Woman sues after police detain her during epileptic seizure

[RamboLiberal]

When Jessica Yochum had an epileptic seizure at work in February, her co-workers at Houlihan's at the Galleria knew what was happening. They called 911 and told dispatchers the young woman was seizing.

But when emergency responders from the Medical Rescue Team South Authority ambulance service and Mt. Lebanon police arrived, they did not follow what are considered by experts to be standard protocols for such an event.

They handcuffed Ms. Yochum, 23, shackled her and restrained her head. All that, her attorney said, exacerbated the seizure.

By the time they got her to St. Clair Hospital, she had inadvertently bitten one of the ambulance workers, and the police were accusing her of being on cocaine.

They charged her with aggravated assault for the bite -- even after they learned from Ms. Yochum's doctor that the girl had epilepsy and was not taking any illegal drugs.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10197/1073079-455.stm#ixzz0tsjM5Wal

Idiots. I hope she ends up owning that PD. Oh and this PD is in old money neighborhood. Their PD can afford good training.

[foxfeet]

1. She should be grateful that they didn't taze her.

(Drippy, sarcasm thingy here.)

[FirstLight]

3. yikes

i would think that could very well cause brain damage to give someone electrical shock during a siezure... :scared:

[FirstLight]

2. gawd

my only question is why wasn;t she wearing a Medic Alert bracelet? and of she WAS, why wasnt that noted by the ambulance workers?

We got one for my daughter and even if they can't read what is on it, the information is in a database for the emergency workers, with doctors info, etc...it isn't comforting to think these resources AREN'T being used by the authorities...

[RamboLiberal]

7. Wouldn't you think the friends told the medical workers?

The bracelet's a good idea. I don't suffer any big medical problems but I ordered an ID that has medical database & contact info that emergency personnel can call or go on web for myself since I live alone & am often traveling alone. Made for runners & bicylists I figured it couldn't hurt for anyone to have. Called Road ID.

[FirstLight]

14. friends aren't listened to by EMT's...obviously

that's why the medical bracelets are supposed to be there so "it talks when you can't" I thought about just having one or something to list my meds, so there's no bad mix if anything ever happens to me...but I guess if I die, we'll know

[LiberalFighter]

4. Public safety personnel are suppose to know their damn job.

The police officers should all be fired for threatening her if she didn't appear at the station. And the so called medical rescue team involved need to have their certification revoked as well as action taken against others involved in allowing under qualified individuals to be hired.

[Lorien]

5. Is police stupidity and lack of empathy getting more extreme, or is it just

repeated more frequently? At this point I'd be afraid to call the police or EMTs for any reason.

[msanthrope]

6. The cop in question--Jeff Frolo, is apparently an SRT cop, too.....

google provides a nice picture of him in his 'tactical' uniform.

Mt. Lebanon is a very tony area--they have pockets to pay it.

[Jim__]

8. Arrested her and then refused to drop the charges after they found out.

Then threatened to go to her house and re-arrest her the next day if she didn't come in to be fingerprinted. I'm sorry, but the cops in this country should have to pass a basic intelligence test before they are given the power to manhandle people. Given that the people in the store told them it was a seizure; and given that her doctor told them it was a seizure, continuing to carry on with brutal force is either idiocy or sadism. Either way, these people should nto be police.

[boppers]

9. Too many people know too little about seizures.

Some level of restraint may be required, depending on behavior (running into traffic comes to mind), but too forceful of a level of restraint can crank up the adrenalin, and create a dangerous situation where an unconscious person is fighting in fear of their life on a raw, animalistic, level.

[TwilightGardener]

12. More than that, the muscle activity generated in a seizure can be intense--

merely attempting to resist that force can cause injury to joints, bone, muscles, skin, etc. This gal has cuts on her wrists from the handcuffs--she couldn't control her spasms and movements and that would be the end result. This is why you move objects away from them and leave them where they can't fall and bang into sharp corners.

[boppers]

16. I generally go with a "light hug and controlled soft fall" technique when in dangerous areas.

I liken it somewhat to protecting a toddler violently thrashing about, only with grown humans, it takes a lot more effort and awareness... (I dated someone who had seizures every few weeks, so I've dealt with seizures in malls, coffee shops, classrooms, etc. etc.)

[Danger Mouse]

10. I'm glad a judge threw out the absolutely ridiculous charges. At least in this case, justice worked.

You can't even have a damn seizure without some meathead cops showing up and trying to say you're on drugs. Idiots.

[lpbk2713]

11. Either these yo-yos slept all the way through their Police/EMT training ...

or the training program was woefully inadequate. Now the money that should have been spent earlier on training will go to the victim who suffered because the responders didn't know their job. And I'm sure there will be a crash course on the proper way to respond to a seizure victim call.

[jwirr]

13. Epilepsy is one of the most misunderstood diseases when it comes

to law enforcement. Not only do they often arrest the victim but God help anyone who has been placed in prison. The usual reaction is that they are faking. And even when there is documentation there is little concern for the prisoner's well-being.

[mtnester]

15. Cops are always trying to beat first responders to scenes.

IMO, cops should NOT be responding to an "ill person" call at all. Thaat is the job of EMS personnel. But, when you have cops pass ambuilances in their rush to be scene heroes, handcuffs are what you get.

This is a nationwide problem. Cops are not EMS personnel, and vise versa. A cop racing to the scene of a kid who fell and cut his finger takes them away from their real job. When they are needed )dangerouss person, assaults, shootings, etc) they SHOULD be going in to secure the scene for EMS, but a possible heart or an injured/ill person or a personal assist...stay out.