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I called the police on someone who was stumbling around on the sidewalk next to a calm but normally fast street. I was worried for her safety, that she was goin
by IRANGE 6y ago
I called the police on someone who was stumbling around on the sidewalk next to a calm but normally fast street. I was worried for her safety, that she was going to stumble into traffic, so I called the cops because I had no idea what else to do. In a way, I guess I assumed/hoped that they would be smart enough to dispatch a health worker after hearing what I told them.
Why didn’t I try to help the woman? Simple. I’m black. She was a drunk middle aged white woman. It would not have gone well for me.
- erlich 6y agoThis situation feels like it would probabaly require force to restrain the person from hurting themselves. Everyone has encountered beligerant drunk people who are putting themselves at risk but not listening to anyone. Is a health worker allowed to grab someone who is about to walk into oncoming traffic. Should they have as part of there job description to have to physically restrain people without self protection or training in self defense. It just feels unfair to put health workers in potentially violent situations without police backup. We need police trained as health workers or health workers trained as police. Maybe they wear different clothes. But they need to have the same self defense training.