The police officer left after I was put into an ER room. At first, there were no rooms available so I was laying down on one of those beds with wheels... like a stretcher.. in the hallway. Several nurses asked me questions about what had happened with me, and I was later on moved to a room in the ER, where I would spend hours there. A mental health screener for a local psych hospital asked me some questions, called the on-call psychiatrist about my situation, and then told me that an ambulance would come soon to take me to the nearby psych hospital. And that was the end of it.
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Police and Mental Health
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In an earlier incident, I was strapped down and transported to the mental health building. I was transported by ambulance. One of my wives met me there. The second one. She asked what as going to happen, and they told her. I admitted to them that I felt homicidal/suicidal, and I was blue sheeted with a 72 hour hold. They were going to isolate me, but later I told them I wasn't going to kill anyone.
I maintained that I didn't hear voices, because I didn't want to be classed as crazy. The voices were yelling at me. I was there the week of the Super Bowl. I watched it. I was given just an antidepressant.
I was out three days later. I did exactly what the voices wanted me to do, and I kept my mouth shut. Had I actually not listened to them and told someone, I would have had intervention earlier. But who would want to hear about a guy that believed he was a god?
I maintained that I didn't hear voices, because I didn't want to be classed as crazy. The voices were yelling at me. I was there the week of the Super Bowl. I watched it. I was given just an antidepressant.
I was out three days later. I did exactly what the voices wanted me to do, and I kept my mouth shut. Had I actually not listened to them and told someone, I would have had intervention earlier. But who would want to hear about a guy that believed he was a god?
I don't feel as though I was treated fairly 2 weeks ago, but I WAS armed and trying to provoke them into deadly force. One cop persuaded me to put the gun down and that we would talk about it. As soon as that happened, I was jumped from behind, cuffed pretty roughly, and no "talking about it". Transported to an ER for a blood test (to make sure I had nothing illicit in my system) from there to a psych ward.
There's usually no talking about it when a weapon is involved. It really quite sad. There should have been someone there that specializes in mental health, like in our city.
There are cops that receive extra training for mentally ill people. Their job is to assess, and make sure a person is not in danger of hurting themselves or others. If need be an ambulance is called. Then off to the psych ward you go.
There are cops that receive extra training for mentally ill people. Their job is to assess, and make sure a person is not in danger of hurting themselves or others. If need be an ambulance is called. Then off to the psych ward you go.
If this is "proof", I guess you also believe in alien abductions? Just ask the survivors who experienced them, there are many.
In reality, you're just making broad generalizations and baseless assumptions. One could be of perfect and clear state of mind, yet still decide suicide is the logical choice. For example, if faced with an extremely painful terminal illness, you are saying for them to attempt suicide means they are not in "sound state of mind"? Sound state of mind would be wanting to experience extreme incurable pain?
Overall, this is an argument about freedom. A consenting adult should be able to do whatever they want with their own body as long as it doesn't harm others. How are you in a position to read their mind and see if their in a "sound state of mind"?
In reality, you're just making broad generalizations and baseless assumptions. One could be of perfect and clear state of mind, yet still decide suicide is the logical choice. For example, if faced with an extremely painful terminal illness, you are saying for them to attempt suicide means they are not in "sound state of mind"? Sound state of mind would be wanting to experience extreme incurable pain?
Overall, this is an argument about freedom. A consenting adult should be able to do whatever they want with their own body as long as it doesn't harm others. How are you in a position to read their mind and see if their in a "sound state of mind"?
Like I said, it's a long debate and I have my own opinion on, which I'm entitled to, so no need to be arsey about it. You also don't really understand my opinion. I know I'm using anecdotal evidence here, but I have friends who have recovered from suicidal thoughts and serious attempts, both of them have picked up their lives and acknowledge they were in times of mental anguish and deep depression. I also find it very strange you find it so hard to believe that people can recover from suicidal thoughts and depression with your analogy about people claiming to be abducted by aliens.
