Signal 15- Assist Officer

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver

Flight Attendant Manic

About a year after all this happened to me....THIS happened to a flight attendant. Watch/listen to the footage because that's pretty much how I was acting. It was a humiliating, excruciating state to be in. But people that are manic are not necessarily violent. If you treat them like a human being and talk to them they can try to cooperate. But if you just start tackling and choking the manic person MIGHT just flip out a little bit.

I'm not 'self important' I just want blame and anger where it belongs. What am I guilty of? Following orders and staying at work. Being extremely ill, as in serious and life threatening chemistry imbalances in my body, beyond my control. I defended myself when attacked. And I'm guilty of typing stupid crap on Facebook.

What are they guilty of? Breaking the law, breaking the rules, not getting me proper help like they were supposed to. 'They' being the Plano ER and DPD. They played Russian Roulette with me and really everyone else. What if I really was a violent person? I could have gone on a spree or run my car into Starbucks?

I spent 6 years taking care of sick, elderly people and people with cancer. As a cop I did my best to really give people the attention and respect they deserve. Did you just choose not to read the first paragraph about all my commendations and ZERO discipline. You've got anger issues about cops and blind hatred toward me, but sorry you're wrong. I was a damn good cop. And mania is a serious health problem. Would you be this judgmental if I had a brain tumor or a massive head injury? Would that be more comprehensible for you? I had no control over what was going on, my brain chemistry was severely out of whack. I needed help.

If I had Down Syndrome would you call me a retard and blame me for my condition? That's pretty much the level of insensitivity you are displaying. Think about it.

a reply to: ladyvalkyrie

People at the sharp end learn a certain LANGUAGE. Some are indeed condecention to civilians even if NOT meant, but civilians SURE WILL jump you for it as they will ANY mental health issue AND you are a cop ?
WELL the devil HISSELF would be more welcomed by some.
IGNORE the progs ,hippies and and the like but as to your dilema can YOUR dad assist?
I would hope a public figure MIGHT have some infuence.

a reply to: cavtrooper7

Thanks for the support. It's greatly appreciated. It took 3 years just to get the nerve to do an internet search on myself. Then it was a few more months for me to get up the nerve to try to contact these web masters and take down the content that made me look so horrible when these friggin' bloggers had no idea what happened. A few things disappeared but not many.

I'm to the point of desperation that I made this thread. My dad's super busy with his latest book but I'll see if he has any ideas.

I just want to try to move on with my life. I mean, if I'm going to be judged at least let me be judged with all the facts on the table. Don't jump to conclusions based on the 5% of a story fed to you by MSM.

a reply to: ladyvalkyrie

I will not watch the video but will reply to your questions.

Being totally ignorant of Police/Military law I have no idea what you were guilty of, but you acted without due care and attention. With the position and responsibility you held, your actions that day were wreckless and foolish and you have now apparently paid the price for that erroneous call of judgement.

Let me be Frank (silly Naked Gun reference!). "Following Orders"
is no legal (or moral, for that matter!) defence. Thankfully no-one except yourself got hurt. That at least is one point I think and hope we both can and do agree on.

Blame and anger? Futile and dangerous emotions in the hands of mere citizens, but perhaps I am....bitter? People get wronged every day but your whole "Rant" sounds like you think you deserve "moar!". Following orders and staying at work?

Defending oneself and typing stupid crap are 2 separate incidents, your attempt at deflection, misdirection and muddle are not helping. I also have chemical imbalances but I do not influence, interfere, insult or injure others. With or without a legal right.

Ah, meat and potatoes! The Law. Its a subject I find fascinating but quite confusing. I always thought only Lawyers were qualified to talk about, until I saw Police trying to perform the action of Judge, Jury and Executioner with none of the previous 3 present.

IMHO LEO's are the least informed to talk about law, except the small part they were taught in "school" as a weapon to arrest more-or-less law-abiding citizens.

I know people that spent their whole lives caring for others for a "living". They don't use that as an excuse to justify questionable actions, just sayin'.

I have no "cop anger issues" as you succinctly put it, and most certainly but possibly not leastly, bear you no personal malice as I do not know you, but, based on your whole OP, sorry, it just doesn't "rhyme". Somewhere, possibly over the rainbow...

Traumatic head injuries...? That's quite a mental leap, let's not and stick to the topic at hand, your OP.

