Woman died in back of police car after refusing to leave hospital

[Dominus]

Woman who collapsed in Knoxville police custody died of a stroke, DA says

Lisa Edwards, 60, died earlier this month at a local hospital after she lost consciousness in the back of a Knoxville Police Department cruiser.

www.knoxnews.com

In short, went to the hospital because she felt something wrong. They checked her and discharged her. She refused to leave. They called police. Police came and arrested her. During transport to jail, she died of a stroke.

A few years ago my dad felt something wrong. My mom drove him to the hospital. While being in the hospital, he had a stroke. But because they were treating him while it was happening, they were able to minimize it. Thank goodness they didn't just dismiss him just because he wasn't having a full blown stroke at that very moment.

Cops are not meant to act as medical professionals or psychologists. And yet, they are expected and act like them all the time. While she was having a stroke, they kept saying she was faking it. Her skin turning gray. Her speech began to slur. Coordination difficulties. And I'm sure there were more visible signs of a stroke going on.

 

[rareboy]

Hopefully the family sues the shit out of the Hospital and the police. That is the only way that the truth of the case will come out. I suspect though, the Hospital will just settle quietly.

 

[HoodedRat]

I saw the bodycam video of her final moments. It made me cry. I can't type any more on how I feel about this; I'm still too upset by it.

 

[Peloso]

This is what is meant when we say "defund the police". Limit their responsibilities, especially the ones which they have received no training for. Cops react bluntly to everything, yet they are expected to respond to situations where a more subtle approach is not only preferred, but necessary in order to prevent the situation from escalating into a crisis. In America, police are not trained to be EMT's or psychologists. They're barely trained for anything.

The whole concept of policing is unsettling. Most cops are pretty stupid (go ahead, challenge me on that one) and it's frightening to think that they're given weapons, authority, and limited accountability.

 

[cabinfever]

It isn't just the police this time - it is also the hospital IMO. She insisted that there was something still wrong and they dismissed her and called the police . They didn't LISTEN.

One day many years ago now I was walking around and all of a sudden felt very weak and nauseous and it was hard to even get up and walk so I went to the emergency room thinking I had some kind of virus. After checking in I was sitting there waiting and the red lights in the doorway started blinking and making noise and I wanted to close my eyes in case an accident victim was being rushed in and I quickly realized it was for me. I was having a heart attack.

I was lucky because a doctor who was teaching the staff about putting the stents though the arm was there at the moment and he did the surgery through my arm with two stents and I have been fine ever since.

I had no idea what was wrong but they listened to me and figured it out because they listened to me.

 

[unloadonme]

What were the police supposed to do? They weren't called to give a medical second opinion. This is down to the competence or otherwise of the hospital.

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

^ this ^

The police did what they were supposed to do, which is remove someone they were told was trespassing and refusing to leave.

I hope that outraged people in Knoxville have sense enough to protest the hospital rather than the police station.

 

[MusicMan321]

Oh wow...

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

This is what is meant when we say "defund the police".

That's the part I'm going to challenge you on.

For a start, it has always looked to me like nearly everyone who says "defund the police" means something at least slightly different by the phrase. But that doesn't matter, because --

When regular people hear leftist activists say "defund the police," they verb they hear is the same one conservatives use when they say "Defund NPR" or Defund the National Endowment for the Arts."

People who actually wanted to fix the policing problems in this country should never have used that phrase. Considering that anyone who pays any attention knows how relentless the Republicans are about tarring all Democrats with anything said by activists at the far left end of the spectrum, they really shouldn't have used that phrase, which has probably cost the Democrats at least two Senate seats and who knows how many House seats.

 

[rareboy]

What were the police supposed to do? They weren't called to give a medical second opinion. This is down to the competence or otherwise of the hospital.

From the OP:

While she was having a stroke, they kept saying she was faking it. Her skin turning gray. Her speech began to slur. Coordination difficulties. And I'm sure there were more visible signs of a stroke going on.

They are almost just as culpable as the Hospital. If they don't even have the basic first aid skills to recognize someone in medical distress...they shouldn't be out there.

 

[cabinfever]

That's the part I'm going to challenge you on.

For a start, it has always looked to me like nearly everyone who says "defund the police" means something at least slightly different by the phrase. But that doesn't matter, because --

When regular people hear leftist activists say "defund the police," they verb they hear is the same one conservatives use when they say "Defund NPR" or Defund the National Endowment for the Arts."

People who actually wanted to fix the policing problems in this country should never have used that phrase. Considering that anyone who pays any attention knows how relentless the Republicans are about tarring all Democrats with anything said by activists at the far left end of the spectrum, they really shouldn't have used that phrase, which has probably cost the Democrats at least two Senate seats and who knows how many House seats.

The thing that bothers me (and I am a liberal) is the defund the Police phrase.

I do believe that each incident deserves individual investigation and attention instead of throwing all Police under the bus. They risk their lives and often die in the line of duty doing their jobs and there are numerous psychological tests and programs designed to help awareness and overcome internal barriers and prejudices.

I don't know about anywhere else but in my area they are pretty much begging for people to become Police Officers. They are seriously short staffed but lets face it -WHO wants to put up with the crap and risk their lives while being screamed at and blamed for everything.

Painting any group of people with one brush is never a good idea.

 

[cabinfever]

From the OP:


They are almost just as culpable as the Hospital. If they don't even have the basic first aid skills to recognize someone in medical distress...they shouldn't be out there.

They were wrong to say she was faking it. They may not have known the signs of a a stroke though to be fair.

When I had my stroke I was asleep and had no idea. My husband kept asking me why I was slurring my words the next morning and into the day. I had no idea again - never occurred to either of us that I had a stroke until someone else mentioned it. It was at the beginning of covid and it wasn't a household word yet and I am not sure they even called it covid yet so that never occurred to me or anyone else either. It was covid and having a pre-existing heart condition that made me vulnerable and caused the stroke which is why I never take covid or the ease of restrictions lightly and my mask will always be on until it is over.

 

[unloadonme]

They were wrong to say she was faking it.

The hospital had in terms told the police officers that she was faking it. That's why they'd discharged her.

 

[Vannie]

I'm not getting

From the OP:


They are almost just as culpable as the Hospital. If they don't even have the basic first aid skills to recognize someone in medical distress...they shouldn't be out there.

I agree with RB on this. I know many of the police officers in my town and they would never assume that she was faking it. They are trained in basic medical issues. That cop repeating himself could have checked her pulse at least and put something soft under her head. He not only is culpable but sounds like a dumb ass.

 

[rareboy]

If this had been an affluent woman, this would likely never have happened.

Just reading her previous medical history indicates that people fucked up from beginning to end.

 

[Dominus]

I think reading about this affected me so much because I have elderly parents. I think most people can relate because most people have either elder parents or grandparents. No one wants to see their relatives treated this way.