Have you ever been wrongfully arrested do to your disability?

Question

If so what happened?

Answer 1

I suspect it happens often, years ago I witnessed a person who "appeared" to be having some kind of "fit". He was lying on the ground and trying to hold onto a syringe, I suspect he was a diabetic, well dressed actually, clean - some people jumped him and took the needle away from him, called the cops. I was screaming at them to check for bracelet, but they wouldnt listen - they kept calling him a junkie and saying things like "f ** junkies shooting up on the street in broad daylight".

Some police are extremely stupid, and paramedics can be too. I also saw them force a man's legs straight to strap him to a stretcher while he screamed in pain - and I kept saying "stop it, look at his wrist inflection, he has a spinal cord injury, you're hurting him" and again they wouldnt listen to me -- And they were also making remarks about "damn junkies".

Maybe we disabled all need tshirts that say "disabled handle with care" but then people would all think that means we are "psycho" and might go off on them --

I suspect many of the taser homicide victims could have been disabled people -

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

At least twice. I was unable to reply quickly enough to questions. It was probably a factor other times like a malicious report made due to a person angered by my manner and when I tried to enforce a restraining order. I was arrested because they thought me odd/suspicious. I was arrested for DUI when I had never drank and positive breath test somehow because I couldn't do heel and toe walk. I also had a suspicious cop come repeatedly to my house saying he would get my home condemned and claiming neighbors documented drug sales. Like I would ever even have a visitor, much less frequent activity. Probably was a call from a neighbor to start this. I got the name of an IA cop to drop and he quit harrassing me. I am too afraid of them to ever call for help if I need it. I carried cards for a while, but they enraged hostile humans even more and I never could think of the card when I might have attempted it.

Answer 4

The cops called me an ambulance rather than arresting me and than showed up at the hospital where they tazed me in the hospital reception area. They seemed to think it was funny because I was schizo. I guess I was just a source for their amusement especially since they apparently knew who I was even though I was reported as missing. They later told me to leave town and sent me to a homeless shelter in a mostly black neighborhood and gang territory. Just before I got to the shelter I was shot at by some gang members who shot and hit some other guy in the leg. There was a cop car right across the street and he did nothing as far as I could tell except watch. Does the word "NUT JOB" mean anything to you? I have read that many people like this end up in prison instead of a psychiatric hospital which are reportedly all closing due to the high costs. For most people like this; the system doesn't work anymore and the prisons are their new hell for a home and the streets are still safe for no one.

Answer 5

I personally have never been arrested, but have had the police/security guards interfering. I have a medical condition that sometimes makes it very hard and painful for me to walk. There have been periods when I've been doing relatively good and was able to walk, but a few times the pain and stiffness came back very suddenly and I had a hard time getting home. I need to sit a lot when this happens, but there are not many public benches around and security guards/police have forced me to nearly crawl away when I've dared sitting down for a moment somewhere because I really couldn't stand anymore.

I also know someone who has Parkinson's who has often been mistaken for a drunk and has had to show her medical records to the police to prove she's not drunk. She has also been turned away from public places on the grounds that you can't enter them while drunk and when she tells people she has Parkinson's they just laugh and don't believe her.

Answer 6

No, haven't. I am however afraid that I will have problems while I'm out and about and the cops will want me to do a sobriety test (for what ever reason). Granted I don't drink but I have cerebral palsy down the left side what makes me unbalanced and makes me look like I'm drunk sometimes. I can't walk a straight line or hold my foot out and balance. I think some of the ways cops "tell" whether or someone is drunk are not right or fair for those who are disabled.

Answer 7

No, I don't have a record and oddly enough it could be a hinderance to my employment in my town. When I did have a job, I noticed employers who had a criminal background or were of a shady character. And they say the cleaner the record, the better the chance but in my town it seems the opposite. We have police officers getting arrested for meth use and possession.

And to the people who have certain disabilities, wouldn't they know, or could you just tell them to save yourself.

Answer 8

This is a scary thought. My husband can't talk and carries a card from his speech therapist to prove to a police officer, should he/she think he is not being cooperative. The program to get the cards out to all people with speech issues was part of a city wide police awareness program. My husband is also diabetic and there have been cases of diabetics being mistaken for being drunk, if their sugar is very low. Anyone with a disability that can be misinterpreted needs to wear a medical ID bracelet.

Answer 9

Lowes had my brother arrested this Christmas eve because he has Parkinson's and started shaking could not talk clearly or move well. They said he was 1st drunk then said he was sniffing paint or glue. He was there to buy Elmer's glue for a project at his house. He is only 50. Is he suppose to quit living because he has Parkinson's?

Answer 10

No, but I have MS and I fail my Doc's drunk test (neurological exam) every time. So I suppose if an officer thought I was drunk he might arrest me.