FFS, now you start to rile me. By definition, someone with Down's Syndrome is not a "retard", as you put it, are you retarded?

Insensitivity? Who me?

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver
Read all my posts and all the evidence I uploaded very carefully.

Because of illness, injury, sleep deprivation, steroids and a little extra stress from the department I became full blown MANIC on Feb 8, 2011. Because I had NO PRIOR MENTAL ILLNESS I didn't know what was going on.

I went to the ER for help. They ignored me for 2 1/2 hours even though something was clearly wrong with me. Me and Matt kept asking for a nurse and they kept blowing us off. Half naked in a hospital gown, sitting on a gurney I yelled on the phone. I AM SOOOO SORRY THAT I'M SUCH A HORRIBLE PERSON AND I SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE FOR YELLING ON THE PHONE WHEN I WAS MANIC AND UNTREATED.

By his own statement- if you'll read it- the EMT came in the room, left, called for security, then came back in! He makes no mention of me doing anything to harm myself or others. So how can you, or him, or anyone justify tackling me and choking me? A chokehold is considered DEADLY FORCE. By law an EMT can't perform patient care without a nurse present. Where was my nurse? WHO was my nurse? No one had come in. By law you are allowed to resist excessive force- does that help at the time when you're getting your ass beat? No, but you can use that as a defense later if they try to charge you with resisting. And that's specifically referring to police. Where TF does it say it's ok for an EMT to use deadly force?

Read the ER notes. They falsely documented care that never happened, then all the sudden the notes say "Plano PD at bedside" They never document use of force. THEN THEY DISCHARGE ME WITH A PRESCRIPTION FOR IBUPROFEN AND ULTRAM!!!!!!!! I'm willing to bet you're not a doctor, but in your opinion is Ibuprofen really the best treatment for severe mania?

DPD knew I wasn't acting right but they drove me home and left me until February the 15th!!!!!!!! Right after they left the PTSD really started creeping in, my condition got EVEN WORSE and I called Lt. King for help. Nothing. I called him the next day and the next. Nothing. If they had just said, "We're not going to help you." Then I would have known where I stood and I would have made more of an effort to find someone to try to take me to help. But they kept telling me help was on the way.

I know folks with Downs aren't retarded- they suffer from a chromosomal abnormality. My point is- would you be so hateful and judgmental toward someone with such an OBVIOUS defect? Hopefully not. So how is it justified in your mind to be so hateful and judgmental toward me- who suffers from a chemical imbalance beyond my control?

I understand that if you've never experienced something like this firsthand it's really hard to wrap your head around. I've got a whole new level of sympathy for people with mental illness now. But even when I worked in the hospital, the nursing home, on the streets as a cop- years before I had the misfortune to experience it myself- I always treated people with respect. And I took probably hundreds to the hospital for help. I talked to them like human beings, treated them with care and respect and transported them willingly. I can't remember ever having to use force for an APOWW (transport to mental hospital). There was ONE guy on PCP half naked and screaming and running around in the street in Dealy Plaza- my partner tased him immediately upon contact, but it was for his safety and ours. It would have been a helluva lot more dangerous to try to go hands on with him. We didn't even arrest him, we took him to the hospital without further incident.

Ok, clearly you think I'm 100% responsible and guilty for everything that happened. According to you it was right to fire me and I should never again be able to hold a job in law enforcement and I should carry out the rest of my days with a scarlet letter on my chest so everyone can know what a POS I am. So in your opinion, what should the punishment be for ER staff not treating someone? What should the punishment be for an EMT tackling and choking a half naked female patient that was 200 lbs lighter than him for yelling on the phone? What should the punishment be for police supervisors who knew something was wrong and didn't get me help? What should the punishment be for Internal Affairs, the Chief of Police and the City Manager's Office to knew all about this and just ignored it? Not even bother to investigate? What should the punishment be for the FBI not even bothering to contact someone alleging police corruption?

"Thankfully no one- except yourself got hurt." ....thanks, man. It's totally ok for ME to get hurt. Got it.
"I bear you no personal malice." ...yet in a PP you say you're going to "say an extra-special spell tonight that I remain a civilian." ????? Not that I am ABLE to work in LE, but if I were I would certainly continue to perform with the dedication and above average effort that I have always demonstrated- not just as a cop, but at any job I've ever worked. Do you realize that in 16 years of working I was never fired or even written up? But your spell is so powerful that I can not only work LE, but I can't even handle something as simple as food service now. Congratulations!

