals who are mentally ill, whose condition is most often misunderstood and not easily recognizable. An adult with bi-polar, schizophrenia or PTSD could no easier calm down when requested by the police than a blind person could see if the police ordered them to. It is impossible for a person whose psychiatric impairment is out of control to suddenly politely comply with requests by police; their brains don’t function that way.

This request to “calm down” has been made to my children on several occasions, sometimes with disastrous results. Marie has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and often has horrific flashbacks, one which happened several months ago. Wild-eyed, dissociative and super strong, she cordoned herself in a corner under a table, trying to hide from imaginary perpetrators, ripping the baseboard off for protection. Because the only thing that can calm her down at this point is a trip to the emergency room for a shot of Haldol, an ambulance was called.

The first to arrive, an intimidating large policemen approached her and told her to stop. Predictably, she didn’t, but proceeded to wildly swing the board at him as he came closer, reminiscent of those times when she was younger and men would grab her and inflict pain. The board hit him on the leg, he pulled out a gun and told her to stop, which only frightened and enraged her more. Aggravated that she was not listening to him, he and his partner pounced on her, roughly grabbed her arms and put them behind her back, putting her in handcuffs, making it impossible for her to “speak” in sign language.

She was so agitated that the handcuffs caused scraping and bruising on her tender wrists as these clueless policemen arrested her on the spot for “assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon.” Still in an out of control state, 6 EMTs and firemen had arrived and maneuvered her onto a stretcher for the ride to the hospital. After her calming shot, her eyes closed for a few minutes, then she woke, looked around and asked what had happened. Crying in pain, she complained that her wrist injuries would make it difficult for her to sign. For those policemen who arrested my daughter on a felony charge, shame on you! In this enlightened age of disability awareness, it is time to understand that mental health issues are real. To ignore them and try to proceed “normally” is not normal at all.

A similar situation recently happened with my son, Steven, who displays wild, uncontrollable mania when not taking his medication for bi-polar disorder. The other night, the car he had just bought, (not yet registered or insured,) burst into flames. He had been working on the fuel line and suspects he might have done something wrong. As the flames grew and the smell of burning rubber filled the air, the police and fire trucks arrived with all of the exciting sights and sounds. Steven’s mania, fueled by severe sensory integration issues, emerged full-blown; hysterical, sweating profusely, wildly “wired” at warp speed with extreme paranoia. It was a recipe for disaster when the policemen and firemen approached him. Unable to think rationally with his racing thoughts and the foul smell of the fire filling his lungs, he was a handful for them to deal with.

Paranoid that they were blaming him for the fire, he fought back by defending himself with a string of swears and insults hurled at the police. Trying to engage him in a reasonable conversation was not possible with his agitation at the max. Threats of arresting him for disorderly conduct did not actually happen, (even though he WAS disorderly,) and I suspect that the threat that the fire trucks would no longer come to his address because of his behavior was not meant sincerely. Eventually, the Fire Marshal determined it was an accident and the fire trucks and police cars gently rode off on their separate ways.

It is with sincere appreciation that I thank those policemen and firemen who were kind to Steven despite his unreasonably raw and disrespectful behavior. You are role models in demonstrating that there are special considerations to be made in dealing with individuals with mental illness. They deserve understanding not being treated as criminals.

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