The sweet old lady could have been anyone s idea of Grandma. In her late 70s, she appeared fit and spry, moving quickly around her house as she told me her story. The house itself was clean and cared for, filled with photos of children, grandchildren, friends and family. The pleasant smell of a recently cooked meal hung in the air. The only things out of place were the strips of aluminum foil that had been tacked up to cover most of the first floor windows. Boxes of unused foil indicated the rest of the windows would soon be covered, as well. She had called our dispatch center asking for an officer to come out and discuss a dispute she had been having with the local hospital. And quite a dispute it was
They ve started it again, you know. I am getting so sick of this and I would like you to get them to stop once and for all.
Well, ma am, you ll need to tell me a little more so I can help. Who is
The hospital, of course! The messages they re constantly sending me. First they were through the radio, and then it was Elisabeth Shue talking to me on the TV, and now even when I ve unplugged the radios and the TV they are sending waves into my brain!
Elisabeth who? What? Elisabeth Shue, the actress, is talking to you?
Of course, Elisabeth Shue, the actress, is talking to me! I don t know how she knows me, but she does and those doctors are using her to convince me to come in and get locked up like a crazy person again. I know who she is and I can see her when she s in my brain telling me to go to the hospital and I need you to make her stop right now!
Now I m putting it all together. So the aluminum foil is to keep the messages they are sending into your brain out of the house? How often are you getting these messages?
Yes, but it only works for a little while and then they get in again, I think through the roof. It s an old house. The waves are all the time if I don t do something to block them. Can you help me?
I promise I ll do what I can.
I had formulated a plan that would ultimately prove brilliant, if I may be so bold!
I got permission from the sweet old lady to check the rest of her house. After I was satisfied she had food, and there were no rooms filled with dozens of cats, mummified remains of past husbands, or any immediate dangers to her, I convinced her to give me the phone number for her daughter. A call confirmed my suspicions when the daughter told me her mother had a history of hallucinations and delusions. Like many schizophrenic patients, she was able to control them and function fairly well, as long as she followed her doctor s instructions and took her medication. Unfortunately, as often happens with many patients, if she forgot to refill her prescriptions or did not take the drugs as directed, a backslide was inevitable. Her daughter assured me she would be over to take care of her within a couple of hours.
Assured she would be taken care of by her daughter, and that she was not in any immediate danger, it was time to leave. She pointed out I had not yet addressed the evil plans of Ms. Shue and the hospital to assault her brain with waves. I told her I had a plan and the police department was well-equipped to deal with her particular problem. I had her come out to my car and watch as I randomly pushed buttons on the in-car radio to produce various beeps and static squawks, all the while mumbling vaguely about creating an electromagnetic diversion to block the waves. After a couple minutes of this I told her I would drive around the neighborhood to strengthen the signals. I also asked her to call me if the problem wasn t fixed and I would send out a specialist, our police social worker.
Two hours later I received a message from her on my voicemail. She was grateful to report the waves had been successfully blocked and were no longer bothering her. Her daughter had come and she was going to go visit her doctor. She was sure he would intervene on her behalf and get Elisabeth Shue off her back once and for all!
Past Life Experiences
I had only been a police officer for a couple years when I responded to this call, but I was already well-acquainted with mental health issues. In my past life I worked with mentally ill adolescents and adults, and was already partway through a master s program in social work.
One of the most educational, enlightening, and fun jobs I ever held was as a mental health tech in a psychiatric hospital. I was privileged to work with, among many others, Prince Philip from the 14 century (he never mentioned Prince of what, but could apparently communicate with his vassals via a pocket comb), the Man with the Gangrenous Penis (mishap with an ill-fitting sexual aid), and an intelligent and successful businessman who had announced his sudden revelation he was Jesus by stripping naked and walking up and down the aisles of a packed commuter train, sharing the exciting news.
My prior experience and education certainly helped when I met the sweet old lady, but I still felt like I was winging it. I believe that understanding, and knowing how to respond to the mentally ill is an essential skill for an effective cop.
Mental Illness as a Law Enforcement Issue
A mental illness is a disorder of the brain characterized by disturbances in thoughts, feelings, or social adjustment. The sweet old lady and the people described from the hospital are extreme, though not rare, examples of severe mental illness. The full spectrum of mental disorders range from common, mild, and controllable to the chronic, debilitating, and even life threatening. The brain, like any other organ, is complex and occasionally prone to disturbances and disorders that can negatively affect how it functions.
National Institute of Mental Health statistics indicate that in any given year, between 12.5 million people in American will suffer from some form of mental disorder. Other experts suggest the actual number may be even higher. Longer term, various estimates are that at least a quarter of all people in America will have a mental illness at some point in their life. No one is immune and it is safe to say that all of us will be directly touched by mental illness, whether we suffer from it ourselves or it strikes someone close to us.
Incidents such as the recent shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University bring the issue of severe and dangerous mental illness to the public eye. Police are going to be the first responders to tragedies such as these. Incidents like these are, thankfully, still rare. Nonetheless, even if you never have to respond to something as bad as a mass shooting, if you are a cop you are dealing with the mentally ill daily.
An anxiety disorder or major depression is not dramatic to the outsider, but it can be to the ones living with it day in and day out. A mental illness possessed by anyone involved in your call is an organic part of that call. Whether responding to a crime in progress or to a civil dispute, a tactically sound officer controls his or her scene and is aware of all the participants and environment. How often, whether you are at a domestic trouble call or a business dispute, a fight or a driving altercation, do you get the sense one or more of the participants might be experiencing a distorted reality? Would you agree having a working knowledge of mental illness and how to respond is tactically important?
An officer with an understanding of mental illness will better serve the public and keep everyone safer. Understanding mental illness and mental disorders can make you a more effective interviewer, a better report writer, and will broaden your professional skill set.