Chokehold Lawsuit

Charge: Darkly tinted windows, resisting
Force Used: Chokehold
Charge Outcome: dropped
Victim Compensation: $75,000


Me
Charge: yelling on a phone
Force Used: Chokehold
Charge Outcome: Assault charge filed 6 months after the attack, then dropped 2 years after the fact.
Victim Compensation: $0 and I was publicly vilified by selective reporting

PS Legal aide doesn't assist with workplace disputes or medical malpractice. One law firm told me they wouldn't take a malpractice suit unless the person was disabled. I said, 'I AM disabled." ..."Yeah, but you're still able to bathe yourself." One lawyer took about $3k from me then disappeared off the face of the earth. The main problem with a lawsuit was the assault charge, which happened to be dropped the same week the statute of limitations was up for a civil suit. Hmmmm....

PD Responsibility to Ensure Officer Fitness for Duty- by Law

"Police employers have a legal duty to ensure that police officers under their command are mentally and emotionally fit to perform their duties, and failure to do so can result in significant civil liability to the employer and serious consequences.

Occasionally, a law enforcement officer’s behavior raises concerns that the officer may be unstable, a physical danger to self and to others, or ineffective in discharging responsibilities. Such behavior may occur on or off duty and may include excessive force, domestic violence, lack of alertness, substance abuse, or other observable counterproductive behaviors. So-called red flags also may include threats to self or others, suicide attempts, psychiatric hospitalizations, or observed symptoms (for example, frequent crying, uncharacteristic irritability, and excessive suspiciousness) that may be due to psychological problems such as depression or anxiety or other psychological conditions or impairments. When such behavior occurs, and it is reasonably suspected to be attributable, at least in part, to an underlying psychological impairment or condition, a fitness-for-duty evaluation (FFDE) is often necessary to assess the nature of the psychological problem and its impact on job functioning.

In addition to protecting the community and the officer in question, a key objective of the FFDE is to reduce a law enforcement agency’s liability with regard to behavior of an officer who is psychologically unfit to handle the position and help defend against claims of negligence (for example, negligent hiring, training, supervision, and retention). Further, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA)4 requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm. FFDEs provide an avenue for agencies to comply with OSHA. Courts have also held that an agency may be responsible for its officer’s violent behavior if it knew or should have known that the officer was so inclined.

For example, in the case of Bonsignore v. City of New York, an officer shot his wife and then killed himself. The city was found negligent because, in part, the officer “was never identified as a problem officer, despite his displaying many of the signs that should have flagged him as having mental or emotional problems….” The court held that a law enforcement department must take reasonable precautions to hire and or retain officers who are psychologically fit for duty. The doctrine of official immunity may not be invoked to protect an agency from allegations of vicarious liability, including negligent retention."

* For those of you wondering why it would be the department's job to get me help....there it is, they are bound by law. And if anything REALLY bad had happened during those 7 days, DPD would be wide open for a lawsuit. And I have no idea what an FFDE is, no one from DPD ever discussed my diagnoses even though they took me to a mental hospital and I voluntarily attended the day group at Green Oaks for about a month.

But, once again Legal Aide doesn't help with 'workplace disputes'. And it's hard to hire a good lawyer when you can't work and you and you 2 year old are staying in a homeless shelter and living off $230 from the state and food stamps.

Well I guess I'm talking to myself here.

Oh well, what's new.

Here's 2 other DPD officers that were thrown under the bus to cover up for department incompetence:
More evidence

I knew Sgt. Magiera. She was a good officer. About 2 years before she was (probably wrongfully) fired she was involved with several other officers trying to subdue a particularly violent suspect. A FELLOW OFFICER punt kicked her in the head. She sustained a concussion and temporary hearing and vision loss. A SERIOUS HEAD INJURY. Which, down the line can present as mental illness. I guarantee she was never properly treated, followed up with or monitored on an ongoing basis. The officer that kicked her wasn't fired, just transferred. What kind of an idiot blindly kicks into a dog pile of people?

And the other officer mentioned, Sgt. Swindell- sustained on duty injuries. Doctors prescribed him pain meds and he became addicted. Instead of offering him any kind of support DPD discredited him in the news and fired him.

I admire you Cat.

The sense I get from your postings is the sense that what you post is truly from the heart...stating facts.

Especially warm that you'd mention Mr. Dorner.

