Chaplain fights with meth man
I was in training with police officers for dealing with folks who are labeled “5150.” This is shorthand for a California code that describes people who are a danger to themselves, to others, or cannot otherwise take care of themselves.
Outside the room we could hear yelling, so I investigated. Sitting on a bench was a 20-something male speaking gibberish because his brain was running a thousand miles an hour. The pupils in his eyes were as small as the period that follows this sentence.
His arms and legs were spastic out of control. There was no reasoning with him.
He was the poster child of 5150. Obviously, he was on an overdose of methamphetamine. Officer Dan took him by the elbow and escorted him to the patrol car to take to the hospital.
His speech pattern changes from gibberish to forced speech. Forced speech is when the person cannot control the flow of words and will SHOUT out one or more. This was a danger sign that he was out of control.
Now he started swinging, kicking, spitting, hollering. Dan laid him over the trunk of his patrol car with his left hand and quickly applied handcuffs with his right. Dan ordered me to grab straps to cobble his feet.
The man had the strength of a raging ox. More officers joined the struggle until there were nine of us to wrestle him to the ground. After what seemed like hours, he was strapped to a backboard and taken by paramedics to the hospital.
Today I saw the young man. He was apologetic, polite and rational.
