Arrested for drunk and disorderly

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s10vsb

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I was arrested 17 days ago for drunken disorderly....yes I had been drinking....but arrested because I wouldn't leave Durham town center without my friend who I'd lost and was staying at my house and didn't have a key. I was locked in a cell after having all of my belongings taken from me including my dextrose, I turned into a woman possessed kicking on the door and screaming for my dextrose. At 4.30am I had a doctor visit my cell. My blood sugar was 21...I'd been to a 'banquet' so took my novorapid at about 9.30 and didn't take my Lantus with me 'cos I was taking that when I got home about 1am. They took my keys and went to my house to get my lantus and demanded that I took it..I refused 'cos if I had, I'd have ended up in a coma without my dextrose, I was taken to A and E and released on bail. I've made a formal complaint to the police and still being 'fobbed' off by them not returning my phone calls. Luckily, I've been diabetic for type 1 for 17 yrs so knew what I was doing or I would've ended up in a coma!!! I was released on bail and fined £80 and not charged, ie, no criminal record or DNA taken. Do they think that that will make me think, OK, I got off with it? I'll think myself lucky and forget about it...No, I'm not gonna let this lie. I'm currently waiting for a call from an Inspector this evening that hasn't yet arrived. What do I do now? Go the papers or T.V. and tell them to show their CCTV to prove my point? (ps, I also told them I was on medication for epilepsy, high blood pressure, underactive thyroid and pyrisis xx
s10vsb
I'm editing this for an update......
had my meeting with the Sergeant yesterday. He agreed I should've been allowed a phone call and things could've been handled differently as I was not abusive or aggressive to the police at any time. He has seen all of the CCTV footage and my complaint about my treatment in custody by one of the officers when I was like 'a woman possessed' in the cell has been taken seriously and they are getting a warning and their conduct will now be monitered. We spent over half an hour discussing diabetes. He now knows why we take insulin, what a hypo and hyper is and what causes them, some of the symptoms, (as we are all different) and how they can be resolved by either insulin or sugar. He completely understands why I reacted like I did in the cell without knowing what my BS was or have access to dextrose or insulin and why I refused to take my insulin as they wouldn't tell me how long I would be detained for and could potentially had a hypo. I showed him my 'Optimum Xceed' and the users guide and how just 2 spots of blood from the finger can determine a hypo and keytones that could both potentially lead to death if not treated. I showed him the web page and they cost £15 but are free to diabetics on prescription. He wrote the web site down and is going to take if further because he agrees that diabetics should have better treatment in custody and a monitor is all it takes. He's going to speak to his superiors about it and get the ball rolling!! RESULT!!! :thumbup: I said he might even get the monitors free because at the end of the day, they are for use by diabetics after all.
When he was leaving I said I'm gonna fight this all the way and if they don't get monitors I would like a meeting with the Chief Inspector for him to justify why. I also said that as Durham was one of the top 3 police forces in England, if they got monitors and went on 'look North' news to say why they now have them due to the amount of wasted time and money by just getting Drs to take BS alone and the stress caused to diabetics in custody, it might even start the ball rolling for the rest of the UK to follow.
BTW...I also told him if they didn't get monitors, I would pay the £15 myself and come to the police station and show them how to use it. xx

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donnellysdogs

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If your levels were 21... Why would you need dextrose?
 

jacko3469

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Hi knowing the law as i work with in these areas everday if the inspector does not phone you write a letter to the chief of police for your area saying what happened if not write to hendon the police trainung hq and they should sort it out for you

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VickiT11979

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Lantus is your basal insulin - if you're on the correct dose it should (in theory) mean your glucose levels stay steady when you're not eating anything.
If your BG was 21 you'd need short acting insulin to bring it down - Lantus shouldn't drop it significantly but keep it steady at that high level, and you shouldn't end up in a coma without dextrose unless your lantus dose is way too high.

Your experience does sound horrendous, but I can see why the police medic didn't feel you needed dextrose.
 

Elc1112

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I don't understand why you thought you'd go into a coma if you took your Lantus? Your blood sugars were dangerously high. A long-lasting insulin like Lantus shouldn't bring your sugars crashing down. If it usually does then I would suggest you are taking too much!

Yes, the police have to take care of you while you're in custody. Being diabetic they need to e sure that you have access to dextrose, insulin and so on. I completely understand that. What I don't understand is why you didn't take your insulin when it was offered to you? Surely it wouldn't have brough your sugars crashing down from 21 to severe hypo in a matter of hours?!
 

AMBrennan

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I was locked in a cell after having all of my belongings taken from me including my dextrose, I turned into a woman possessed kicking on the door and screaming for my dextrose
In my opinion they should have tested your BG at that point, and probably when they arrested you as well (hypos and drunkenness have similar symptoms, so when a diabetic appears drunk you should test).
 

Thundercat

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Sorry to hear you had such a traumatic experience. I am very concerned about your diabetes education with regard to feeling the need for dextrose at 21 and thinking lantus could cause a dramatic drop in bs. Have we misinterpreted your post?

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noblehead

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I would just put it all down to a bad experience and in future listen to Police when they tell you to leave the town centre, all processions have to removed once your placed in a cell and I don't think they'll make exceptions because you have diabetes.

I can't really see what they did wrong TBH, they called a doctor to visit you and test your bg and requested that your lantus be brought to the Police Station as you were 3-4 hours late at taking it, as others have said lantus alone would not drop your bg levels to the extent that you would end up in a coma unless you deliberately give yourself too much, the doctor was cautious enough to send you to A & E to have you checked out which all said and done is good and follows the normal procedure.

