Has anyone here had a bad experience with the police and willing to share?

[Cheshirecatx]

I've had some awful experiences in relation to mental health - mainly when I was younger. I have had some very cruel interactions which probably haven't helped. I now suffer from flashbacks and paranoia in relation to emergency services, and in a crisis was threatened to be arrested for them coming out when I hadn't asked or intended for them to be called.
I'm very cautious and abrupt with them now. I prefer for them to just leave me be and refuse to talk.

However, since becoming less known to the services. They no longer even attend calls in regard to my welfare - just a phone call which is easy enough to evade the invasive questions.

I know of others who have had much worse interactions.

The way they treat individuals who CTB isn't fair, we aren't criminals. And it doesn't give them a right to be hands on either.

 

[waitingforrest]

I have been watching interrogation tapes as they interest me. But by watching so many, I reminds me of how I was treated by police during a health crisis. They treated me exactly like a criminal, gaslighting and pressuring under the threat of punishment until you break.

They weren't there to calm me down, no they were there to lock up the "crazy person that might hurt themselves or other people." They had the nerve to ask me if I was going to kill people because I want to ctb. Even if the question was reasonable, it still implies that I am a criminal.

I hate them. The fact that you can just call the police and lie, so and so wants to ctb, and the cops will ward that person even if they aren't suicidal. While they continue to struggle with literally the rest of their jobs on catching people who actually did crimes.

 

[Freedomindeath4me]

I've had a lot more interactions with the police than most but honestly they were never unprofessional or overly rude given the circumstances. Some of the calls were for when I did do some shitty things that definitely qualify as harassment against case workers. They were only ever at worst mildly patronizing with "it gets better bullshit." But I was always more than fair with them.

I don't really count the fact I've been institutionalized against them. I got ordered or petitioned every time so they were just doing what they had to do and I understood that.

Eh. Scratch that. One was kind of rude after an interaction I had with a store that I can see I seemed sketchy now. Immediately asked what drugs I was taking when he took their words at face value. I wasn't talking much, not buying anything, just smiling when the employees talked to me and then leaving. That was when I was just dipping into selective mutism from verbal abuse experienced. Still fair enough I guess, just a bit assuming and unempathetic.

 

[13_reasons]

They tasered my 20 year old partner with cancer when he was clearly having a mental health crisis and no weapons or anything on him.

That is a horrible story to hear! I really hope you made a formal complaint about that- I recently watched body cam footage of a kid with epilepsy who was having a seizure and couldn't talk- the police tasered him when the seizure stopped but he was still drowsy- because they thought he was drug affected- and because he was tasered it set off another seizure. Police thought he was faking it and tasered him again- a horrible thing to see and reinforced the idea that police have lost their humanity somewhere along the way. The kid had a friend with him who was pleading with them to stop and they ignored them…

 

[lostmylove]

That is a horrible story to hear! I really hope you made a formal complaint about that- I recently watched body cam footage of a kid with epilepsy who was having a seizure and couldn't talk- the police tasered him when the seizure stopped but he was still drowsy- because they thought he was drug affected- and because he was tasered it set off another seizure. Police thought he was faking it and tasered him again- a horrible thing to see and reinforced the idea that police have lost their humanity somewhere along the way. The kid had a friend with him who was pleading with them to stop and they ignored them…

Sadly won't be possible now. Partner passed recently.

 

[13_reasons]

I have been watching interrogation tapes as they interest me. But by watching so many, I reminds me of how I was treated by police during a health crisis. They treated me exactly like a criminal, gaslighting and pressuring under the threat of punishment until you break.

They weren't there to calm me down, no they were there to lock up the "crazy person that might hurt themselves or other people." They had the nerve to ask me if I was going to kill people because I want to ctb. Even if the question was reasonable, it still implies that I am a criminal.

I hate them. The fact that you can just call the police and lie, so and so wants to ctb, and the cops will ward that person even if they aren't suicidal. While they continue to struggle with literally the rest of their jobs on catching people who actually did crimes.

I honestly don't know if they get some sense of achievement in kicking around people who are depressed and wanting to CTB- because we're more likely to be compliant with their wishes and less likely to be dangerous to others? So they fill their time with us because we're easy prey, whereas catching real criminals is clearly too difficult and they get no points for trying and failing with them?

Sadly won't be possible now. Partner passed recently.

I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope that he has found some peace, and that you are looking after yourself. Take care x

I've had some awful experiences in relation to mental health - mainly when I was younger. I have had some very cruel interactions which probably haven't helped. I now suffer from flashbacks and paranoia in relation to emergency services, and in a crisis was threatened to be arrested for them coming out when I hadn't asked or intended for them to be called.
I'm very cautious and abrupt with them now. I prefer for them to just leave me be and refuse to talk.

However, since becoming less known to the services. They no longer even attend calls in regard to my welfare - just a phone call which is easy enough to evade the invasive questions.

I know of others who have had much worse interactions.

The way they treat individuals who CTB isn't fair, we aren't criminals. And it doesn't give them a right to be hands on either.

We aren't criminals, we are human beings who are forced to live in such a distressing and vulnerable state that we have no choice but to consider what our options are.

I'm so sorry to hear about your experiences when you were younger. Thank you for sharing- it makes me (and many others) feel less alone in all of this. And I agree there is a silver lining to the local police department growing tired to performing welfare checks on you- once upon a time they kicked down my door- nowadays they just do a half arsed attempt to ring me and not leave a message when I don't answer. Works out in the end :)