Arrested for Epilepsy

[didymus]

tinyurl.com/t3a6o
Arrested for Epilepsy
**When a Seizure Gets You Thrown in Jail
**
Nov. 23, 2006 — Roughly 3 million Americans live with epilepsy. And a surprising number of them go to jail for it.
Why? Around the country, police officers and bystanders who see someone having a seizure mistake it for disorderly, criminal behavior.

That’s what happened to Daniel Beloungea of Pontiac, Mich. On most days Daniel lives the normal life of a 48-year-old single man. But roughly once a week, he loses total control of his body and mind to an epileptic seizure.

A seizure took over Beloungea’s body while walking through his suburban Detroit neighborhood last April. When an onlooker in a neighbor’s house saw Beloungea having the seizure, which includes rapid repetitive arm motion, she misinterpreted it as criminal conduct. Specifically, she thought Beloungea was masturbating in public.

With that misconception in mind, she called the Oakland Police Department. When police arrived on the scene, Beloungea was still undergoing his seizure, acting disoriented and not responding to questions.

When officers couldn’t get through to Beloungea they drew their weapons, shocked him with a high-voltage taser, hit him with a baton and wrestled him to the ground. They then handcuffed him and put him in a police car.

This story caught my attention because I’m epileptic. I’m often dismayed by the amount of ignorance about epilepsy that persists but there’s no excuse for law enforcement not to be trained to recognise it.

 

[apricot_yogurt]

As part of our epilepsy training for work, we learned that during some types of seisure, sufferers can appear to be doing very unusual things, and it does unfortunately look obsene.

 

[Pug]

Man Suffers Heart Attack While Police Subdue Him

Diabetic Condition Apparently Misread As Drunken Hostility

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_image_309222913 Get breaking news alerts

         *(Post-Tribune)*  *EAST CHICAGO, Ind.*  An East Chicago man lay in a coma Wednesday, after police apparently mistook his diabetic epi-sode for belligerent drunkenness.

Jerome Clement suffered a heart attack while police tried to subdue him Friday.

link to story

 

[didymus]

Quote:
Man Suffers Heart Attack While Police Subdue Him

Diabetic Condition Apparently Misread As Drunken Hostility

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_image_309222913 Get breaking news alerts

         *(Post-Tribune)*  *EAST CHICAGO, Ind.* An East Chicago man lay in a coma Wednesday, after police apparently mistook his diabetic epi-sode for belligerent drunkenness.

Jerome Clement suffered a heart attack while police tried to subdue him Friday.

link to story

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Not to be mean but it has always bugged me a little that (at least here in NY) epileptics cannot get a licece to drive unless they have been seizure free for a year but there is no restriction on diabetics.

 

[WenckebachCath]

Not to be mean but it has always bugged me a little that (at least here in NY) epileptics cannot get a licece to drive unless they have been seizure free for a year but there is no restriction on diabetics.

Why does that bug you? Epileptics can have a sudden onset of seizures, with very little warning. Insulin dependent diabetics monitor their blood glucose at least 4 times daily are very familiar with the signs and symptoms of low blood sugar, which includes being clammy, jittery, sweaty, irritable, and other signs. Low blood sugar doesn’t suddenly overtake them in an instant.

Epilepsy is a sudden electrical storm of the brain. Often epileptics have very little warning. It’s unfortunate that the public is uneducated and fearful of it’s physical manifestations, but totally understandable. Even medical personnel see very few grand mal seizures and they are very disturbing to watch.

 

[Pug]

Not to be mean but it has always bugged me a little that (at least here in NY) epileptics cannot get a licece to drive unless they have been seizure free for a year but there is no restriction on diabetics.

There ought to be restrictions on a number of things, but there are not. Law is rarely consistent. I don’t know enough about diabetes to say what is warranted in that case. I just know that I don’t ever want law enforcement anywhere near me. My arms don’t go behind my back. I cannot kneel. It would be unsafe if they were to suddenly conceive a desire to cuff me. They might decide I was resisting.

 

[Proeliator]

Having law enforcement experience I can tell you about my story.
A man driving sb on a county highway has a seizure, accelerates his vehicle by accident, crosses the center line and into oncoming traffic, goes up an embankment, slams thru numerous sapplings, flies over (literally) another crossroad and slams into a tree .3 of a mile later. he went for help and I received a call from a neighbor who said they thought he was drunk. I did not arrest him because there was no pc. He did receive a ticket and a dot request to review his medical condition. all were fortunate that no one died! this is just another look from the law-side. should he or others with epilepsy drive knowing they have a seizure problem? I suppose if properly medicated.

 

[curtishouse29]

I have Epilepsy and I don’t mind the one-year rule at all. I am seeing a neurologist and trying to find the correct dosage of seizure medication so I dont have them any longer. One year seems appropriate to me. If you can go one year without seizures and have an EEG that shows no abnormal brain activity, you should be cleared to drive in my opinion.

Curtis

 

[Sabda]

This story caught my attention because I’m epileptic. I’m often dismayed by the amount of ignorance about epilepsy that persists but there’s no excuse for law enforcement not to be trained to recognize it.

Those police officers have absolutely no excuse for what they did. They man was making jerking motions and was unresponsive and wearing a medical alert bracelet which clearly identified him as being epileptic. How much plainer does it need to be?