The mother bear is awake

Uh-oh…..

January 25, 2014 ~ Last week, being the bad week that it was, found us in the office of the therapist who decided that a crisis evaluation in the local Emergency Department was necessary. I was fully supportive of that, but imagine my surprise when a police officer walked up behind my son, (who was calmly waiting in the front lobby) grabbed his arm, put him in HANDCUFFS and marched him out the door to the police car.

In spite of pleas from my husband to hold on a minute, the officer turned a deaf ear.

So here's my question. If someone has chest pain and calls for assistance, do we handcuff them and put them in the back of a police car? If you slip on the ice and break your leg do you find yourself restrained in a police cruiser? Of course not! Then why do we treat people having a mental health crisis as if they're criminals?

Trust me....I completely understand the safety risks and fully support caution. But this was over the top, traumatizing to all of us, and completely unnecessary. Of course, in my son's confusion, he thought he was being arrested.

The mother bear is not happy.