arrested because of disorder

I failed roadside sobriety test sober and kept dissociating in police car, officer thought i was mad, really drugged out or not cooperating, had flashbacks and more dissociating at hwy patrol but finally figured out i was sober but this was after i had ridden
half hour to 40 min drive with hands cuffed behind my back, spent another half hour to 40 min chained/ cuffed
Alone to wall. I'm a small woman who was questioned tested by two hwy patrolman with weapons in deserted hwy patrol building in middle of the night. To test my pupils i had to sit a long time closed in a dark room. I had the worst flashbacks there but wanted to go home so continued with the test.

God, that's awful!

Hugs (((((((( likewater ))))))))

Sorry this happened to you. I have schizophrenia. They always think I'm high.

Take care.

Hugs if you want them Likewater. This is horrible. Hope peace comes your way soon.

How are you coping now? Any lingering trauma? Can you get help?

Ouch ... Unfortunately it appears that failing the field sobriety test trumped all else ... Since you were sober I'd hire a lawyer to investigate and explore why the field sobriety equipment failed ... At any rate, what a rather unfortunate evening for you ...

Emergency Personnel (police / fire / paramedics) seem to be getting a bit more educated on dealing with people with mental health issues ... But the unpredictability of people with mental health issues (especially when under the influence of alcohol or drugs) leaves them little room for empathy and compassion as the personal safety of the Emergency Workers is paramount to all else that may be going on at the time ...

Whatever you decide to do, I'm hoping you're able to process the events of the evening in a way that is healing and not harmful to your overall wellbeing ...

Sincerely,
BrokenCloud


ps. If you can't afford to hire and attorney, check with your local Legal Aid Society ... They often do work for little or no cost to the client ...

That is horrible. Police are very rough, I know exactly how you felt.

there are different types of sobriety tests police can use..one type does involve tracking the movements of your eyes.

it could be (just guessing here) that they did see that there was some sort of a mental health issue going on & decided to keep her off the road & let her calm down some & then retest after a time period. perhaps they weren't sure or their first test didn't come up totally accurate...i do not know how DID would effect the test if perhaps alters were coming & going...

so maybe the troopers were not acting out...perhaps the original test was performed at night outside, it was to her benefit to have the repeat test performed in the same conditions as the first (to eliminate any claims that the changing conditions might have caused a pass/fail situation) so that is why they used a dark room holding area.

your were cuffed behind your back for your safety & the officers. they do not know you or what your situation is. they just know that they must safely transport you to another location. this is standard procedure..regardless of if you are a killer or a traffic stop.

same with being secured in the station. until everyone is sure you are not a risk you will be secured. it is for your safety as well as those working. no one singled you out & considered you more of a risk than others.

2 troopers with firearms...standard. they don't know you. they don't know if you are psychotic, on drugs, have a weapon, a felon, rage issues...what ever. people do weird stuff. weapons are part of a law enforcement officer's uniform. they are not the first choice of action..there are different levels of action to go thru before a firearm but they will use it if need be. no one likes to but it is something there.

they are not going to remove their firearms because you are a small woman. ain't gonna happen. plenty of small women do plenty of damage..including kill. as an ex officer i made sure i was safe & i made sure you were safe. what if i removed my weapon to care for you & someone brought in a killer who got loose & pointed a weapon at you? what could i have done with no weapon?

none of us were there. none of us can judge...it does sound like a stressful situation...but any arrest is stressful. it ain't fun. it ain't supposed to be.

you could contact a lawyer...but honestly i doubt you would have a claim...to me it sounds like they were following procedure. don't forget you were disassociating pretty bad , & pretty agitated as well..which might have skewed your perceptions some...as well as presenting yourself as less than sober.

was this is America (USA)? I didnt know they still did such things as chaining people to walls and leaving people who have possibly been drinking in total darkness here. what a very dangerious situation. As far as I know america did away with doing such things because americans know that people who have been drinking can suddenly pass out and barf, end up dieing if when they pass out they fall and hit their heads or inhale their barf.

It is possible for alters to get drunk and the host(core) test sober on the breathalizer and on field sobriety tests.

