Before I tell my story I’m hopeful that we can agree that ‘defunding the police’ does not mean eliminating the police. That is a poor choice of words and self-defeating. If that’s what your preferred talk show host is insisting, you may need to expand your horizons on the news you consume. No one is advocating for that. Not Biden, not BLM. ‘Defund the police’ simply means reallocating a portion of the police budget to other professionals or societal programs that are better suited to handle certain nonviolent situations.
Here’s my story. It is sad and embarrassing, and I hate to talk about it. I almost never do in any detail, but it seems necessary, especially now. If this is something you haven’t considered, I hope you will now. My story is not unique. You may have a similar one.
I am the healthcare and financial power of attorney for a desperately mentally ill extended family member. They have been diagnosed with schizophrenia for well over 30 years, and I having been trying to help this person for well over 20 of them. I’ve been to the hospital with this person more times than I can remember. Hospitalization is the only way this person will even begin to take their prescribed medicine. Once out of the hospital, this person will stop taking their medicine, get progressively worse and the vicious cycle repeats. This is terribly sad and frustrating. I am told by various psychiatrists that my extended family member has no personal insight into their disease. They don’t know they are sick. They only know that the prescribed narcotics make them feel bad, and they don’t need them anyway.
I’m usually able to talk this person into going to the hospital. When I can, everything is fine. But, on some occasions, this person is so bad that I cannot get them to the hospital by myself. I am just not able to handle them alone when the sickness turns them into a loud, angry and uncooperative stranger. So, I call 911 and ask for an ambulance. I only do this when this person truly needs emergency psychiatric treatment. I’ve been coached to know the signs. On every single occasion I’ve called for an ambulance, even when I specifically say this person is not a danger to themself or others, two city (not Frederick) police officers accompany the ambulance. When they arrive, they see and hear a haggard, shouting, angry mess of a human being. They immediately take over. The ambulance technicians always yield to the cops.
I’m sorry to say that the cops have never, ever been helpful in these types of situations.
I don’t know if their training just does not cover mentally ill people (seems unlikely) or if their instincts just kick in and take over when threatened. And I can assure you my mentally ill family member indeed threatens them loudly and does not tire easily. This person threatens me, too, but I know they don’t mean it. The police officers do not know this. Try explaining that to two police officers who are being cursed and yelled at. Eventually, the ambulance technicians are able to take over and talk my family member into going to the hospital. More than once I’ve told the police officers softly and kindly that they are probably not needed in this type of situation. They tell me police policy keeps them returning. I admit that time constraints have kept me away from looking into this policy to any degree. Even if I had the time, I would not be sure where to start.
For my family member’s last episode, which occurred late last year, two police officers spent a total of 12 person-hours – six hours each – trying to assist. The time commitment was similar for my family member’s other hospitalizations. The officers were nice enough and tried to be helpful, but they were just not equipped to help. Their time would have been much better spent patrolling the streets and responding to reports of real crime. They must realize that, too.
Please multiply my experience by the hundreds of other non-violent issues police must respond to each week like drunkenness, drug overdoses, underage parties, you name it. Police should not be handling these types of things. I have seen that firsthand. We are expecting too much of them. This must play a part in their stress and eventual burning out and acting out.
And that is why we should take some of the police budget money away and allocate it to counselors, social workers, EMTs, nurses, and other professionals who can better handle these nonviolent situations. I would think that most police would agree with that.
