USAF_2T2
August 24th, 2005, 22:17
When most people think of the Police they think of what the show COPS. While that is a great medium of what it is like in the day to day operations of the LEO community it is not always accurate.
For example, a law in Illinois may not be a law in North Carolina. In Illinois there is a statute (a law passed by the General Asembly of the State) that it is illegal to screech your tires on the roadway. There is no such law in North Carolina. There is always a way around it I guess, but no clear cut statute here. I could possibly charge careless and reckless.
Keep in mind that Constitutional Law is the Law of the Land. Each state also has in there Constitution, another set of laws and each city/county has there own set.
The reason I am giving all this information is from a call I was assigned on Sunday.
I get a call for a mental patient that wants help. (what we call here as a voluntary commitment) When I arrived the person whom cut themself with a razor stated that he didn't call and that I couldn't take him to get help. He stated that he took several aspirin and drank about 12 beers. He had upwards of 50 slice marks on his right arm and about 25-30 on his left arm. (forearm area) I told him that he was not under arrest but that he would be going with me to the hospital for treatment. (Now mind you since he says he didn't call it no longer is a Voluntary Commitment) He tells me that I am not taking him because he doesn't have to go. I tell him by what I have seen and heard from him I feel that if I leave now I am not confident that you would not further hurt yourself. In his mind he thinks he is going to jail.
I repeatedly tell him that he is not going to jail, but to the hospital for help. He continues to tell me that he does not have to go and I can't make him. I grab his wrist (with a rubber glove, his back is facing me) and tell him to put his hands behind his back. He clenches his fists and I whisper in his ear "You will be going to the hospital for broken bones if you take a swing at me."
Not the best way to handle it, but it worked as he placed his palms on the car. I place my handcuffs on him since he is a previous violent person.(primarily for my safety) I pat him down for anything that may pose a threat to me later.
I take him to the ER and his is checked out by the Doctor. He tells the Doctor he was doing it for attention. The Doctor checks his blood and urine for drugs and it comes back clean. Me and the patient are talking about laws in NC and various other states and I inform him that there are different laws for different states. He apologizes to me for being a (edited) but he thought I was infringing on his rights. I asked him why he thought that, he says on COPS the Police didn't take a guy because he told them no. I further explained why I did what I did and he understood. He is later released by the Doctor.
NORTH CAROLINA Commitments (mental patients)
Emergency Commitment- I as a LEO can take into my custody a person that is a direct threat to them or others, can only be released by a Doctor
Voluntary Commitment - a person who wants help for their problems that is willing to send themself
Involuntary Commitment - usually done by a family member that swears out the papers from a Magistrate or higher that a person is a threat to themself or others, doesn't guarantee a person will be put into a mental facility, but they will be screened by a Doctor and possibly a Psychiatrist.
For example, a law in Illinois may not be a law in North Carolina. In Illinois there is a statute (a law passed by the General Asembly of the State) that it is illegal to screech your tires on the roadway. There is no such law in North Carolina. There is always a way around it I guess, but no clear cut statute here. I could possibly charge careless and reckless.
Keep in mind that Constitutional Law is the Law of the Land. Each state also has in there Constitution, another set of laws and each city/county has there own set.
The reason I am giving all this information is from a call I was assigned on Sunday.
I get a call for a mental patient that wants help. (what we call here as a voluntary commitment) When I arrived the person whom cut themself with a razor stated that he didn't call and that I couldn't take him to get help. He stated that he took several aspirin and drank about 12 beers. He had upwards of 50 slice marks on his right arm and about 25-30 on his left arm. (forearm area) I told him that he was not under arrest but that he would be going with me to the hospital for treatment. (Now mind you since he says he didn't call it no longer is a Voluntary Commitment) He tells me that I am not taking him because he doesn't have to go. I tell him by what I have seen and heard from him I feel that if I leave now I am not confident that you would not further hurt yourself. In his mind he thinks he is going to jail.
I repeatedly tell him that he is not going to jail, but to the hospital for help. He continues to tell me that he does not have to go and I can't make him. I grab his wrist (with a rubber glove, his back is facing me) and tell him to put his hands behind his back. He clenches his fists and I whisper in his ear "You will be going to the hospital for broken bones if you take a swing at me."
Not the best way to handle it, but it worked as he placed his palms on the car. I place my handcuffs on him since he is a previous violent person.(primarily for my safety) I pat him down for anything that may pose a threat to me later.
I take him to the ER and his is checked out by the Doctor. He tells the Doctor he was doing it for attention. The Doctor checks his blood and urine for drugs and it comes back clean. Me and the patient are talking about laws in NC and various other states and I inform him that there are different laws for different states. He apologizes to me for being a (edited) but he thought I was infringing on his rights. I asked him why he thought that, he says on COPS the Police didn't take a guy because he told them no. I further explained why I did what I did and he understood. He is later released by the Doctor.
NORTH CAROLINA Commitments (mental patients)
Emergency Commitment- I as a LEO can take into my custody a person that is a direct threat to them or others, can only be released by a Doctor
Voluntary Commitment - a person who wants help for their problems that is willing to send themself
Involuntary Commitment - usually done by a family member that swears out the papers from a Magistrate or higher that a person is a threat to themself or others, doesn't guarantee a person will be put into a mental facility, but they will be screened by a Doctor and possibly a Psychiatrist.