My Naivete

(And no, I don't know how to get the accent displayed on that last e, as it should be)

I continue to be dismayed by the Portland Police Bureau's use of a stun gun to subdue Ms. Brandi Hess, who was experiencing a diabetic episode. Yes, I know she was combative and striking the officers and medical personnel. Yes, I am very happy that she got the medical help she needed and is still alive. Yes, I am very glad that she was not beaten, nor sat upon by a 250 lb. officer, nor had ribs broken, etc. I am very happy that she was not shot. I am happy that she does not have brain damage.

I do not think the police were wrong to assist her in receiving medical aid. I do not think that Brandi was wrong in her management of her diabetes. I'm not blaming either of them. I wasn't there.

But I do wish it had happened differently.

After a little more research (maybe that should be the title of my blog), I learned that this sort of thing is not that uncommon. Probably every 6-12 months, some poor diabetic, behaving erratically as a result of diabetes, somewhere in the USA has an encounter with the police or authorities, where she or he is beaten or subdued in a manner which seems excessive to me. Sometimes, the diabetic dies. Sometimes, somebody sues. Here's a story about a driver who crashed, suspected of being drunk, was actually low. Here's another story. And another.

I learned that if you do searches for news including the words "diabetic" and "police", you will find some pretty sad things, such as this story about Hallie Shanklin's mother being convicted for Hallie's death. And that's not even going back very far.

I'm not sure what to think about finding out that I am, at nearly 42, still so naive and hopeful to think that a person with diabetes can receive good medical care without being beaten or tasered or blamed for poor diabetes self-management. I don't like to think that injury at the hands of the authorities is one of the possible side effects or complications of diabetes (type 1 or type 2).

I like my hope. I like to think that the world can be a good place to be. And I will continue to look for examples of people being kind and helpful to others. And I'll keep trying to be a wonderful person who is kind and helpful to others. Somedays I do it. Sometimes not so much.

I find, for me, that it's hard to be kind when my feet hurt. Maybe the police officers were responding out of their pain, rather than out of their compassion. Not unreasonable.

Here's the story: Police use stun gun on woman experiencing diabetic crisis.

Here's a link to the story at KATU.

The person's name is Brandi Hess.

I do not know you, Brandi, but I send you good thoughts and support during this time.

I'd suggest that you find counseling or some sort of support system, as many people who experience something like this sometimes struggle with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). And who needs that on top of diabetes?

Knowing that a person experiencing a diabetic crisis may be combative, as Brandi reportedly was, and may not respond rationally to instructions, this is basic knowlege about diabetes. They were called to the house to assist, due to her diabetic crisis. This action, at this point, seems to be very, very bad.

I hope they investigate and take appropriate action.

Portland has had problems with use of deadly force. Now, remember, I've lived in Portland since 1970, off and on. I've lived in Portland steady since 1988. There have been two deaths of mentally ill persons at the hands of Portland police (one was inside a hospital) during that time. There are been two african-american persons shot to death at traffic stops within the past five years (the time since I've lived in a more ethnically diverse area of the city). Since the two african-american deaths, supposedly, the police department has reviewed its rules on deadly force and its policies on citizen review of use of force incidents.

And now this.

Please pray for Brandi and her family and friends if you're a prayer (I am). Please do whatever you feel is right to stand with Brandi as she goes through this time.

As a former boss used to say, more will be revealed.