Law Enforcement Officers sometimes have to transport Emotionally Disturbed Persons (EDPs) to Mental Health facilities for the purpose of receiving mandated care. Some of the facilities are close, some of them are hundreds of miles away. The state has determined that's where they have space for the person…thus, that's where the officer will take said person.
So I responded to the call for service, determined through interviews with parents, friends, and the Emotionally Disturbed Person himself/herself that they wanted to harm themselves so they required further mental health assistance. The subject was cooperative, they were transported to the designated hospital without issue, received a mental health evaluation without issue, and then was told that they would be transported to a state hospital for treatment. Although the subject expressed that she/he did not want to go, no incidents occurred while getting them into the vehicle.
The court order placing them in the custody of the state was issued and stated that the subject would require transport to a facility two-hundred (200) miles away. That is a great distance, not the furthest, but still pretty far.
So my partner and I get going on the road without incident. We agreed that I would drive there and she’d drive back so it was far. While one officer drives, the other is monitoring the subject via a monitor connected to a camera that is recording the prisoner area within the vehicle. So it should be stated that majority of these type of transports are done out of the jurisdiction, hence no radio support, and no arrest authority.
Only the transport is legal, that court order allows the officers to transport the person to the destination and return to their jurisdiction. Knowing that…an incident occurred during this transport and I want you to keep that in mind as I get through it. 
So while I am driving my partner tells me that the subject in the back of the vehicle is having what appears to be a seizure and are in need of medical attention. I stop the vehicle and sure enough the subject is having a seizure. We lay the subject on the ground on their side and give them space so the seizure can pass without the subject getting hurt. It passes and the subject regains consciousness as if nothing occurred, this is normal with seizures so it didn’t surprise me.
In response, I utilize my cell phone to call my supervisors to let them know what happened and to make sure we can still continue the trip. I didn’t any answer, so my partner and I decided to drive the subject to the nearest hospital to make sure they are okay…this is where the surprise comes in. The subject is fine, transport is completed without any further incident, the facility accepts the subject and then we return to our jurisdiction.
While driving back the bosses call me back and I informed them of what occurred, this is where things go south. Apparently, I wasn’t supposed to take the subject to the hospital…but instead call Rescue and have then respond to my position on the side of the roadway. I respond letting them know I acted with regard to the subject’s health, they still wrote me up though, but it wasn’t anything serious and after some fighting I got It removed nonetheless.
At the end of the day, the subject was alright and that’s the overall goal so it was WIN in my book. To this day, I wouldn’t have done anything differently if I was in the same predicament under the same circumstances so I live with fighting management about it.
Seizure in Paradise!
