Mental Health Issues and Law Enforcement

On the street, there are easy ways and hard ways for Law Enforcment to help those with mental health issues.

The hard way, yet proper way, is to get a "Green Warrant" or Temporary Detainment Order.  This requires the Officer/Deputy to spend hours and hours of their time attempting to get Mental Health Officials to find a bed somewhere for this individual.  This is the long, hard way.  This often will involve their time and keep them off the street and unavailable for calls for up to twelve hours.  This will lead into overtime, or more likely "trade time" so the counties don't have to pay extra.  Understandably, most of the deputies/officers will tell us that their supervisors discourage them taking this course of action.

Unfortunately, the easy way is to arrest the individual.  It is quite easy to drum up a reason to help arrest an individual whom has an altered mental status.  Once the individual is under arrest, then it is up to the jail to get the new inmate assistance on their mental health issues.  The Officer/Deputy spends no more than an hour (often less) tied up with the arrest, and then they are back on patrol.  However, if you are the son of an influential politician (Say, Gus Deeds) then local law enforcement tend to treat you with kid gloves.  

Sometimes it is easy, such as getting their previous medical history and getting them back on their medications.  Sometimes the inmate needs to be seen by mental health and they will diagnose and medicate them while they are incarcerated.  Sometimes the inmate needs to be transferred to the state forensic facility in order to receive proper treatment...  but there are only a handful of state forensic facilities capable of handling inmates.   This is a long process for most inmates.

We had one inmate who was HUGE!  And he was dangerous.  Any time we dealt with him we had to pull multiple officers, we had to restrain the inmate, et al.  This inmate was assault and destructive.  Mentally, the best way to describe him as if there was no one home upstairs.  His behavior was random, and often he would not acknowledge other people.  We delt with him for a year, yet mental health kept claiming that he was faking the entire time.  It took a year of his behavior in jail (whereupon the judge kept kicking him out of court) before the forensic facility took the inmate.  That inmate is still in that facility.

But we had one inmate who's dad was a lawyer.  The kid was a little snot.  He took a small amount of a medication that I will not identify due to liability reasons.  That inmate refused his medications for a long time, and we knew that he was doing so in order to act out in court.  (This trick is a common trick among inmates.)  Well, he acts out in court and due to him having a well connected father and a well paid lawyer that inmate was in the forensic unit the next day.

Money talks.

What was odd to me was that the inmate came to court directly from the forensic unit, and got a slap on the wrist sentence.  The inmate still got jail time, just not much of it.  It was passed on from the security unit that the inmate tried to spit out his medications undetected in order to "freak out" in court a second time.  The way the news reported it, our facility neglected to give him proper mental health treatment.  We got the blame, because under HIPPA we can't make medical statements.  (I doubt that the media bothered to contact our agency in the first place, or if they did it was a last minute call and we didn't have time to prep a statement.)

Our mental health system is screwed up.  Part of the problem is that people don't want to work hard (or are discouraged from working hard) and do their job properly.  But often the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.

There is the money... but I can't get to it.

I'm getting kind of frustrated at life.  I've been trying to knock out my bills for years now.  I'll admit that I wasn't all that "smart" when we started paying off the bills, and we had made some dumb purchases.  A bit of our initial financial advice ended up being pretty dumb...  But I will state that it seemed to be good advice before the recession hit.

We got onto a smarter plan of paying off our bills, but we still had a lot of major issues.  Our oil furnace had a catastrophic failure despite getting regular maintenance and repairs.  (We ended up replacing the whole system, and it does not perform to our expectations.)  We had a car with a ton of maintenance issues, when the transmission went we decided that the cost of the repair would go towards a down payment of a used car.  (And we paid it off in three years!)  My wife got laid off.  Every time I got close to paying off a credit card, we'd have another emergency or...  or something.  It got frustrating when I ended up paying one credit card off multiple times because the other was maxed out and "something" would happen.

