Columns

When I was eighteen, I was arrested because I had been behaving in a bizarre manner, I was a nuisance, and, technically speaking, I had broken the law. The arrest did not involve physical resistance against the cops. I was jailed and was in there far too long. I wasn't going to be let out. Then, my mother spoke to the judge. I credit her with not only bringing me into this world, but also with saving my life.

When incarcerated, apparently people assumed I was high on drugs. At some point, when I continued to become increasingly disoriented and disconnected, it was apparent that illicit drugs were not the problem. This is because plenty of time had elapsed in which I would have detoxed, had drugs been the problem. I was taken to Highland Hospital.

Over the last three and a half decades, as a mentally ill man, I've had my share of dealings with police. In 1996, when I was 5150'd, in my most recent psychotic break, I nonviolently resisted police. A parishioner, possibly the minister, was present when I was picked up by the cops at a church in Pleasant Hill.

Police in this case did not resort to pepper spray and did not use an inappropriate level of force. They tried some judo holds on me, such as trying to inflict pain to my hands, and that was all. They were about to up the ante when I began to cooperate. I am alive partly because even though I have a psychotic disorder, I seem to retain a compartment that does not get sick, and that allows me to act based on observable facts. 

I have only been incarcerated the one time. In successive psychotic episodes, I was fortunate enough to be taken directly to a locked ward of a psych hospital.  

I have heard a number of stories of mentally ill people dying when far too young. Police are human beings and are subject to human immorality. Being a member of the police force doesn't automatically deem you a good or bad person. Some of them appear to have joined police forces for the wrong reasons. There is not much they can currently do to me since I'm not doing anything wrong. 

About twenty-five years ago, I spoke to a woman whose son had died in a police transport van. While in custody, the well-being of fragile people is not acknowledged, much less safeguarded. They put you in cages and you are on your own. If you need medication, such as high blood pressure meds or diabetes meds, it's too bad. If you need psych meds, it's too bad. If you need medical attention, if you're lucky enough, you will be transported to a hospital; and if superlatively lucky, this happens before it is too late. 

Our "criminal justice system" lacks justice, and it is criminal. I couldn't compare it to that of other countries--where it is probably even worse. Human beings need to learn not to treat their fellow human beings in such a raw, disrespectful, and heinous manner. Being incarcerated is about the worst thing that can happen to a person. This is a crime against human dignity and against human life. Society can do better than this. 

I have nothing against police. I feel that the vast majority of them are very brave individuals who want to help their communities be safe places to live. However, sometimes if they are afraid or suffering from the belief that the individual with whom they are dealing is a "bad person" they may inappropriately abuse their power. Police could be trained to have more sensitivity toward mentally ill and that might solve ninety percent of the problem. Police should also be more accountable for bad actions than they currently are.