Police Investigations when TS may be involved
Question:
Good day, we are presently researching what considerations Police should keep in mind when dealing with people who have TS. We are currently at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy in Regina, Canada and would very much appreciate any personal experience you or persons near you may have encountered. We are looking at how Police can better deal with individuals affected by TS. Thanks in advance for your time in reading this and in your replies. You can either reply to this group or to KSKA…@hotmail.com Thanks. K.Skanes A.Mundle B.Piton Royal Canadian Mounted Police Training Academy Tp # 15 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Response:
[mailed to KSKA...@hotmail.com and posted] – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Pre-installed User <depot4….@sk.sympatico.ca> wrote: >Good day, > we are presently researching what considerations Police should >keep in mind when dealing with people who have TS. We are currently >at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy in Regina, Canada and would >very much appreciate any personal experience you or persons near you may >have encountered. We are looking at how Police can better deal with >individuals affected by TS. > Thanks in advance for your time in reading this and in your >replies. You can either reply to this group or to > KSKA…@hotmail.com >Thanks. >K.Skanes >A.Mundle >B.Piton >Royal Canadian Mounted Police >Training Academy Tp # 15 >Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
I am delighted to see that the academy is encouraging awareness and consideration of these issues. My commendation to you and your trainers! There was a film/video produced by Canadian police a few years ago called "Not the Usual Suspects." Have you seen that? It does attempt to deal with a bit of what you’ve asked, above, but people in alt.support.tourette can certainly provide a lot more details and experiences. In fact, I’d like to encourage you to continue this discussion as a public thread in alt.support.tourette, so that more people can interact and be involved in a discussion on what is a very important question. When you ask about "dealing with people who have TS," two questions come to mind (there will be others, I’m sure <s>): 1) Are you asking about how to educate police officers so that they recognize when a person is not a danger or under the influence of alcohol/drugs but just exhibiting symptoms such as complex tics or compulsions? 2) Are you asking about how to handle an individual who has TS and who is in custody or being questioned, or in jail? Also, there is an active TS organization in Regina. Have you been in touch with them yet? I have occasionally been involved with our police here as an advocate for people who have TS. I can tell you a bit about those experiences, and how knowledgeable police officers made a world of difference and prevented an unfortunate situation from getting worse, and we can point you to some other resources, but I think I’d like to get a better sense of what you’ve already found/seen/read, so that I don’t waste your time. Regards from south of the border <s>, Leslie
Response:
Howdy, The point Hulk is making is probably a foundational one. No matter the cause for the arrest, no matter how minor, oficers must understand that stress will make tics stronger and/or more numerous. What you see at the beginning of the interview will probably not be what you see a few minutes later. This is not a lack of cooperation but something that cannot be controlled. In my daughter’s case, for example, in the more stressful situations her tics change to hitting out at the speaker. Impulse control is often part of TS. No officer is going to appreciate that. But, if it is recognized as part of TS, the officer can see that the incident stays controled. Things could only get worse if the officers over react to the behavior. k.c. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hulk wrote in message <34D11302.4…@onramp.net>… >Pre-installed User wrote: >> Good day, >> we are presently researching what considerations Police should >> keep in mind when dealing with people who have TS. We are currently >> at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy in Regina, Canada and would >> very much appreciate any personal experience you or persons near you may >> have encountered. We are looking at how Police can better deal with >> individuals affected by TS. >> Thanks in advance for your time in reading this and in your >> replies. You can either reply to this group or to >> KSKA…@hotmail.com >> Thanks. >> K.Skanes >> A.Mundle >> B.Piton >> Royal Canadian Mounted Police >> Training Academy Tp # 15 >> Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada >The number one thing that comes to mind is to listen to someone who >tells you they have TS. Ask them what their particular symptoms are. As >long as it will not be potentially life threatening or harmful to you or >someone else try to allow them the freedom to tic if they need to. One >potentially serious problem could arise if a person has shoulder or arm >tics and their hands are handcuffed behind them. This could result in >injury to the person. This happened to me. I was arrested for a past due >ticket and my hands were handcuffed behind me. Even after I informed the >officers of the problem and even showed them my disabled license plate >they still handcuffed me behind my back. I was not violent or resisting >arrest in any way. I was not posing a threat to anyone. BTW, the ticket >was for Jaywalking. I ended up dislocating my left shoulder because of >my tic and my hands being handcuffed behind me. Also, I am very >muscular. This made it even worse. The stress of being arrested made the >tic worse. I ended up being injured because of someone else’s ignorance. >The final straw came when I recieved no apology from anyone for the >incident. >One last thing, the ticket was eventually dismissed. When things like >this happen it hurts the reputation of all officers. >Mark
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Pre-installed User wrote: > Good day, > we are presently researching what considerations Police should > keep in mind when dealing with people who have TS. We are currently > at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy in Regina, Canada and would > very much appreciate any personal experience you or persons near you may > have encountered. We are looking at how Police can better deal with > individuals affected by TS. > Thanks in advance for your time in reading this and in your > replies. You can either reply to this group or to > KSKA…@hotmail.com > Thanks. > K.Skanes > A.Mundle > B.Piton > Royal Canadian Mounted Police > Training Academy Tp # 15 > Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
The number one thing that comes to mind is to listen to someone who tells you they have TS. Ask them what their particular symptoms are. As long as it will not be potentially life threatening or harmful to you or someone else try to allow them the freedom to tic if they need to. One potentially serious problem could arise if a person has shoulder or arm tics and their hands are handcuffed behind them. This could result in injury to the person. This happened to me. I was arrested for a past due ticket and my hands were handcuffed behind me. Even after I informed the officers of the problem and even showed them my disabled license plate they still handcuffed me behind my back. I was not violent or resisting arrest in any way. I was not posing a threat to anyone. BTW, the ticket was for Jaywalking. I ended up dislocating my left shoulder because of my tic and my hands being handcuffed behind me. Also, I am very muscular. This made it even worse. The stress of being arrested made the tic worse. I ended up being injured because of someone else’s ignorance. The final straw came when I recieved no apology from anyone for the incident. One last thing, the ticket was eventually dismissed. When things like this happen it hurts the reputation of all officers. Mark
