Arrested for Epilepsy

[spinbaby]

The just had this story on the ABC morning show. Guy's walking near his house, had a seizure, got tasered, arrested, and spent three weeks in jail.

This part is really extraordinary:

"Beloungea was ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity. Beloungea is not insane — he's simply epileptic. But his lawyer, Otis Underwood, told ABC News there was no other way to get Beloungea off the charges than the insanity defense. The catch: He had to spend 20 days locked in a criminal mental facility.


"Beloungea said he's still waiting for an apology from the Oakland Sheriff's Office."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2675374&page=1

[acmejack]

1. My first thought was that he should have worn his medic alert.

Then I saw that he was. Law suit? Or is it a crime to be ill now? I guess I had better stay inside my house all the time-I actually am home bound fortunately, it appears! God!

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. read the link

The officers put Beloungea in jail, citing assault of a police officer and resisting arrest. Throughout the incident Beloungea, was wearing a medical alert bracelet identifying him as an epileptic, stating his name and the contact numbers of people who can be reached in case of an emergency.

[acmejack]

7. Read my post, please!

Before you get that way! My first sentence: "Then I saw that he was. Law suit?" Gee! In a hurry to attack & make a fellow poster look stupid or something? I realize I am a fool but a modicum of credit if you please...

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Sorry

[China_cat]

6. Reports of diabetics being tasered

are becoming quite common. I guess if you're going to go into diabetic shock, you'd better stay at home to do it. Oh wait...you don't know when that might happen. So I guess if you're diabetic you better not leave the house at all. :sarcasm:

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. Police training on how to deal with people with disabilities is inadequate.

Police departments nationwide should have training from groups like The Arc or The Epilepsy Foundation.

[mom cat]

15. Absolutely.

[mcg]

47. Did they notice his medical alert bracelet when they threw him in jail?

Besides the idiocy of the cops initial conduct...

Don't people being put in jail have their possessions inspected?
They should have noticed the medical alert bracelet, realized
their error, apologized, and released him immediately.

I've known two epilepics and dealt with seizures other than the
convulsing-on-the-ground type. I figured out without training
how to deal with them, and I'm not a cop. In one situation the
person was holding a knife. This guy was unarmed. These cops should
have been helping him, not tasering him and arresting him. Shame on them.
Besides that, police should be trained to deal properly with such matters
in general, how to help people. They shouldn't blindly assume someone is
guilty of a crime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure_types

Underlying this fiasco is the over-criminalization of abnormal behavior.
It's part of the right-wing mindset of punishing those who are different.

[Blue Gardener]

2. That poor man

I'm sure never dreamed something like this could happen to him. I suppose there is no apology from the Sheriff's Office because that would make them look guilty, which of course they are.

[we can do it]

3. This Is Just Total BS - When Are We Going To Take The Tasers Away?

For godsake the poor guy even had a medical alert tag on. when are they going to require cops to think before they attaack?

[nuxvomica]

4. When my brother was just a kid, he was in a special class

For the developmentally disabled. There was every variety of so-called retarded child in the class. One of them was also epileptic and at the first sign of a seizure, all the kids moved their desks and chairs to the sides of the room and stood back, waiting patiently for the seizure to end. They had learned pretty fast how to recognize and deal with the situation. I would think police officers could easily learn the same.

[sam sarrha]

8. if i get a Tasar and torture someone can i get a Tasar Award too. yes folks the Tasar Corp gives out

certificates to people who torture people using their product.. the student incident campus cops had received 60 certificates of torture... they are competing for awards.. that is why they are so quick to us the torture devices

[mcg]

38. 'John H. Cover Medal for Non-Lethal Heroism' award given by Taser Intl.

http://www.taser.com/law/use/cover.htm

That must be what you're referring to. I didn't know whether
to believe that such an award exists. Amazing, it does.

The form used to compete for the award:

http://www.taser.com/law/use/index.asp

[sam sarrha]

46. lets all report that we Tazed a mentally ill unconcous person.. Hundreds of horrble situations

do it!!

[Nikki Stone1]

10. The cops seem to be getting fairly loose with their taser use

And Beloungea should sue the Oakland PD for everything they've got. (I can't believe there wasn't another remedy for this other than the "insanity" defense.)

[spinbaby]

19. That's the part that got me

It must have been evident fairly quickly that the problem was epilepsy, but the man was still INCARCERATED FOR THREE WEEKS! THREE WEEKS!

[rman]

11. so now laying on the ground twitching is criminal behavior

Does this place have an exit?
I think i don't belong here.

[lostnotforgotten]

12. The Right Wing Inspired Divide And Conquer

Is working splendidly!

[Bonobo]

14. We don't know the whole story...

Videos don't tell all we don't what happened preceding the events he should have just stopped seizing policemen have a tough job they put themselves on the line for all our sakes every day if it wasn't for tazers he might have been shot tazers lower fatalities there will be an investigation so let's wait for it...

