An elderly man from Texas, USA has been beaten by police officers for “refusing” to follow police orders. The 70-year-old was suffering with hypoglycemia when he was accused by officers of resisting arrest and being under the influence. The police video of the incident has been released recently and it is evident that Thomas Mathieu was slumped over in the driver’s seat of his car at the side of the road. Police asked Mathieu to leave the car and threatened him when he didn’t comply.
According to the Chief of Police Bill BcManus, officers claimed that when they attempted to arrest Mathieu, he attempted to put his car into gear and drive off. At this point, the officers began to fear that the car would move away and drag them with it. Believing Mathieu was drunk, the officers proceeded to punch him in the head before threatening him with tasers.
Only after the man had been severely beaten, officers stopped to question their actions and realised he might be diabetic and in need of immediate medical attention. When the 70-year-old was finally taken to hospital, it was revealed that he had multiple bruises, cuts and three broken ribs, all caused directly by the assault from police officers.
“I know officers are trained to deal with diabetic situations, but apparently there was no recognition of that situation here”
After an internal investigation, the officers involved in the incident were cleared of all wrongdoing in the case. McManus said he feels that the police did the right thing and did not use excessive force. Mathieu was also cleared in the case but wants to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Turns out the reason Thomas Mathieu pulled over is because he recognised that he may potentially be having a hypo; and he was actually being incredibly responsible. Could the situation have been different if he was wearing some form of Diabetes Identification?
