Arrested/Held and Drugged? It happens every day. I know this because I did it to people..... something I regret, but something I corrected my involvement with in pretty short order. One of my previous jobs was at an emergency psychiatric facility in Kentucky, I don't know what other states have similar programs. It's called the Mental Inquest Warrant (MIW), and I believe it to be an aggregious violation of a persons civil rights. Here is an example of how it works: A person you know is concerned about your mental state, and thinks you may be a danger to yourself or others (or just doesn't like you). It doesn't have to be a relative, an acquaintance will do. And many times it's used as a weapon by a wife/husband in divorce proceedings, because the person swearing out the MIW can't effectively be prosecuted for lying about it. That person goes to a judge and tells him (the above). An MIW is ordered for you. The police show up to your house and arrest you.... they don't call it arrest because you don't go to jail, you come to me at the hospital. But it IS arrest as it's not voluntary, it's by cops, and it's in handcuffs. Now your asking me "what's going on", "why am I here", bla, bla. My answer is your here for observation, and it's my job to take away and lock up all your belongings and put you in a "fishbowl" room with up to 15 other people, many of whom are seriously crazy. You see that I and the other officers are armed, and your told you have no choice, so you go along with it. Now your in the fishbowl. A very small, cold room with uncomfortable chairs and a dozen crazy people packed in around you. You are disturbed by the woman pacing around the room babbling about her lost turtle and peeing herself, the guy sitting in the corner rocking back and forth singing "I'm a little teapot", and the guy sitting on the floor smashing imaginary bugs that occasionally looks at you and licks his lips. An hour goes by.... nothing. Finally, you get up the nerve to come to the window and ask me questions about why your there. I answer, "when it's your turn, the doctor will discuss it with you". Another hour..... At last! I call you out of the fishbowl to talk to someone, a woman from "registration" who inputs all your personal and medical info into her computer. You try asking her questions, but she has no answers, she just wants your info. While your "out", I let you use the restroom while I stand guard outside of it. You try to ask me questions again as your getting upset and don't want to go back in the fishbowl, but I have no answers. Back in the fishbowl. Another hour passes, your cold, uncomfortable, scared of the crazy people, pissed off this is happening, and on top of that you've been here more than 3 hours, now your hungry and having nicotene withdrawls. You ask me if you can have a cigarette and something to eat. No you can't smoke, and you'll get a sandwich in about 2 more hours. A crazy woman crawls over to you and begins licking your shoe. You've had it, you want some answers! I advise you that you just need to calm down and someone will be able to answer your questions eventually. You ask "am I under arrest"?... no. So you decide your leaving no matter what. That's when 4 officers tackle and restrain you. Maybe your tough.... there's 6 more behind them. You are forcibly put on a guerney and secured by leather restraints and a mesh bag is put over your head to keep you from spitting on anyone. A nurse then comes over and, despite your objections, injects you with a cocktail of drugs designed to make you calm and relaxed. Your then wheeled into an isolation room where you stay for another hour until the drugs finally put you to sleep. Eventually you'll get to talk to a social worker, and then a doctor. They can keep you there for 24 hours if they choose (because obviously your highly agitated and combative). If they decide your "unstable", then they can send you upstairs to the psych ward for a few days, and require ongoing medication (that can be forced on you). Now after several days, you'll get to see a judge. He'll talk to you and your doctor and decide if you should stay for another week. Luckily, you've calmed down (given up) at this point, and the judge and doctors can see there is no need to keep you. So they let you go home. While you were away from home for 3 days, the state had to come in and take your children to temporary foster care, now you need to fill out the paperwork and get them back. Your pets haven't been fed or watered for 3 days. You have to explain to your boss why you missed work. You're probably fired. But don't worry, it's all over now. Then the final kicker....... They send you a bill for everything! All this is true folks, I've seen it with my own eyes. I was part of it. Can you imagine going through this?! Or even worse, your aging mother or 18 year old daughter? A lot of people get the psych help they desperately need because of this program, but sometimes the system goes wrong, and someone has their life effectively ruined.
Its called "Baker Act " here in FL.... and yes, I've seen it happen to someone I know. And yes, it was a divorce case..... And any police officer can do it if called ... Most of them have to be REALLY convinced you're a danger to yourself....but I've seen it where they just take a person...especially if they're intoxicated and despondent.... (I did triage in a Mental Health/Drug&Alcohol Center)