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Posted on 07/11/2010 9:51:28 PM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
Michelle Schreiner's blood sugar was dangerously low when a friend called 9-1-1 and Gresham police and paramedics arrived to find her holding a syringe full of insulin.
The officer ordered Schreiner -- who was dropping in and out of consciousness and was having trouble speaking or moving -- to drop the syringe. He shot Schreiner with a stun gun before handcuffing her and allowing paramedics to treat her.
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0 Share Not only was the incident life-threatening, Schreiner said, the stun gun was excruciating, and she was left humiliated, with saliva and mucus running from her mouth and nose.
Schreiner sued in U.S. District Court over the December 2005 incident. Last month, the city and Schreiner's attorney, Beth Creighton, reached a settlement: Schreiner received $37,500 and a promise that Gresham will train its officers by the end of summer in how to better recognize and care for people in medical distress, including those with diabetes.
Schreiner says the training just might make Oregon's fourth-largest city -- population 101,000 -- safer for diabetics. The 37-year-old says she's conscientious about avoiding low blood sugar, but occasionally it happens.
"The first question I've always been asked is: 'Have (you) been drinking?'" Schreiner said.
That's a common perception, said Sally Spaid Norby, executive director of the American Diabetes Association for Oregon and Southwest Washington.
And do people with diabetes worry that police will interpret their low-blood-sugar reactions as intentionally hostile, combative or noncompliant with orders?
"We certainly hear about it from people," Norby said.
Norby said the American Diabetes Association coordinates free training to lifeguards, hotel and restaurant employees and police -- anyone who regularly encounters the public and wants it. The association has produced a video, "Recognizing and Treating Low Blood Sugar Reactions ... Or is it drinking, drugs or diabetes?"
About 23 million Americans -- and more than 10 percent of adults -- have diabetes, according to the association.
Police encounters occasionally makes headlines. In 2003, Beaverton police used pepper spray and a stun gun on a man after he wouldn't pull over as he headed into Portland, drove over a spike strip and wouldn't get out of his car when it crashed. In 2007, Portland police said they had no choice but to use a stun gun on a 26-year-old Northeast Portland woman whose roommate called 9-1-1 for medical help.
Experts say many people blame diabetics for letting their blood sugar drop to levels where they become emotionally charged, hostile or combative.
"It's hard. It's hard," Norby said. "A lot of time low-blood-sugar reactions come on really fast."
Last month, an attorney for a diabetic man who says he was beaten and shot with a stun gun by Portland police July 17, 2008, during a diabetic emergency filed a $75,000 lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Leonard Berman said his client, Michael Able, 46, was driving near Southeast 140th Avenue and Powell Boulevard when he crashed into a few parked cars. Bystanders called 9-1-1, and when police arrived, Able didn't comply with orders.
"He was in a daze. He came to after being tasered and punched in the eye," Berman said, alleging that officers gave Able a black eye and broke his teeth. "My client was ill, and the first thing they turn to is force. They were poorly trained."
The Portland city attorney's office declined to comment on the most recent case because of the pending litigation.
According to a police report written by Officer Gregory D. Burn, witnesses and an officer saw Able's car crash into a few cars, including a "stopped Toyota truck" while driving the wrong way down Powell. The rear tires kept spinning because the driver wouldn't take his foot off the gas.
Burn said he opened the passenger door and noticed that Able "appeared to be completely oblivious to my presence."
"I pointed my Taser at Able and gave him orders, but he kept trying to move the car," Burn wrote. Burn said he worried the car would start moving again, so he put the car in park.
"Able didn't fight but was being resistant to being handcuffed," Burn wrote.
Berman, Able's attorney, said police realized only after Able was handcuffed that he was diabetic. He wasn't charged with a crime.
The police report doesn't say that Able was shot with a stun gun and punched, but Berman said he has an independent witness who saw Able shocked and "roughed up."
Berman settled a case of a man in hypoglycemic distress with Portland for $17,500 in 2006.
Bob Day, commander of the Portland police training division, wasn't familiar with the incident and said he couldn't speak to it. He said he found no specific training of officers in how to recognize diabetics with low blood sugar and how to approach them.
Day said the training division is "certainly aware" of the issue -- and that diabetics can easily be mistaken for drunks. Sometimes, Day said, officers have brought people with hypoglycemia to Hooper detox center, where staff members have quickly realized the medical issue.
Day said the bureau might add diabetic encounters to its training or issue a bulletin about hypoglycemic behavior to all police employees.
He's a member of the bureau's tort review committee, which every other month reviews lawsuits filed against police.
"It's more than 'Oh, we're getting sued again,'" Day said. "It's 'Is there something here that needs to be addressed?'"