Finally I have the car paid off, the new heat pump paid off, and all of my credit cards except for one is paid off!  Less than $1000 to go!

I keep trying to work Overtime at work.  That is good money.  I take all the options I can.  For some reason or other I keep missing out on it.  Suddenly I get the opportunity to make approximately $500 in overtime!  Whee!  I'm signed up for two days of work, even though this made my wife very angry.  (She gets upset at me choosing work over family time...  She is more emotional, I'm more logical but that is how it works.)

So, I come down to this weekend.  I can earn approximately $500 by working Overtime on Friday and Sunday.  Come Friday, Adorable Preciousness is sick thus I have to stay home with her.  I got a call and I was advised that the reason for overtime on Sunday has now "gone away" thus I will not be needed.

/seething

I'm so close.  I see the money, but I can't grab it.

So close.

Working Showers and Gun Stores

My post on mental health and law enforcement is dragging along slowly.  I can't work on it more than a few minutes without an interruption.  I'll have it up eventually.

The downstairs shower is finally fixed.  The original Sears brand faucet was installed in 1950, and the innards had finally rusted out.  Due to the piping, we moved the faucet to the far left of the tub and were able to snag a large plate to cover the original holes.  It looks really funny, but it was done for $200 and it was a lot cheaper than my original plan which was to gut the entire bathroom.  (My wife is in love with the tiled walls, which are another original from 1950.)

I've been looking at getting an AR for a long time.  One store has what I want for a really good price...  But another store has a Daniel Defense in stock for way more than I can afford.  Went to a few local gun stores to get some ideas.  There was a lot of temptation, but nothing I was ready to snap up.

I rarely hear a lot of B.S. at a gun store, but I heard some today.  One store is pushing some off brand revolvers.  The mouth behind the counter stated that "if you pull the trigger and it doesn't fire, then you pull the trigger again until it does."  If you pull the trigger and it doesn't fire (squib) then you keep the muzzle of the revolver pointed down range in case it cooks off.  If you pull the trigger on a squib, then the cylinder rotates and you may have a round cook off out of battery.  Ouch.  They stated that with a pistol, the bad round would just stay in the chamber.  Ever heard of Tap, Rack, Shoot?

They also claimed that you can fire a revolver in any position (IE: upside down) which you could not do with a pistol as it would jam.  Only with a cheap pistol.  Through my agency, I've done a bit of tactical training and I can tell you that my Glock can handle a lot of rough handling and still cycle.

And now I present to you... The Weather!

The title is my attempt at paraphrasing the music intro of the podcast "Welcome to Nightvale."  Quite an entertaining podcast.

So, it finally got warm.  Winter did not want to go away.  The temperature rose and I opened all the windows of the house.  It was wonderful!

Now it's cold again.

I've got the windows shut.  I have the heat on.  I'm miserable.  (Doesn't help that I didn't bother to shut the storm windows, so there is a bit of a chill in the air.)

Of course, in a few weeks I'll have the AC on and I'll be complaining about the heat.  Oh well.

How do I use this cuteness to conquer the world?

I've realized something.  My daughter, Adorable Preciousness, can wrap anyone around her finger without even trying.  I went to a book signing tonight and they were giving away T-Shirts to "the most entertaining in line," whatever that meant.  My daughter was twirling and singing and running in circles, as most little ones are wont to do.  (She doesn't stay still unless she's either asleep or watching Bubble Guppies.)  I could have had a shirt, except I didn't want one.  There was a photographer that took about two dozen photos of her...  and then they asked me to sign a release.

I've got to figure out how to take that cuteness, bottle it up, and weaponize it.

Spring has sprung!

We've been dealing with bitter cold, and the other day was the first day of spring.  Oddly enough, we go from the 30's to the 70's for one day only.  

Thus, we took advantage of our 70 degree Saturday!  