Blah, blah, blah


:sarcasm:

[baby_mouse]

17. "should have just stopped seizing"

:rofl:

also

:o

at OP

[Judi Lynn]

44. By God, if I were having a seizure and a cop told me to snap out of it,

I'd snap out of it or I should expect to first, get tazed senseless, and then get thrown into the slammer!

They would also be correct to make a follow-up tazing visit to me in my jail cell, to remind me of the error of my ways.

I'm so proud of the taze-happy DU'ers who aren't so P.C. that they are afraid to speak up for the guardians of the law! Woohooo. :sarcasm:

Can't wait until they start using their new laser weapons they'll be getting just in time for crowd control by the 2008 elections. Hot damn.

[XanaDUer]

62. ROTFLMAO!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[smoogatz]

16. I know I said I wasn't going to post until after the Holidays--

but for chrissakes, yes, let's take the tasers away until these dumbasses can demonstrate the ability to use them responsibly. Every time I read one of these stories it gets more apparent that if you don't answer a cop's questions or respond to his/her barked orders satisfactorily, you're going to get tasered--whether you're wearing the medic-alert bracelet or not.

[timtom]

43. If you will permit me....

"...yes, let's take the tasers away..." Period. Exclamation point!

[tridim]

18. My dog is epileptic

If a cop saw fit to tase my dog during a seizure I'd beat the crap out of him. No idea how far I'd go if my dog was a human.

[achtung_circus]

20. Something very similar happened to me in 1977.

No Taser, but had a seizure in the University library. Yes I was wearing a Medic Alert braclet. No, it didn't do any good. I was apparently being pushed around by a couple of cops and being questioned regarding drug use when an ex-girlfriend happened to get off the elevator.

From the stories I heard afterwards, she ripped them new ones.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

21. apology? Screw that. Sue the bastards.

so much for a civilized, modern society.

[mzmolly]

22. Yep, money talks

and it's one of the only things that does.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

23. at least with backwards, inane people like that.

Another suit against the county attorneys might be a good idea. They don't have the ability to drop charges when their facts are so clearly wrong? I find that hard to believe. Every prosecutor I have met in many states always has the right to dismiss charges when they turn out to be unfounded or baseless.

[A Simple Game]

32. Not just the prosecutors, what about the judge?

Why does a person have to plead insanity when he is obviously innocent?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

35. but judges are (for the most part) immune from litigation.

as they should be. The GOP tried to remove that immunity from fed judges this year. the bastards wanted to sue Article III judges who would not rule according the the Christian coalition, AFA and the ex-Moral Minority.

[A Simple Game]

36. I'm sorry I should have been clearer.

I wasn't talking about suing the judge.

Can't judges throw cases out of court?
Did a jury decide this case? Why wouldn't a judge just find the defendant not guilty?

What I meant was, was the judge a complete idiot?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

37. could be, and sometimes, the law is an ass.

[lonestarnot]

58. You fucking betcha sue them!

[Pastiche423]

24. OMG this scares me to death

I have epilepsy and have had grand mals in public. Fortunately EMTs were called and I would wake up in a hospital.

What the hell has happened to the cops in the U.S.? Man, it's frightening enough coming out of one - it takes an half hour to an hour for my neurons to settle down. But to get arrested for one too is dispicable!

I'd want more than an apology.

[Downtown Hound]

25. The police shocked a man in the midst of an epileptic seizure?

That's it! Tazers need to be fucking banned NOW! For a long time I was hesitant to say this because I can recognize instances where their use would be beneficial. But it's become far too clear that cops like them way too much. They're like little children that have been given a new toy for Christmas and can't stop using it. Well, kids, when you abuse something, it gets taken away. Behave yourselves next time.

[havocmom]

26. Any way to modify tasers so the user gets the same zap?

Might slow down some of the hot heads ;)

[flying_monkeys]

27. Training needs to be improved a LOT

Both about how certain medical conditions present AND when it is proper to use a Taser.....


I wish restrictions could get placed on Taser usage so they could ONLY be employed if someone is pointing a gun or waving a knife at the cops....

[Jokinomx]

28. My Wife and Daughter are diabetics...

When my wife's blood sugar drops to low she appears drunk. She is incoherent and disruptive. It scares the living shit out of me that she will someday run into a taser happy cop who will do the same to her or my daughter.

It is time to put severe restrictions on the use of these weapons.

Damn this just pisses me off...

:banghead:

[mzmolly]

29. I hear ya, my husband is a type 1 diabetic,

I thought the same thing.

[Lurking Dem]

30. I remember a story

back before there were tasers of a diabetic man they thought was a belligerent drunk so they handcuffed him to a lamppost where he died.

I've been type 1 for 30 years now and it still scares me.

[LynzM]

31. God, that IS scary...

I'm Type 1, as well. Always, always wear my medic alert. Apparently, that may not be enough, huh? :scared:

[Lurking Dem]

48. We used to fight this crap all the time.

Now it is just too ubiquitous.