My suggestion contact the police department and tell them what happened so that the cops that did this are put under internal investigation. (in america (USA) the police have to follow a code of conduct and answer to ethics boards just like doctors, therapists, teachers ...) the cops that did this will be put on leave while under investigation. you will need to testify and show the investigators where this happened to you. and if it is discovered the cops that did this kidnapped you (holding you in a deserted place for hours is called kidnapping) harrassed and abused you those cops will be arrested and have to stand trial just like any other American that does such things.

another suggestion - some people with dissociative disorders have psychotic episodes when drinking and drinking can also cause its own hallucinations and delusions.. contact your treatment providers so they can document whether this was a psychotic event or not. this documentation will go a long way in helping you get justice and make sure this wont happen again.

crimes like this also leave evidence..both mental and physical..

my suggestion is tell your treatment providers what happened. if you dont have a therapist, psychiatrist or medical doctor go to the Emergency room. they can document what happened just like they would document any other crime like kidnapping, rape and such. this way you have medical records to submit on your behalf should you decide to prosecute or should this have happened to someone else and they prosecute your statement, medical records of the incident can help someone else successfully prosecute these cops.

even though its been days they will still be able to take your statement and collect evidence (document things like bruising, your hair cells will still show whether you have been drinking or doing drugs in the past month, along with other evidence that doesnt go away in just a few days...)

Oops! ... My Bad ... !!!

I thought you'd failed a breathalizer that had malfunctioned ... I didn't absorb the "field sobriety" part ... Stumpy's correct ... A lawyer (free or not) isn't going to be of any use in this situation ...

I carry a card in my billfold that has my mental health conditions listed on it (as well as the phone number(s) of any therapists or p-docs I may be seeing at the time) ... That way if I'm dissociated or having an anxiety or panic attack at least those trying to help me will have a little extra information to work with ...

Of course, if I'm acting so wacky that police have to arrest me, I'll have the good graces to not hold it against them personally because I realize I have some issues that may present me in a strange light, and they're only human and can only deal with what's before them at the time ...

Sincerely,
BrokenCloud

I'm so sorry this happened to you, likewater. I don't drive very much or very far because I worry about losing control or going somewhere I didn't intend to go (the latter happened recently, came back walking up and down the utilities staircase in a 30 story skyscraper at the local university, still don't know why) but it never occured to me that something like this could happen. Sadly, I'm not surprised that the police treated you so roughly. They shouldn't be able to do what they do but unfortunately, most of the time no one is policing the police. I hope you are okay now. (((((((safety hugs)))))))

They didnt really treat me roughly. I think they scared the s**** out of me but saved my life. Turns out my car had a bent tire rod,
you couldnt see it but thats how id gotten turned around id pulled off hwy earlier when car made noise like flat tire. Besides i was dissacociated pretty bad. When train went by voices were telling me to jump in front of it and i had a really bad migraine. The dark room was to test the pupils of my eyes adjusting to the dark and then reacting to a penlight. I wasnt trying to villainize the hwy patrol
Officers but explain why i flashbacked/panicked/dissociated so badly and how scary it was. Even having them take blood pressure and pulse was traumatic as i hate to be touched.

Also if they hadnt come i wouldve frozen to death. No one could see my flashers from hwy, tow truck couldnt find me and cell ph was dying.

Hi likewater - I am so sorry you had to experience this and that there were many triggers for you. It "just" sounds like a really unfortunate situation, that the police had their procedures to follow which didn't take into account the potential impact on you. But ultimately if they had not come then as you say you may have frozen to death.

Glad you are safe now and hope you have someone who can work through these memories and triggers with you.

I wonder if it would help to write a letter to the police involved, as a complaint if you feel there was anything they did which wasn't procedure, alternatively just as some feedback / guidance for them, so they too can learn something from this situation.

Soup

^^That's a good idea.