Went out to the local Irish festival, held by a Catholic church the week after St. Patrick's Day.  Their reasoning is that you don't do an all out party on his day, but wait a week to celebrate it.  Yeah, sounds kind of awkward coming from me but I can see the logic in it.  On that note, it has no competition and it raises a ton of money for the church.  

Adorable Preciousness ate her first corn dog today.  She loved it.  Then she realized that there was a HOT DOG under all of that breading.  Next thing I know it's been devoured and she is gnawing on the stick.  Ha ha!  

I had a good day.  Good memories.  The rest of the week is supposed to be cold and rainy, and maybe even snow.  Glad I enjoyed it while I could.  

Chest Compressions

Before I start, a little history on me.  I used to be an EMT.  I was nothing special, low man on the totem pole.  The majority of the members of my squad were certified in Advanced Life Support.  IE: They could run the fancy electronic equipment, insert IV's, and push the drugs.  And a significant number of our staff were older.  Therefore with all of my training, I was pretty much relegated to the grunt work.  Cleaning out the ambulances, hauling the equipment, pulling the stretcher, et al.  I never really shined as an EMT because I was pretty much eclipsed by everyone else.

But on that note:  Due that I was young and strong and not allowed to play with the fancy equipment or drugs I would always be designated to do chest compressions during CPR.  It would be a team effort, one would run the IV, one would manage the airway/rescue breaths, and I would always be on the chest.  So, I've had a lot of practice.  But I've never had a save.

But, I've let my EMT certification lapse.  I haven't run in well over a decade and a half.  But I've kept my CPR certification up to date.

Recently I had to do CPR on an inmate.  (Guess my line of work.)  I can't tell you the last time I did CPR on someone.  But when the medical staff member said to start CPR, I jumped right in.  Just like the old days.  The inmate was packed up and passed on to EMS, and our day continued as what passed as normal at our facility.

Afterward, everyone congratulated me on the job I did.  But it wasn't just me.  I was just in the front when action needed to be taken.  And what I did could have been done by anyone else.  Also, I wasn't the only person doing something.  Another officer did rescue breathing.  The medical personnel did the IV.  It was a TEAM effort.  What I did, I had done before.  So it didn't feel any different.

Well, it didn't feel any different until someone asked me if I was OK.  I had no clue what they were talking about.  When they explained it...  Well, I had done CPR before, so I really didn't "think" about what I had just done.  It was action, not thought.

Thinking about something makes it a lot worse than it really is.  First off, I was coming off of the adrenaline rush.  Second, I had accepted it as something that needed to be done as opposed to something with emotional consequences.

But once I was asked that question, "Are you OK," that's when it kind of hit me.  I had to think of the issue, and about the inmates well being.  And then I got a little shaken.

Pocketbook, or kitty potty?

So...  The wife and I are trying to save money and pay off bills.  Of course that means that I am trying to save money, because every day we get a box of something or other dropped on our front porch addressed to my wife.  

Today, my wife got a box that contained two "pocket books."  Well, one hooks to the car seat so it's more of an organizer.   The second one was a HUGE canvas pocketbook with pockets on the inside and the outside.  And it is even insulated so you can keep food in int.  According to my wife, it would be perfect for travel and vacations.  

Sadly, I looked at them and all I could think was that they were just another container for our cats to pee in when they get miffed at us next.  

I'm done with this snow!

Being in the south, we normally don't deal with much snow.  Normally we'll get one or two snowstorms a season.  Sometimes they are big, sometimes they are small.  For the past few years, most of the snows where small and really didn't stick to the roads.  (There were about two exceptions.)

This year, the snow has been terrible.  It keeps coming.  And it keeps sticking.  The good news is that we've only lost power once.  The bad news is that it seems to keep hitting on my days off.  I work shift work so my days off rotate, but unfortunately that means that I've been stuck in the house on my free time for approximately a month.

Last week, enough snow had melted that I took Adorable Preciousness to the playground.  Of course, it was 40 and windy.  Kind of uncomfortable but I needed to get out.