Don't forget who investigates cause of death in these cases. There might be be a few tazer deaths that were "missed".
I’ve noticed in news articles that a number of deaths obviously by taser were not blamed by the coroner but simply due to other factors not related to the tasering. So, yes, the number should be higher.
The elderly lady who died in this news story after being tased is having the blame for her death on her own heart disease, not the taser.
http://www.kgw.com/news/80-year-old-suspect-Tased-later-dies-at-hospital-98083774.html
Well, that's about the dumbest remark I've read on FR in a long time. These tasers are turning out to be a big problem.
Yeah. I guess once he put on the badge and strapped on the gun, he forgot all about the 'To Serve and To Protect" part of his job description.
Were you born a sphincter or do you practice real hard?
First of all with low blood sugar your thinking is screwy. I almost injected a friend one time. If I had it would have killed him. He was in a daze and everyone thought it was high blood sugar. Turned out we called a paramedic and he figured it out. A little O.J. and he was okay.
As I understand it the cop knew this was a diabetic. Her friend had called 911 and she knew what the problem was. She had a needle in her hand. There are way too many bad cops out there with intchy fingers wanting to kill something or somebody. I still say if one kills a dog put their ass in a uniform and ship them directly to Afghanistan.
It's one size fits all now.
That is the worst thing I have ever seen on FR! Our troops have enough trouble dealing with Mohammedans, dumb ROE, even dumber politicians etc. they DO NOT need additional problems fixing what trigger happy cops did as well!
A medic alert bracelet wouldn’t have made any difference. The cop knew she was a diabetic. The woman’s friend had called 911 and explained the situation. This cop is a typically trigger happy cop. There’s a dead puppy in his future.
I didn’t say let ‘em screw up our troops. There are enough idiot dog killin’ cops to form their own platoon. Drop right in the middle of the Taliban. They hate dogs, too.
I am not familiar with a glucose that would given sub-q or IM. I can't think they would want someone who has really low blood sugar to be attempting to get a vein and do the injection that way.
I certainly agree there's no way of knowing how accurate the reporter was with the info in the article. Truth is with no more reliable info than we have there's no way of knowing what really happened.
Oh heavens no! I was just commenting that IF she had a dangerously low blood sugar AND IF she was about to inject insulin the results would not have been good.
I agree the whole thing was handled badly. Sorry I was not clearer in my response. I'm gettin’ old. And I tend to rush.
So after all the difficult hearts and minds work our troops have done, they would have to undo the same sort of PR work cops have done here turning many US citizens who once supported our police into people who don’t trust cops.
JBT’s
“You will respect my authority!”
I am a Diabetic.
“Do diabetics routinely carry glucose for self administration?”
Yes, Most of us carry Glucose Tablets in case of Lows.
But if the person is Incoherent or Unconscious, they will not be able to chew tablets or drink OJ.
GLUCAGON is a premeasured Prepackaged Kit that contains both a Dry powder and a Liquid that is ready to Mix. It is usually in a Kit that is Bright RED.
My Diabetes is well controlled, But my friend is a Brittle Diabetic that has Wild swings Both High and Low. He has familiarized me with His Glucagon Kit so that should he be unconscious I would be able to Inject him from the Kit.
Glucagon goes directly into the Belly.
My Mother was a diabetic as well and She trained me to inject her with Insulin as well as.
You are Obviously totally Ignorant of th eRealities Of Diabetes.
Insulin is Never administered IV. Not that i have been Trained, Unless you want to kill someone.
TROLL
Glucagon is NOT Glucose. It does however trigger the release of Glucose within the Body.
Glucagon helps maintain the level of glucose in the blood.
Glucose is stored in the liver in the form of glycogen, which is a starch-like polymer chain made up of glucose molecules. Liver cells (hepatocytes) have glucagon receptors. When glucagon binds to the glucagon receptors, the liver cells convert the glycogen polymer into individual glucose molecules, and release them into the bloodstream, in a process known as glycogenolysis. As these stores become depleted, glucagon then encourages the liver to synthesize additional glucose by gluconeogenesis.
Glucagon also regulates the rate of glucose production through lipolysis.
I am a diabetic who is somewhat brittle.
Every afternoon I have low sugar. I am responsible to ensure this doesn’t happen. I should have a snack at 3:00 PM—when I do so I don’t have the low. Too often I’m just to busy and by 4-430 I am swooning. My fault, ultimately. I need to remember my snack. Just because I’m a diabetic on insulin doesn’t take away my own personal responsibility. But this is something I know; I know the pattern and I have a remedy.
I do understand those who are much more brittle and how quickly this can happen. Her friend should have given her something immediately, prior to calling 911.
No excuse for the cop, but you can be right, and dead right, as they say.
What an a hole ;-)
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