Locked In Psych Ward For 8 Days Because Cops Couldn’t Believe She’s A Businesswoman

a reply to: infolurker

In defense of the woman, it's the system. Once police tags a person to be possibly mentally disturbed that person enters the mental healthcare system and only a psychiatrist can undo the suspicions, doesn't matter if a person is white, black, brown, yellow or green. No one can expect a police officer to judge if someone is mentally sane, that calls for a university level educated doctor and it can be hard to convince a psychiatrist when one is deemed possibly insane.

In defense of the health care system, they've probably seen too many mentally disturbed people like so many in healthcare and went by the book. There must have been something in the attitude of the woman in question which ticked the police off as well as the healthcare workers. Tick them off and they become careless and will just do their job and are in fact trained not get emotionally involved.

Still not an excuse but that is what psychiatry has become, an industry with lots of money involved. Get a bad rep, come into contact with these people and the consequences can be huge. She got lucky with only 8 days. What is also very wrong with this picture is the bill, try to get a job after such an experience and pay the bills, you have to be mentally sane and tough as nails. It was only 8 days but what if she was locked up several months? It doesn't help applying for a job with such a hole in a resume.

originally posted by: CallmeRaskolnikov
jesus christ, i hope everyone responsible pays for what happened to this poor women. what a total nightmare. they take her car for no reason, take her to a psych ward for no reason and then sedate her and force her to stay for 8 god damned days?! in new york you can only be in a ward against your will if you are a danger to yourself, a danger to others or are unable to take care of yourself. wasn't she allowed a phone call? why couldn't she just log in to her #ing twitter again to prove that barrack followed her on twitter? there are SO many things wrong with this whole situation its scary.

The reasoning? The police probably Baker Act'ed her. Basically it's when you go to the magistrate, you say we have someone who is a danger to themselves and others and we need them on a 72 hour psych hold. Magistrate signs and says sure, you guys never lie. Boom, straight to the hospital she goes, doped up. The doctors, after 72 days, probably determined her screaming to get the hell out of there was "her being out of control still" and "still a harm" so they kept her a few more days. I don't know what they call the Baker Act in NY. It happened to my daughter when she was at an ER in NC. She got upset, thought I left her forever, so she hit a nurse, mind you she's autistic with an emotional level of 6 at the time, so they Baker Acted her to a lock down psych ward for 30 days.

a reply to: infolurker
The most scary thing is this :

She was clearly telling the truth and perfectly sane and yet all those experts in that institution could not tell

Oh my freaking gawd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what gives everyone the impression, besides personal inferrence, that she was arrested for "being black and successful"? I know a few black, successful folks from NYC....its not like its some kind of uncommon thing like having a horn on your forehead or something..

I am incredulous at the incredulity. Because besides the point about her and her success, its also not like being a cop automatically qualifies you as a complete bumbling idiot.

That said....i agree that she should sue. But it needs to be where you can sue the officers personally for this. Or, if nothing else, the doctors. Since it was them that administered medication due to medical malpractice relating to their diagnosis. The cops are the least culpable party involved other than the woman. The doctor could have declined to admit. It happens all the time.

I'm missing something ... how did she finally get out? Did she have to lie? If they thought she wasn't who she said she was wouldn't she not have a medical bill? It would be in the wrong name right?

originally posted by: Elton
I read this the other day and was horrified.

I guess when she went to pick her car up from impound she was quite emotional (justifiably so) so the cops threw her in Harlem Hospital for 72 hour psych eval.

They immediately drugged her and then they held her for 8 days and the doctors psych plan included:

“Objective: Patient will verbalize the importance of education for employment and will state that Obama is not following her on Twitter,” and “patient’s weaknesses: inability to test reality, unemployment.”

Because they didn't believe her, but a quick internet search or phone call would have straightened it all out (she was telling the truth).

I hope she sues for millions honestly.

A nurse wrote that fyi. The doctor had nothing to do with that since nurses write those up independent of doctors. But diagnosing and prescribing is what they did in this instance.

How was she forced meds though? Typically you have to go through the courts to do that, which isn't the case for holds. She should have been able to say no. If you're hysterical and screaming though, dunno what she was doing, then they can give tranquilizers.

Still, how did they hold her past 72 hours? Something seems a little off, by law they have to let you go unless there are rather extreme circumstances.

a reply to: Iamthatbish

From the article: "When she was finally let go, the doctors didn’t tell her why she was being allowed to leave, Brock said."
Messed up, eh?

a reply to: Autorico
I hope she calls her insurance and denies the claim. I also hope that hospital calls her to do a survey after. That'd be quite the phone call!

a reply to: Iamthatbish

I would pay money to hear that lol.

originally posted by: yorkshirelad
a reply to: infolurker
The most scary thing is this :

She was clearly telling the truth and perfectly sane and yet all those experts in that institution could not tell

Oh my freaking gawd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Worse, they are so incompetent that they didn't even bother using Google.

a reply to: aboutface

Yeah, I don't get this at all:

The next day, she went to pick up her vehicle and confronted officers about her treatment. She was forcibly sedated, cuffed, and sent to Harlem Hospital. On arrival, she was locked up in the psych ward as an ‘Emotionally Disturbed’ person.

Cops now sedating loud and confronting people? There are nuts everywhere and I've seen some damn rude and obnoxious people on the Pawn Star show. I don't see anyone sedating them or locking them up.

I hope she receives MILLIONS and MILLIONS. She didn't violate any laws, they didn't want to listen to her chastising them for the previous evenings false arrest.