Another snow.  Now I'm stuck in the house again.  And I hate it.  There is so much that I need to get done...  But it's not going to happen.  Heck, I need to make phone calls to get appointments scheduled, but the businesses are closed due to snow.

I really want to get out to look at and price firearms.  I've been looking at getting an AR and there are a handful that I'm trying to choose from.  Many of the dealers have been cleaned out since December and are now getting some nice models in.  I've been leaning towards a Windham, but a lot of people are complaining that they don't use quality materials or assembly.  My next choice seems to be a S&W, but I can't get any good evaluations on it because once I mention S&W, everyone says to go and buy a Colt.  I'm not going to get a Colt for reasons I won't go into on this post...  But if you ask I'll gladly tell you.  =o)

On that note, can anyone tell me the quality of a Palmetto State Armory rifle?  They keep putting out an $899 deal of AR + nice Optics.  (Such as an Aimpoint Pro.)  I'm half tempted, but not if it's a crappy rifle.

John Lott's Website: Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens unintentionally shows that the 2nd Amendment wasn't meant to just guarantee weapons for the militia

A very interesting article.  John Lott (Author of More Guns, Less Crime) made an interesting argument to the effect of that the statement of wanting to make the amendment "serving militia" only, then in a roundabout way former Justice Stevens is himself admitting that the 2nd amendment is about civilian possession of firearms.

John Lott's Website: Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens unintentionally shows that the 2nd Amendment wasn't meant to just guarantee weapons for the militia

The Liberal Gun Club

This is an interesting read.  Yahoo News: A Gun Club for Liberals: The Un-NRA 

I'm not happy how they color conservatives, but I do know some gun owners like that.  (To be fair, most gun owners I know tend to be more libertarian.)

But, not much time to research this.  I've got to run, so I'll leave without further comment.

Killing of Burleston County Deputy was No Billed.

This is a very interesting article.

Man charged with killing Burleson County Deputy No Billed by Grand Jury

In short, the agency did a "No Knock" entry on his trailer.  The man responded by opening fire with his legally owned firearm.  Mr. McGee's argument was that he was protecting the life of his pregnant girlfriend, and the jury bought that argument.

Please note that the Felony drug charges against Mr. MaGee have proceeded forward, so the man is neither scott free nor clean in my book.

There have been a small handful of self defense arguments where raids end badly for Law Enforcement and turn up no evidence.  With this court decision, I wonder if these arguments will end up at the Supreme Court.

I made it big time!

I got some credit for inspiring this!



Johnny Optimism: Big



OK, it's not much.  Stilton Jarlsberg explains it in the comment section.  I made a comment about "Tickles the clown" dong a puppet show.  (Here's the original web comic that I commented on:  Johnny Optimism: Ate.)  Well, Stilton ran with it.



And that has made me so happy.



Of course, I missed it when it was posted, catching it five days later.  The past few weeks have been very busy.  I'll avoid the details for the time being but I'm just catching up on a lot of e-mail, blogs, and web comics.



Again, thank you Stilton Jarlsberg.

AR-15, TAVOR, and the strange case of money burning a hole in my pocket.

I have recently come into a little money.

Just a little.  About two days worth of Overtime, so it's not a bad amount but it's not enough for me to quit my job and move to a beach house in Aruba.  Obviously my first impulse was to pay off some of my bills as I've been working hard on getting all of my bills paid off and "getting rid" of my credit cards.  But I'm already doing that and I've pretty much cut out all of my hobbies for the past three years in order to get our finances in better shape.  Thus, I've decided that I want to spend it on myself.  I deserve it.

So what do I want to buy?  A firearm.  Quite possibly two.  Or three.  I've been a member of IPSC, IDPA, and even SASS.  But over the past few years I've had to back away from shooting for various reasons...  Mostly because of  what I posted above.

