Today a family member had a run-in with cops due to an elderly dementia sufferer's confusion. Fortunately no one was killed this time.
She was leaving PlastiCrap World, unlocked the passenger door, placed her purse and other items in the passenger side, then went around to the driver's side to discover (a sign of Condition White) an elderly woman trying to unlock the door with a key that didn't fit.
She asked what the woman was doing and she said she was trying to get in her truck. Family Member said "This is my truck" and the old woman started saying she had stolen it. And she called 911.
Now, if you want to make me hate you, call the cops on me. I see that as a threat to murder me and I don't appreciate it one little bit. Family Member didn't see it quite that harshly.
Cops showed up quickly and treated Family Member like a criminal as she tried to explain. The old woman was also upset, saying "See what she's done to my truck?" in response to the decals all over the vehicle.
The cops asked Family Member for ID, which was in her purse in the seat, which they didn't want to let her get because they still thought she might be a car thief.
Eventually, as it became more clear the old woman was seriously confused, they let FM get her purse and the registration to show it was hers and had been for almost a year.
The old woman said, "Well, I have a white truck." The cops took her away to get help.
Now, were these good cops? Haha, no. They were nice cops (after a rocky start) and they did something somewhat useful. And no one was murdered at their hands. I guess that's all you can expect from such a situation.
Although, personally, if it had been me, as soon as I realized what was going on, I would have just hopped in the passenger side, scooted behind the wheel and drove away. Maybe Family Member handled it more compassionately than I would have.
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As part of my state EMT re-certification process earlier this year, I was required to take Alzheimer's and Dementia training. It teaches how to deal with such patients when you encounter them mostly out on the street in public. It's a little easier and different when they are home. The videos in the programs I took used 50% cops and 50% 1st Responders. Unfortunately in my area where all we have are state police, the state police is moving away from medical training for troopers. That will just lead to more aggressive cop behavior when dealing with a confused elderly person.
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