Thanks ive thought of writing a letter, not of complaint but explaining condition so they could understand another like me.

i am glad things have settled down...i kind of figured (as i explained in either this thread or the other one in the other forum) that there was a purpose to the dark room with regards to sobriety check.

law enforcement officers for the most part don't really enjoy scaring & tormenting the crap out of folks...really this isn't the main reason they do things. 9 times out of 10 there is a reason. you may not know it, or understand it but there is one...it's for officer safety, or YOUR safety. sometimes things are done to prevent complaints of roughing someone up from happening.

now...let's be truthful here...if you came upon someone who was dissociating badly what would you do? honestly. would you recognize it right away & say.."oh i know what this is." or would you say this person is nuts..takes drugs, drunk? be HONEST. someone you have never met. pulled up on them in a ditch, at night etc.

it is a scary thing if you have never come up on it...& everyone is different. some are violent, loud, etc. just because you (or i) say hey i have this condition & i am doing this because...doesn't mean i as a trooper am going to believe you & let you wander around the station. ain't gonna happen. sorry. because if you "switch" & turn violent & assault me then i am injred & others might be as well including yourself.

joe stranger walking down the street doesn't know from DID...except what he has seen on tv etc...a trooper might have a tiny shred of knowledge but you can not expect him (or her) to be familiar with it (or every medical condition) that is not realistic. nor can you expect them to believe you when you are in crisis & saying i am really ok as you switch back & forth...again ain't gonna happen until things are calm & settled.

there are sayings...
1. i am going home tonight. from work. in 1 piece. to my family.
2. better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.

a cashier screws up & maybe the cash draw is short. trooper screws up...they may die. you may too.

stumpy
(sometimes it's good to see the other side of the coin... ex law enforcement with DID)

That's a good idea, likewater. Thanks for explaining what happened. Glad to know the police helped you but I definitely understand being so scared. Even on a good day, I don't like to have my blood pressure taken. It's very uncomfortable.

Likewater,
Wow! how scary. recently this has happened to us. The start of work with a new T certainly has added to the increased stress levels. Our only saving grace has been the medical alert bracelet. It indicates a medical condition which is hampered by dissociation. So far no one has been hurt.
Very glad to read you are okay. Sent you a couple of hugs. Scared for you...but relieved too for you.

just a thought, to prevent this sort of misunderstanding you could always carry a card in your purse/wallet explaining your condition, how it effects you and how best they can help you when you are displaying certain symptoms, it is also a good idea to put your doctors contact details on too, that way they can verify the card is telling the truth about you!

Thank you. I think i will look into that now. The medical bracelet or a card in my purse with number to dr
Is a good idea :-)

(((Bmee2))) sorry this happened to you too.

the card is pretty easy to make, i made mine on the computer by using microsoft word. i inserted a table, made the sections slightly smaller than a credit card, in one section I printed my name, age, and doctors details in bold, in big bold i wrote 'I NEED YOUR HELP' and I suffer from... and listed my conditions, at the bottom in bold I wrote 'I am not dangerous, drunk or high'. this made the front of the card.
in a seperate section i wrote 'i am likely to' .....and listed my behaviour 'when ill' you may wish to list your alters and how each one reacts
what helps me is..... this could be.. reassurance, help getting home, to sleep etc
then 'the best way you can help me is...... this could be ..call a specified person or medic, sit me down, find my blue inhalour and hand it to me, ask my alter if you can talk to me etc what ever works for you.
My allergies are.... (i have loads so it is important for this to be on my card, though if you do not have any it could be left off)
this made the back of the card.

you may wish to put a next of Kin or emergency contact on the front too. i do not have these so left them off!

I then printed them, cut them out and glued them to a thick card of the same size before laminating it. I trimmed it down and rounded the corners off so i do not scratch myself on the corners and there you have it, job done, a totally personalised information card to show people or what people can find if you become too unwell or confused to tell them.

I keep one in my purse, one with my driving licence and a more detailed one made like a poster in my hall way by the stairs. that way if i become ill at home the medics find it easily and understand my conditions and needs.

That's really cool, Yellowted. If i had, had something like that, it would have helped a lot.:-)

Yellowted, what's not cool, is no emergency contact or next of kin for you. Safe hugs if that's ok. I'm sorry to hear that you are so alone.