Regarding the terminally ill, I too think they should have the right to end their lives as they see fit so they can die with dignity, if they so wish. However, I won't lie, I am critical of the euthanasia system in Switzerland which has allowed to people with schizophrenia and people with non-terminal illnesses or crippling disabilities to go and kill themselves, it's the whole can of worms/slippery slope thing I worry about. As for people that are say.. serious paralysed from the neck down and those in the later stages multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy etc. I can also sympathise with them too.
But besides those with terminal illness/serious disabilities, I don't see any reason for a rational suicide. Face it, no person not suffering from a current/recent mental anguish or mental disorder wakes up and thinks "Hmm. Today I'm going to throw myself off a bridge and kill myself" and actually does it. Natural instincts such as fear of death, fear of pain, care for close friends/family will stop you, since there isn't crippling depression or mental anguish overwhelming your decision to think logically.
Since rational suicide is so extremely rare and confined to so few situations (terminal illness, extreme physical disability), I don't see why there should be a blanket "right to die". This would potentially lead to situations like police officers, paramedics, and other professionals being reluctant to save or help suicidal people. Fear of getting sued, and we all know how vulturous the compensation culture is in the USA, UK, etc. People being left to kill themselves out of an extreme reaction to an unfortunate or traumatic event - girlfriend/boyfriend leaving them, death of a family member or friend, exam failure, etc. Cries for help being ignored. The list goes on..
My belief is that, should a suicidal person be came across by any of the powers that be, they should be given help. Not handed a rope to hang themselves or to help them along the way. All this being said ,obviously, though, if someone's hell bent on killing themselves, they will kill themselves, regardless of the law which is partly why they decriminalised it. If you honestly wanted to top yourself, no amount of strict laws will actually stop you.
Regarding the terminally ill, I too think they should have the right to end their lives as they see fit so they can die with dignity, if they so wish. However, I won't lie, I am critical of the euthanasia system in Switzerland which has allowed to people with schizophrenia and people with non-terminal illnesses or crippling disabilities to go and kill themselves, it's the whole can of worms/slippery slope thing I worry about. As for people that are say.. serious paralysed from the neck down and those in the later stages multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy etc. I can also sympathise with them too.
But besides those with terminal illness/serious disabilities, I don't see any reason for a rational suicide. Face it, no person not suffering from a current/recent mental anguish or mental disorder wakes up and thinks "Hmm. Today I'm going to throw myself off a bridge and kill myself" and actually does it. Natural instincts such as fear of death, fear of pain, care for close friends/family will stop you, since there isn't crippling depression or mental anguish overwhelming your decision to think logically.
Since rational suicide is so extremely rare and confined to so few situations (terminal illness, extreme physical disability), I don't see why there should be a blanket "right to die". This would potentially lead to situations like police officers, paramedics, and other professionals being reluctant to save or help suicidal people. Fear of getting sued, and we all know how vulturous the compensation culture is in the USA, UK, etc. People being left to kill themselves out of an extreme reaction to an unfortunate or traumatic event - girlfriend/boyfriend leaving them, death of a family member or friend, exam failure, etc. Cries for help being ignored. The list goes on..
My belief is that, should a suicidal person be came across by any of the powers that be, they should be given help. Not handed a rope to hang themselves or to help them along the way. All this being said ,obviously, though, if someone's hell bent on killing themselves, they will kill themselves, regardless of the law which is partly why they decriminalised it. If you honestly wanted to top yourself, no amount of strict laws will actually stop you.
bad experiences..
They investigated me after OD because my partner OD'd on my medication without me knowing, so they arrested me on suspicion of 'murder' had my boyfriend died. At the time I was in ICU ,,my partner took an OD thinking I was going to die,. They werent interested in the fact I was on deaths doorstep,they just wanted to arrest me and were basically trying to say i had put them down his throat, so dont let anyone touch your meds!
They investigated me after OD because my partner OD'd on my medication without me knowing, so they arrested me on suspicion of 'murder' had my boyfriend died. At the time I was in ICU ,,my partner took an OD thinking I was going to die,. They werent interested in the fact I was on deaths doorstep,they just wanted to arrest me and were basically trying to say i had put them down his throat, so dont let anyone touch your meds!