My "Within Reason Wish List" is an AR and a nice tactical shotgun... with the shotgun being easily affordable without the money I just came in to.  One of the local gun stores has been picking up used Remington 870P's from a LE agency that is paring their stock down.  I can tear it down and see what needs replaced (if anything, the 870P's are workhorses) and then work on adding what I want to add to it down the road.  (Furniture, sights, choke, or maybe I'll just leave it as it is.)

Now that I've come in to this extra cash, I've moved up my purchase date for an AR to "As Soon as I Find One I Want."  Honestly, before I had the cash in hand I was looking really hard at a Windham Weaponry MPC.  However I'm a little put off with the fixed front post site.  However, I'm able to get a better deal on it than normal MSRP.  (On an aside, I was linked to this deal at Palmetto State Armory through Glock Talk...  and I'm thinking about it.)

However, I've recently fallen in love with a rifle that I really, really want.  I mean, really want.  A TAVOR.  Ever seen one of those?  It's a beautiful bullpup.  And one of my local gun stores has a great deal on theirs.  Apparently no one is buying it...  Because it is in Flat Dark Earth.

And that is the specific shade of TAVOR that I have dreams of owning.

I can afford this firearm with what I have.  But how can I justify to myself spending two grand on one firearm, when I could buy two entry level AR's and have change left over for sights, furniture, and other accouterments?

Suffice it to say, I don't have the money available for me to spend yet.  I finally got the check today and the bank's ATM won't accept it.  And I'm working straight through until next week...  Eh, it gives me more time to think about my decision.  I'd rather make a good decision and be happy with my rifle than make a rash decision and have regrets down the road.

Merry Christmas!

I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Mental Health Services in a Correctional setting

Inmates often have better access to medical and mental health services while they are incarcerated than when they are out on the street.  (Of course I will state that often most seem to not bother to seek services while they are out.)  In a correctional setting, treatment is regimented and defined.  It may not offer the celerity or convenience of a doc-in-a-box, but  you will get treatment.  

I would like to point out on an aside that treatment is regulated on an "As Needed" basis.  Heart attack or broken leg?  You get to ride the ambulance to the hospital, along with matching silver bracelets and a guard to match.  Back pain or toothache?  You aren't going to die from it so we'll get you some ibuprofen until the doctor can see you and determine if you are a drug seeker or are in valid need.  

Today, I want to talk a little about Mental Health Services.  At one time, there was a lot of money flowing from the state and there was a large number of beds at the forensic unit.  Then the funds dried up, and bed space was lost.  Currently, getting any type of mental health involves a lot of waiting.  We had one violent, destructive inmate take approximately 8 months before he was picked up for housing in a proper forensic environment.  

Recently we have been holding the son of a rather... influential family.  They have money, connections, and resources.  But the "kid" was caught red handed, and he confessed to his string of crimes.  I'm not comfortable with discussing the specific mental health treatment he was receiving, but I will only state that it can easily be classified as "minor."  (This requires a lot more discussion, but for his privacy and the fact that this issue/case is ongoing I shall refrain from expounding upon it.)  

Long story short, a few weeks prior to his court case the "kid" stops taking his pill.  And then he acted up in court.  And thus the defense requested a mental competency evaluation.  Normally we see a turnaround of months before an inmate will be picked up for such an evaluation.  BAM!  Pretty boy is out and receiving treatment.  

Money talks, and in the courts you get what you pay for.  

Is New Jersey "White Republican?"

I'm from the South.  My wife is from the North.  On the political spectrum, I lean to the Right while my wife leans to the Left.  But neither of us is what the media portrays right wingers and left wingers to be.
But I found the following sentence to be oddly...  Jarring.

"To all the people who have given me advice to stay away from white Republican places like Jersey, Florida, Texas and the South, let me say this."  

Jersey?  White Republican?  Well, some parts of it are.  But even in those areas, it's pretty left leaning for me.  Oddly enough, I find more signs of racism there than where I live in the South.  And don't get me started on the gun laws.  