His lifetime of being a decent and honorable man came to a close and here we stand entering the same cycle with you.

Watch how your story gets spun from your writings here?

Stay away from mountain cabins.

ETA; just a gander at what signal 15 means...15 Citizens holding suspect

Administration isn't about claiming fault, it is to administer policy. Whether right or wrong...

The only thing I can see coming from this is more intimidation tactics until you lick your wounds and wash your hands of the issue...

You may be a part of something bigger than for whatever reason, and are being hindered from achieving such, as you continue pursuing the issue.

You might be raising an olympic gold medal winner, maybe even more substantiative, who knows?

There's enough meat on the bone for people to chew on and get a taste of the flavor of the dish handed to you from superiors, and their cohorts.

a reply to: loveguy

Thank you for seeing the issue for what it is.

In Dallas, Signal 15 was assist officer. The night after they dropped me off I was in my back yard, clutching my shirt (because I didn't have a radio on) calling "Signal 15....Signal 15....Man Down....I need help....Broken Arrow" It pains me in the heart just thinking about it.

Basically people's (reporters) attitude toward me is ...."Who cares?"

Well, you should.............. you're next.

How many times does this have to happen? How many lives have to be ruined for the sake of covering some crooked supervisor's a$$? How many lives have to be lost? I don't agree with Dorner's actions at all, but I would bet my next disability check that some shady stuff was going down within LAPD and they drove him straight to that point of desperation.

a reply to: ladyvalkyrie

Forgive a query or two?

You were "restrained" according to 'them' while in a gown and panties...was your knee injury while on duty? What were you wearing before they changed you into the gown?

I should re read some stuff, you may have already made those points and I could be looking ratchet...whatnot.

I didn't bother reading Dorner's manifesto...If algebra was applied to social issues, politicians would run for the hills, IMOHO.

a reply to: loveguy

My partner and I were horse playing Friday night right at the end of shift. I fell on the ice and cracked the crap out of my knee. It hurt like a mutha but I just came right back to work and toughed it out. Instead of getting better it continued to bruise and swell. After a couple of days I started to wonder if it was fractured. In order to get on light duty I would have to prove that it was necessary. I had an appointment with my regular doctor, but it was closed that Wed due to ice. The ER was my only option. I had no idea that I was manic. It didn't dawn on me that there was a problem until I saw my admitting vital signs (168/104) at that point I told them something was wrong and I needed something for anxiety.

Fun side note: The ER doctor flat refused to give me anything for anxiety. Then I was billed $300 for anxiety treatment.

Another fun side note: When I went back to get my report from the ER, they had 'lost' the x-ray that would have proved my knee was fractured. Also, security told me they gave the security camera footage to Plano PD, but somehow Plano PD managed to 'lose' that.

I came in wearing a Hello Kitty t-shirt, a jacket, blue jeans and Harley Davidson boots. Immediately upon being placed in the ER room I changed into a gown. I kept my shirt, panties and socks on.
When he was attacking me I threw my property at him one by one from the chair they were sitting on. Boots, jeans, jacket.....purse with a loaded gun inside (off duty weapon). Did I shoot him? No. I threw my purse at him. Because I was panicked and just trying to get him away from me. I wasn't even really aiming, just throwing. One of my boots broke his glasses and the glasses scratched his face. That's the injury that bought ME the assault charge.

I haven't read Dorner's Manifesto either, but I bet I could read between the lines and tell exactly what was going on. Better than any LAPD report, I reckon. His whole deal happened AFTER mine. I just sat at my computer every day and cried as I followed the story. I would never kill/hurt anyone, but I knew exactly what that poor guy was going through.

You know what's crazy (besides me...lol) is that no new rules or legislation would be necessary to prevent this crap. All that has to happen is that the laws and rules are applied equally TO EVERYONE. Apparently once you achieve the rank of Lieutenant or higher you can do whatever the hell you want and get away with it.

I mean, just come out and say it "These people (high ranking police, high ranking military, local politicians, high ranking politicians) are totally exempt from the law. Don't even bother trying to complain if they do something wrong." That way it's on the table and everyone knows what to expect.

Wow, I didn't expect this.

I landed here via one of your threads, having clicked on your name as you struck me as someone interesting. I am really sorry to hear about all this and have nothing constructive to offer just my best wishes and the hope that you one day get this sorted.

Peace and Love,

Scally x