I agree to a a degree but if nobody intervened then people who could have the potential to be helped and recover would be offing themselves left right and centre. In the majority of cases, people aren't in a sound and rational mind when they decide to attempt which is why it is necessary for an intervention to treat their illness. How is this any different than a paramedic turning up and intervening when someone is having a heart attack at deaths door? Both parties have life threatening illnesses, they just need an intervention to aid them on their way to treatment and recovery.
20 or so years ago i was on the bottom adn told a crisis line worker i was really thinking of killing myself.. she kept me on the line and soon after a knock on the door saying "this is the police jim, could you please open the door!!!".
well i did and there was the cops, ambulance and attendants .. quick trip to th emergency room and i ended up spending the weekend in the psyche ward.. these people were very kind, nice and professional throughout all of this.
point is if you need some help this will probably get you that most times in the usa.. also crisis line is no place to play drama queen and start hinting at your own suicide if you are not really serious on this..
well i did and there was the cops, ambulance and attendants .. quick trip to th emergency room and i ended up spending the weekend in the psyche ward.. these people were very kind, nice and professional throughout all of this.
point is if you need some help this will probably get you that most times in the usa.. also crisis line is no place to play drama queen and start hinting at your own suicide if you are not really serious on this..
I had another interaction with the police just over a week ago. I refused to return to the ward so the police were pulled in. They were quite nice even if they did handcuff me. I managed to get out the handcuffs and tried to get away from them and they restrained me but not with the usual painful methods that they use. They remained nice to me through out trying to reason with me. I am not sure if it's cos staff from the ward were with me though. Not so sure they would have been as nice had the staff not have been there. I wrote about it in my blog anyway.
This whole thing with the police is becomming too much a regular occurance. It's 3 times since Feb now.
This whole thing with the police is becomming too much a regular occurance. It's 3 times since Feb now.
It might be different in Oz or because I live in a smaller community the police treated me ok when I was detained even the second attempt. I have been a volunteer paramedic and Ses for many years and unfortunatly am not happy to admit that I never treated any suicide attempt with much sympathy thought the person was weak and was taking the easy way out. Talk about the shoe being on the other foot, I feel so ashamed of how I treated some of these people all the years of training meant squat. I never expect to be treated as well as I have. I apologise .
Generally most of the police in my cases have been rather understanding and went out of their way to ensure I was quite comfortable. It's the doctors that I found have the most attitude to someone who tries killing themselves.
One such doctor, some 10 odd years ago flat out said "I don't have time to deal with pathetic little shits like you. I've more important things to do."
While I couldn't really argue on that one, a bitnof sympathey never hurt, especially in such a time.
I ended up sating to him something along the lines of: "Well excuse me for living; next time I'll do a much better fucking job so all you need to do is fill out a coroner's report" and even walked out of Emergency without bothering to have the stitches done. Of course I didn't get really far with the two police who were on watch outside.
One such doctor, some 10 odd years ago flat out said "I don't have time to deal with pathetic little shits like you. I've more important things to do."
While I couldn't really argue on that one, a bitnof sympathey never hurt, especially in such a time.
I ended up sating to him something along the lines of: "Well excuse me for living; next time I'll do a much better fucking job so all you need to do is fill out a coroner's report" and even walked out of Emergency without bothering to have the stitches done. Of course I didn't get really far with the two police who were on watch outside.
Just looking at some of the replies, a lot of you hate police. I know a lot of people do. As someone who grew up around cops my whole life (my dad was one and my friends dads and my friends etc) I just wanted to chime into this thread with my two cents.
Most police officers really do just try to do what they feel is the right thing. It is true there are probably mean ones who ARE assholes, but a lot of the time an officer is who coming off as a jerk really is probably a nice guy.
It's important to keep in mind that they do have to deal with riff-raff on a daily basis. Sometimes it's hard to determine whether or not someone is faking an injury or pretending to act a certain way because a lot of the scumbags REALLY DO that kind of thing. If a police officer lets his guard down to show someone the compassion that most of them feel in their heart, it could end up getting them injured or even killed if that person is just some dirt bag criminal and not a normal person like most of the people on this forum are. Plus a lot of these stories have to do with people who feel suicidal. As someone who feels suicidal often myself these days, I wouldn't blame a cop for not being gentle with me. Suicidal people think they have nothing to lose, so I'm sure an officer is keeping that in mind too when thinking of their own safety.