Control your police people! Get rid of the bad a$$es and their leaders. Easier said than done, yes, especially if it's only a few doing the work. That's why EVERYONE TOGETHER needs to toss out the garbage. Only then will they be listened to. Too much apathy, disappointment etc.

As much as I hate to see people hurt, revolutions are the only way to force necessary change when it comes to oppression from the government. Ferguson is a good example: “Everyone's almost pretty much walking on eggshells,” said Sgt. Darren.

With scathing findings of a months-long investigation being released, attention now turns to Ferguson as the city confronts how to fix racial biases that the federal government says are rooted in the police department, court and jail.
wane.com...

These investigations wouldn't have happened if people chose to continue to put up with poor treatment and go on about their business. It took a mini revolt and lots of demonstrators who didn't follow the rules or play nice to bring this to the level of attention it deserved.

a reply to: infolurker

My best friend was caught up in this system. Essentially what they'll do is strip your rights, and assign you a 'legal guardian' (case worker) who then takes on the job of moving you from facility to facility the second you raise a fuss or start to wisen up. No conspiracy theory nonsense here, friend ended up FINALLY getting out of the system after a lengthy lawsuit where his mother was declared his guardian. The day she dies, he's back in. His issue? He's manic depressive with short term memory loss, after being clinically dead for 8 minutes and suffering cerebral anoxia. If that's worth locking someone up for their entire life then I don't want to live on this planet.

Wow! This is insane!! But, on a positive note, at least the LEO's working at the impound lot didn't shoot her dead for becoming "emotional."

Do we even have rights anymore? Where did they go and when did this sort of stuff become commonplace? More importantly, why are We the People, continuing to let this happen?

She's lucky she didn't die from all those nasty psych drugs they shot her up with and shoved down her throat. Lithium can be a very dangerous drug for someone to take (or in this case force fed) who does not have bipolar d/o or any other need for it. Those types of drugs can work wonders for those who need them but not for those who don't!

Just. Disgusting.

originally posted by: msallo
a reply to: Elton

Yeah, sue for millions. That will really show them.

Seriously, I am in the legal profession and I cringe when yall act as if that will in any way punish the wrongdoers.

You want money you sue, you want justice you find another remedy.

NOTHING WILL CHANGE UNTIL YOU START HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS

voting politicians out of office and suing taxpayers are not holding people accountable..man up USA

awww, was gonna agree with you 'till you started with the "vote them out/work within the system"

hmmph I'll sue for millions, thank you, and use the money to pay for my own justice

junkie hitmen are dirt cheap,
and muggings occur everyday in the big city...

originally posted by: SpongeBeard
a reply to: infolurker

My best friend was caught up in this system. Essentially what they'll do is strip your rights, and assign you a 'legal guardian' (case worker) who then takes on the job of moving you from facility to facility the second you raise a fuss or start to wisen up. No conspiracy theory nonsense here, friend ended up FINALLY getting out of the system after a lengthy lawsuit where his mother was declared his guardian. The day she dies, he's back in. His issue? He's manic depressive with short term memory loss, after being clinically dead for 8 minutes and suffering cerebral anoxia. If that's worth locking someone up for their entire life then I don't want to live on this planet.

Sounds like your friend has suffered an anoxic brain injury (ABI) and is probably not bipolar (manic depressive). ABI's can cause a whole host of effects ranging from mild deficits to full brain death. The short term memory loss is very common, but I bet he isn't even bipolar...unless he was before his ABI. Then, it could be exacerbated by the injury.

I'm curious as to how he ended up with an ABI...I've cared for all sorts of patients with them and while some of their deficits are common, most are all truly unique people after such an event. Emotional instability after an ABI is not the same thing as being bipolar...Bipolar disorder is caused from a chemical imbalance in the brain. Hope your friend and his family can find someone to get to the bottom of this and, as long as he hasn't had any legal issues/been in trouble, finding the right advocate and attorney may get him out of this mess!

a reply to: ghaleon12

Actually a "care plan" is multidisciplinary and is NOT "independent" or exclusive of the physician's plan of care. This was one of the Joint Commission's major objectives a few years back and they are the most influential org when it comes to HOW patients are cared for and how those caring for them document that progress.

Pretty much, what they say or propose goes and those changes are made quickly and do not normally change again until they propose something else that is more therapeutic/effective based on research and evidence. Just about anyone who has worked in any type of multidisciplinary health care facility (including a hospital with an inpatient psychiatric unit) knows this.

The article even states "the DOCTORS PSYCH PLAN..." not the "nurses plan..." And no where did it state the nurses were the ones "diagnosing and prescribing is what they did in this instance." Advanced Practice Nurses (Nurse Practitioners) can diagnose and treat but real nurses are limited in that scope of practice and we are all VERY aware what our role is, and isn't.

How do you know a nurse wrote it? It could have been a psychologist, intern, a psychiatrist, a social worker, or some other mental health care professional...Not necessarily a "nurse."

Please, do not blame the nurse. We really, really detest that.

originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
a reply to: infolurker

NYPD gets sued 30/day on average. Defunding the whole den of criminals would be a money maker for taxpayers.

Wow

Did not know that geesh

The incompetence showed by all of the authorities in this case is just plain pathetic....these are the people they let make life and death decisions for the rest of us....this world gets more surreal by the day.....

Only in America can you be forcefully sent to a mental hospital then billed $11,000


Hope she tore the bill up !

a reply to: infolurker

Wow.

So many things wrong with this story. Is it normal for police to throw a citizen in a mental ward with no evidence or assessment?!

And the drugging against her will?!

Please tell me this is an isolated incident i agree with another poster I hope she sues both police and hospital and people lose their jobs as they don't deserve them. A child could see that this is wrong.