You can be arrested on the DC Metro now for eating a glucose tablet. The argument is, you should have tested before you went onto the station property (you don't even have to be on the train) and taken care of your blood sugar before you boarded. End of discussion.

[LynzM]

50. Dude, that's absurd!

Is it illegal to eat on the Metro?! Can you explain that a little better? Because that's ridiculous! And, what if your Metro ride is more than 15 minutes or so? Your blood sugar can drop more than enough to force you to need food, in that period of time!

[Lurking Dem]

53. Yes it's absurd.

It was fought at the time nation-wide by diabetics, advocates, and lawyers. To no avail.

It is illegal to eat on the Metro or in the Metro station. They arrested a 12 year old girl the first year it was enacted for eating a french fry. People were so incensed they now issue juveniles one warning. After that they arrest them.

They also do not allow anyone except employees to use the restroom facilities at the stations. Which can also be fun for diabetics.

And I'm a "dudette". :)

[LynzM]

54. Good grief.

That's crazy. When was this fight going on? Wow to no eating or bathroom use. Ugh.

I call everyone dude, regardless of gender :) No offense intended!

[Lurking Dem]

56. The law was enacted in the 90's.

The girl's arrest was in 2000. Her arrest was upheld in 2004 by one other than our John Roberts who was then on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.

[AspenRose]

60. I was a little nervous riding the Metro this summer

....because I went to Farmers Market in Arlington on the Metro and I was always afraid someone would accuse me of eating because they saw my bags of food.

:scared:

[msedano]

33. if there's ever a draft again...

pull a fake faint/seizure. hopefully you won't get tased for your scheming.

one of the students in my frosh dorm in 1964 had failed to prepare for a final exam. so he arrives at the lecture hall late, no one's around. he lies down and awaits discovery. the prof shows up and calls the health center. they rush over and revive my fallen comrade. he gets out of taking the final that day.

fast forward to 1969. the fellow receives his draft notice for the pre-induction physical. he reports the seizure. it's on his medical records. he is disqualified from military service. 4-F, the magic number.

[mcg]

40. Brilliant! some more stories on getting out of the draft...

Some methods used by people I knew...

. a guy drank enough salt water to elevate is blood pressure high enough (a bit dangerous)

. a guy showed up to the draft board as required but then acted hostile and totally refused to cooperate, he made it clear in no uncertain terms that he would not obey orders if drafted, that
it would be useless to draft him.

other stories I heard of...

. a guy acted gay, he came on to them

. a guy acted totally crazy

[Eric J in MN]

34. They tasered him.

It should be illegal to taser an unarmed man.

[SeattleGirl]

39. This pisses me off!!!

What? Is it now illegal to have a medical condition in the United States? And his attorney had to play the insanity defense? Christ on a crutch -- this country has gone completely mad.

[struggle4progress]

41. 20 days in lock-up as insane? To get off a resisting arrest charge from a seizure?

I really can't believe that was the only option.

[NMMNG]

42. FSM save us all from idiots with weapons.

:scared:

[Judi Lynn]

45. The story also indicates someone has already been killed like this:

In 1999, Joaquin Gonzales died after he was arrested and hog tied while having an epileptic seizure in a Taos County, N.M., jail. County officials fired the guards on duty that night and paid Gonzales' family a $1.25 million settlement for his wrongful death.
(snip)

Makes you wonder how many MORE cases there really are like this.

[SeattleGirl]

49. I'm sure there are many that we never hear about.

This should not be happening here.

[WindRavenX]

51. wtf? I still dont understand how he can be arrested!

How the fuck can an epileptic incident be mistaken for "criminal activity"? :wtf:

[MountainLaurel]

52. He was reported for masturbating in public

Apparently the up-and-down arm motions were seen by a neighbor who thought he was jerking off (who hopefully feels like shit right about now) and called in. After the police arrived and he didn't respond to them (which of course seizing people can't do) they busted him for resisting arrest.

[WindRavenX]

55. jesus christ on a pogo stick

this country is FUCKED. UP.

:cry:

[lonestarnot]

57. WTF? More police state!

[hedgehog]

59. It's not a recent attitude.

My mother came home from work 20 years ago to find my father semi-conscious and incoherent. She called for an ambulance, then had to explain over and over that this 50 year old gentlemen was not an illegal drug user. Fortunately, he had a full recovery from a massive brain aneurysm.

[Greylyn58]

61. OMG, this ticks me off

my mother has epileptic type seizures, although she has never been labeled epileptic. Thankfully she hasn't had an episode in a very long time. When she has had one, they occur mainly at night.

I tell you though, if she were out in public and had one and the police treated her as they have have treated this man.... There would be no holding me back.

How can they label him insane when it has been proven he has a medical condition??? This whole story reeks.

So is this how America is going to treat those of us with a medical condition from now on? I have asthma. Have suffered with it since I was 3 years old. If I have an attack in public, should I now expect the police to assault me with their tazers when I start gasping for air?

Damn!!! If the police are going to issue these weapons, then they should have to go through a rigorous training period before being let loose on our streets.