As you haven't been charged for disobeying the Police in the town centre, charged for drunk and disorderly or for your conduct in the cell I would forget about complaining to the press as I don't think they'd be interested in the story, sorry to be harsh but I really don't think you have cause for complaint.
 

Yorksman

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s10vsb said:
I was arrested 17 days ago for drunken disorderly....yes I had been drinking....but arrested because I wouldn't leave Durham town center without my friend ..

You can't be arrested for being drunk and disorderly unless you are being disorderly. However, you can be arrested for being drunk and incapable which is primarily there to protect you against yourself, eg staggering into the road in front of traffic or collapsing in a heap in the pavement. It sounds, from your brief description, that they ordered you to go home, you refused, they thought you were a danger to yourself but then arrested you for the wrong offence.

Only you will know what caused them to think that you were incapable.

Personally, I don't like this new approach of offering to let you off if you pay a fine but, if you protest your innocence in a Court of Law which is your Right, things will be worse for you. In Leeds they are using a private company to fine people £80 for dropping litter but if you object, on the basis that you didn't drop it, they will pass it to the Courts who can impose a £2,500 fine. It's a bullying technique, 'do yourself a favour and let's cut all the red tape'. The 'red tape' is a constitutional right to protect the innocent from false accusations.
 

andywright

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Yup confussed.com . Typing error? :D I got arrested for drunk and disorderly about 10 years ago(hadn't drunk at all) Got a few apologies for that one, Also got taken to the police station because the police got confussed between insulin and heroin (before we had pens) Got an apology for that one too :D . To be far If I wasn't diabetic and saw others act the way I did I probably would have jumped to the wrong conclusion too.
 

Andy12345

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I'm confused as to why you are so mad? The police asked you to leave, you didn't, they arrested you....where's the problem? Was you hoping they wouldn't mind?
 

hanadr

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You've shown one of the reasons diabetics are advised not to drink. Hypo can look like drunkenness and if you smell of alcohol, the police will have great difficulty working this out. They can't just administer a BG test, It would probably constitute an assault. if a non-medical person did it.by 21 do you mjean in mg/dl? in mmol/l 21 is very high.
Hana
 

John506

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I didn't say it's "nothing personal"....

"I turned into a woman possessed kicking on the door and screaming for my dextrose"... Sorry, but grow up, you weren't even low.

Reality hurts, not being funny, but if your child came home one morning with this story, what would your reaction be?
 

Tracey167

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Hi

To be honest i can't see your problem with the police if they told you to leave the town centre you should have gone you must of been making a a bit of a scene for them to ask you to go, and like everyone else has said why would you need your dextose when your level are so high?
 

Sunhat

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I do not understand the insuline etc as I am a type 2 on tablets, but if I were asked to leave a town center by the police I would have moved on. Could you not have rung your friend on your mobile phone? That would have saved you and the police a lot of bother. The police have a hell of a job to do with folk getting drunk and being a pain in town centers, especially weekends!
 
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' No offence, but'.................. I have no idea what a 'xxxx xxx' is or a childish one :eek: but it sounds offensive :thumbdown:

RRB

Just wanted to say I ONLY quoted the remark that Anna has removed (which obviously turned out to be offensive),I still don't know what it is, and probably never will, but that's probably a good thing :think:

Best wishes RRB :)
 

eveshamgal

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What would you tell the press?? Drink person gets arrested, tells the police she is diabetic so they call a Dr then go to the persons house to get the medication they need.......what's flipping liberty!!!

Do you think that being diabetic allows you to ignore police requests to move on? That it puts you above the law? If you have been diabetic for 17 years maybe you should have been more responsible and checked your levels more regularly,especially if you don't often drink.

All this smacks of is bruised ego and trying to save face by making a pointless complaint. You did the crime now pay the fine!

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donnellysdogs

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Agree with Hanadr.
Sorry, but as a diabetic, you cannot afford to get so drunk that police or ambulance or hospital staff are placed in this sort of responsibilty. Their concern was to ask you to leave the town, and then they have to have your diabetes laid in as well. At 21.0 you were not in to needing any form of glucose, if you needed it at that high level then you are not in control of managing your diabetes.
I have had help from police after a driving incident (sober) and they were nothing but respectful of my diabetes and me. Yes, I know that police standards can vary as much as all of us in life... However at the end of the day it just seems like an angry get out clause and rant to me for you losing control whilst being drunk.
See the big wide picture of this situation... What if we all type 1's went out and did what you did. It's giving us type 1's that care for their diabetes and their lives a bad name. Plus you were taking additional attention to yourself when it could have been needed for far better emergencys, such as road accidents, and genuinely sick people in A&E.
I think you're just blaming the police for not being in control of your life to be honest, and that is not fair.
 

Scardoc

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Hurrah for the Police!! I think you should go to the papers and hopefully they will print an upbeat story of how helpful the police were! Actually, don't bother, it will probably get twisted into a "how bad the NHS are" story as a T1 diabetic for 17 years hadn't bothered to take their fast acting insulin before, during or immediately after the "banquet" and then thought the long lasting insulin would cause a hypo!!

Whatever you choose to do it won't tarnish the reputation of T1's. T1 diabetes doesn't discriminate, it takes all sorts.
 
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