COFFEE COUNTY: This evening Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd, Coffee County Sheriff Chief Deputy Michael Hines and the Sheriff Patrol Sergeant are at Flowers Hospital this Christmas Eve.
A Coffee County Sheriff Deputy was exercising one of the many duties of a Deputy Sheriff and that was having to execute a pickup on a mental patient. The patient did not want to go peacefully and a struggle took place. The Coffee County Sheriff Deputy ended up with a possible broken jaw in dealing with the patient.
Law Enforcement have had to become the front line in mental health issues. The law enforcement officers realize that mental health is a disease like heart problems, cancer and any other medical condition. The State of Alabama does not provide the adequate resources needed to handle the mental illness and it often rests on those of law enforcement. And when someone stops taking their medications and they reach the point to be hospitalized, that often times rests on law enforcement to court order take the patient to the hospital. Law Enforcement do their best to reason peacefully with the patient. But often times you can not reason with a unreasonable person. And the patient becomes combative. The Law Enforcement Officer is guarded about the force reasonably necessary to enforce the court order and with the extra care and compassion to the patient causes the officer and at times the patient to get injuries.
Pray for the Coffee County Sheriff Deputy and the medical staff as they treat the Deputy. Also pray for the mental patient to get the proper care for the mental injuries they are combatting. It is a illness and a miserable illness for the patient.