Obviously, each person has their views skewed by their own perception.  They can perceive something better or worse dependent upon their own personal views.  Thus, the view that white/Republican = Racist.  Quite disappointing.  It merely shows that the writer has preconceived biases, which places them on the same level of perception as the racists that they decry.  

Traffic

I keep finding things to post about, but I rarely have time to post them.

For example, before Thankgiving I had a close brush with death.  It was about 4am and I was headed north to work.  There is a portion of the highway that raises into a curving bridge.  It curves right, then left.  Yes, there are a large number of accidents on this bridge when the weather is bad.

So, tooling to work, not many vehicles out that early in the morning.  I saw some headlights and in my sleep addled mind they were in the other lane, separted by a jersey wall.  But I thought "man, those lights are bright."  Normally, they lights get blocked by the jersey wall as they get closer...  But not this time.  I was in the far right lane, the oncoming driver was in the far left lane.  I only had a moment of realization before they passed me.  Heart was beating a million miles an hour, and the only thought I could get out was "Oh S***!"

I was a little rattled and there is no place to pull off for a few miles.  I did not have my bluetooth in.  (I rarely have it in that early in the morning.)  I pulled my cell phone, but I was shaking and dropped it under the seat.  (I didn't find it until I was on lunch break.)  It was 25 minutes before I got to work, so when I called the State Police they thanked me for my input but advised me that there was little they could do.  I knew as much.  Obviously, no accidents reported.

Green Top Sporting Goods, still kicking it after all these years.

Green Top used to advertise itself as the "South's Largest Outdoor Supply" or something like that.  And at the time I believed it.  Then came the large chain stores and they took that slogan down.  In approximately 2007, the announcement was made that a Bass Pro and a Gander Mountain were opening in the area of Green Top.  

And Green Top was scared.  To talk with the employees, they thought that their shop would be put out of business and they would all loose their jobs.  

But brand loyalty and customer service won through.  Gander Mountain garnered a lot of complaints about high prices and bad customer service and it closed.  Green Top moved in to their location and now operate an even BIGGER store than before.  And it is awesome.  It makes me feel good that the "little guy" survived and is doing even better.  

Oddly enough, I have not made it out to the new Green Top location since they took over the Gander Mountain site.  There are a million reasons, mostly because I just don't need the temptation to spend more money.  

But I finally made it over there, and it is awesome!  They have made great use of the space.  The organization is quite similar to Gander Mountain.  The majority of their long guns are out on display where they can be looked at easily.  They have a number of collectible shotguns locked in the case, and they also have a number of their higher end rifles kept behind the counter.  And all of their pistols are behind the counter.  They seem to have a lot more long guns than pistols.  Their pistol counter was very crowded, but their selection seemed a bit off.  More specifically, they didn't have the pistol that I was looking for in stock.  But, nothing is perfect.  

I will state that I've been to the new location twice this month.  On that note, when I went there on Friday it looked like someone's ex had sold off a nice extensive AR collection.  There were multiple AR's in different configurations.  There was one with a forward grip, green laser, and optics for a really good deal...  So good I tried to figure out how to buy it right then and there!  (Couldn't buy it without gutting the Thanksgiving/Christmas budget.)  So, good deal missed, but I'll be back!  

Did I miss Halloween?

I forgot to make a Halloween post.  I like to post a few spooky music videos I find off of YouTube, but Halloween just kind of snuck up on me.  I had a very busy month and I even got my car in to it's annual inspection at the last minute.  (It was not what I had planned!)

I have a bit I'd like to talk about.  Several incidents involving inmates with mental health issues or disabilities that should not be incarcerated but are, training at the Academy, life in general, et al.  I had more to write but I just spaced out.  Of course, life is busy and I don't have time to post as often as I'd like, nor am I as creative in my posts as I would like to be.

Well, at least I have a quick post up.  I recently got another comment to my blog and that was much appreciated.

Until my next post!