At the end of the day, cops just want to go home and be safe. If they didn't care about people they wouldn't be doing the job they are doing. I guess you could say maybe they are power hungry but there's a lot of better ways for those type of people to get the power fix they crave. Like politics.
I wanted to be a cop one day but I was too scared of getting my driver's license so it kind of ruined my dreams. I still don't have it... >_>
Most police officers really do just try to do what they feel is the right thing. It is true there are probably mean ones who ARE assholes, but a lot of the time an officer is who coming off as a jerk really is probably a nice guy.
It's important to keep in mind that they do have to deal with riff-raff on a daily basis. Sometimes it's hard to determine whether or not someone is faking an injury or pretending to act a certain way because a lot of the scumbags REALLY DO that kind of thing. If a police officer lets his guard down to show someone the compassion that most of them feel in their heart, it could end up getting them injured or even killed if that person is just some dirt bag criminal and not a normal person like most of the people on this forum are. Plus a lot of these stories have to do with people who feel suicidal. As someone who feels suicidal often myself these days, I wouldn't blame a cop for not being gentle with me. Suicidal people think they have nothing to lose, so I'm sure an officer is keeping that in mind too when thinking of their own safety.
At the end of the day, cops just want to go home and be safe. If they didn't care about people they wouldn't be doing the job they are doing. I guess you could say maybe they are power hungry but there's a lot of better ways for those type of people to get the power fix they crave. Like politics.
I wanted to be a cop one day but I was too scared of getting my driver's license so it kind of ruined my dreams. I still don't have it... >_>
Just looking at some of the replies, a lot of you hate police. I know a lot of people do. As someone who grew up around cops my whole life (my dad was one and my friends dads and my friends etc) I just wanted to chime into this thread with my two cents.
Most police officers really do just try to do what they feel is the right thing. It is true there are probably mean ones who ARE assholes, but a lot of the time an officer is who coming off as a jerk really is probably a nice guy.
It's important to keep in mind that they do have to deal with riff-raff on a daily basis. Sometimes it's hard to determine whether or not someone is faking an injury or pretending to act a certain way because a lot of the scumbags REALLY DO that kind of thing. If a police officer lets his guard down to show someone the compassion that most of them feel in their heart, it could end up getting them injured or even killed if that person is just some dirt bag criminal and not a normal person like most of the people on this forum are. Plus a lot of these stories have to do with people who feel suicidal. As someone who feels suicidal often myself these days, I wouldn't blame a cop for not being gentle with me. Suicidal people think they have nothing to lose, so I'm sure an officer is keeping that in mind too when thinking of their own safety.
At the end of the day, cops just want to go home and be safe. If they didn't care about people they wouldn't be doing the job they are doing. I guess you could say maybe they are power hungry but there's a lot of better ways for those type of people to get the power fix they crave. Like politics.
I wanted to be a cop one day but I was too scared of getting my driver's license so it kind of ruined my dreams. I still don't have it... >_>
Most police officers really do just try to do what they feel is the right thing. It is true there are probably mean ones who ARE assholes, but a lot of the time an officer is who coming off as a jerk really is probably a nice guy.
It's important to keep in mind that they do have to deal with riff-raff on a daily basis. Sometimes it's hard to determine whether or not someone is faking an injury or pretending to act a certain way because a lot of the scumbags REALLY DO that kind of thing. If a police officer lets his guard down to show someone the compassion that most of them feel in their heart, it could end up getting them injured or even killed if that person is just some dirt bag criminal and not a normal person like most of the people on this forum are. Plus a lot of these stories have to do with people who feel suicidal. As someone who feels suicidal often myself these days, I wouldn't blame a cop for not being gentle with me. Suicidal people think they have nothing to lose, so I'm sure an officer is keeping that in mind too when thinking of their own safety.
At the end of the day, cops just want to go home and be safe. If they didn't care about people they wouldn't be doing the job they are doing. I guess you could say maybe they are power hungry but there's a lot of better ways for those type of people to get the power fix they crave. Like politics.
