Brain injury survivors and the police
At the October Gray Matters Support Group, we had a very interesting meeting that touched on some hot topics. One of our members (who shall remain nameless) had a terrible experience as he was wrongly arrested. He told his story and it led a lively conversation regarding some very important topics.
Some of these issues are:
* The need for an ID for Brain Injury Survivors (many are mistakenly interpreted as DUI – off gait, slurred speech, memory problems…).
* Congressmen should be asked to make a law for police officers to consider the impact of a person’s disability, before assuming them drunk.
* Police take pharmaceutical drugs away from people placed in jail. Nurses should discern if the drugs are needed. This can be a potential disaster!
* Officers were noted by several people at the meeting to treat people horrendously (& they are paid by our tax dollars).
* There is a need to educate the local police about brain injury.
* We need for an attorney that acts as a brain injury advocate.
I encourage feedback on this.