I wanted to be a cop one day but I was too scared of getting my driver's license so it kind of ruined my dreams. I still don't have it... >_>
Tbh, my take on it is, if there's police officers out there who are able to remain compassionate and professional to those who need it, despite dealing with the riff-raffs of life (yobs, violent criminals, and all those lovely people) then there's not really any excuse for certain coppers to be able to come along and treat somebody, especially someone so vulnerable, like shit. This goes for all professions, actually. Trust me, I know what certain nurses and healthcare professionals can be like.
So, a friend of mine just tried to kill herself a few days ago by driving into the median barrier at 60mph. Luckily, her airbags work very well and she only has a few bruised ribs, a broken nose and concussion.
When police arrived on the scene she was trying to get out of the car, they advised her to wait for EMS before she moved, and asked her what had happened, she said she wanted to die, when they tried to question her further she said she was fine and got out of the car against their advice and then attempted to run out into traffic, forcing an officer to tackle her in the road, cuff her and drag her back to safety.
Now she's trying to sue for "excessive roughness" or something like that, stating that he threw her in the back of his car and yelled at her and berated her, hit her head on the frame of his car and cuffed her too tightly.
In this case, he did what he had to do, he probably did yell at her "what the hell are you thinking" or something like that, but damn, he just watched a young woman run out into traffic after wrecking her car in the interstate! She also put HIS life in danger, as it is his job to protect her, even from herself, and he had to run out into traffic after her. He may have accidentally bumped her head when he put her in the car because he was shaken, of course he was! He could have been killed saving her!
In my personal experience the officers were less than caring, but this man cared enough to risk his life to save hers and I'm very upset with her over this farce of a lawsuit. I am starting to understand why police are a little hard on us, when we are in that frame of mind we don't seem to really care what happens as long as we get to die, they have to protect themselves too, and if being hard on us is the way to do that then it's just what they have to do.
When police arrived on the scene she was trying to get out of the car, they advised her to wait for EMS before she moved, and asked her what had happened, she said she wanted to die, when they tried to question her further she said she was fine and got out of the car against their advice and then attempted to run out into traffic, forcing an officer to tackle her in the road, cuff her and drag her back to safety.
Now she's trying to sue for "excessive roughness" or something like that, stating that he threw her in the back of his car and yelled at her and berated her, hit her head on the frame of his car and cuffed her too tightly.
In this case, he did what he had to do, he probably did yell at her "what the hell are you thinking" or something like that, but damn, he just watched a young woman run out into traffic after wrecking her car in the interstate! She also put HIS life in danger, as it is his job to protect her, even from herself, and he had to run out into traffic after her. He may have accidentally bumped her head when he put her in the car because he was shaken, of course he was! He could have been killed saving her!
In my personal experience the officers were less than caring, but this man cared enough to risk his life to save hers and I'm very upset with her over this farce of a lawsuit. I am starting to understand why police are a little hard on us, when we are in that frame of mind we don't seem to really care what happens as long as we get to die, they have to protect themselves too, and if being hard on us is the way to do that then it's just what they have to do.
I just experienced being involved with the police twice in a month. The first time nothing happened because I agreed to go with the ambulance.
This last time I was extremely angry with the situation because I hadn't even attempted to do anything. I tried to walk away from them and I slightly pushed one away and then I basically just tried to avoid them taking me back. They never once tried to actually hurt me and actually it was my fault because I tried to get out of the cuffs which caused my bruising. He even asked me when I was in the patrol car if I was doing okay a couple of times.
It was the security at the hospital that actually gave me bigger bruises. Again my fault for resisting.
This last time I was extremely angry with the situation because I hadn't even attempted to do anything. I tried to walk away from them and I slightly pushed one away and then I basically just tried to avoid them taking me back. They never once tried to actually hurt me and actually it was my fault because I tried to get out of the cuffs which caused my bruising. He even asked me when I was in the patrol car if I was doing okay a couple of times.
It was the security at the hospital that actually gave me bigger bruises. Again my fault for resisting.
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