"Dave" is a pseudonym, used to protect the identity of the person the story is about.
Three days
after Christmas police were called to remove someone who was no longer welcome.
A friend had taken in Dave over the holidays and when we arrived he was so
drunk that he could not speak or walk. For Dave’s friend, this behavior was
outrageous and meant the end of the generosity. This was not unusual for the
police, nor was it unusual for Dave.
As a matter
of fact, Dave had been released from the hospital only an hour earlier where he
had been taken after drinking himself into unconsciousness that morning.
Dave is one
of our local street people and he suffers from mental health and addiction
issues. The following is a snap-shot of what Dave’s life has been like since
Christmas based solely on his interactions with the police.
We called for
an ambulance that evening and Dave was taken back to the hospital where he
could receive the appropriate care for his immediate condition. Gone are the
days of lodging him in a cold, cell because nobody else would care for him.
Six hours
later we were called to a local drug store where Dave was highly intoxicated
and trying to steal Listerine. The store security recognized the futility of
trying to proceed with criminal charges and merely wanted him removed.
An ambulance
was called for the third time this day and the paramedics examined Dave. They
determined that, although very intoxicated, he did not require hospitalization.
We disagreed.
So, off to
the hospital Dave went in the back of a police car. Once there the doctor
examined him and cleared him of any immediate medical concerns, other than
being extremely drunk. Dave was not welcome.
Back to the
cold, cell for Dave… I was wrong.
The next
afternoon, we were called to a local fast food restaurant for a male sleeping
at one of the tables. Staff knew the man, knew his violent temper, and were
afraid to wake him.
Dave had been
wandering around since his release from cells with no place to go and only the
clothes on his back. He wandered in to the restaurant for some warmth and just
fell asleep.
We called
around to the local emergency shelters but they all knew Dave. He was not
welcome.
We drove him
to a place where he thought, maybe, a friend would take him in. We dropped him
off and he said something rude.
Later that
evening history repeated itself and a waitress called from a local restaurant
because a male had passed out a table. This time Dave had enjoyed a full dinner
and several drinks before lapsing into unconsciousness. He had no money and the
waitress paid for his meal out of her tips.
Dave was
barely conscious and the ambulance was rerouted to another, higher priority,
emergency call. We transported him to the hospital and learned that this was
his second visit of the day. His level of consciousness was decreasing and,
this time, he stayed where he could be cared for.
The next day,
one of the local shelters called us. Dave had snuck in, unnoticed, and was now
unconscious, barely breathing, on their floor. We arrived, along with
paramedics, and he was taken back to the hospital.
Bright and
early the next morning a taxi driver pulled up to the front of the police
station. He had picked up a fare at the hospital that was now unconscious in
the front seat of his cab. How Dave had managed to drink himself into
unconsciousness in a taxi between the hospital and the police station is still
unknown, but there he was. The ambulance was called and back to the hospital he
went.
Six hours
later a citizen saw an intoxicated man fall down on the road and hit his head. Dave
had an almost empty bottle of Listerine in a death grip, stunk of liquor, and
was taken back to the hospital.
We didn't see
Dave the next day.
Perhaps it
was because he had passed out in the darkness behind a dumpster where nobody
could see him. That’s where he was found.
In the past
two days three warrants had been approved for Dave’s arrest for failing to pay
for food or for stealing food. He was taken to the hospital where he was cared
for until sober enough to be arrested. Dave was then taken to cells where he
was held until the next morning for a bail hearing.
Dave did five
days in jail.
Once
released, we received a call that he had snuck back into one of the shelters.
Again, he was so intoxicated that he had fallen and cut his head. The
paramedics attended and took him back to the hospital for the third time that
day.
The next day
he was back, sitting on the sidewalk, in front of the shelter, and still
unwelcome. He had been put in a taxi at the hospital and delivered to the
shelter that wouldn't allow him in. He was wearing a thin blazer, and hospital
pajamas. We called around to shelters and hotels trying to find someplace for
him. He had burned all those bridges and as soon as his name was mentioned the
doors closed to him.
We came by
the station and outfitted him with winter jacket, hoodie, jeans, and a wool
blanket from the supply of donations kept on hand from our members for
occasions of this sort. We then took him to a local fast food restaurant and
bought him a coffee. Dave was sober and friendly and unusually pleasant to deal
with. That’s where we left him. It was 1:30 am.
At 7:15 am
one of our members patrolling downtown saw two males in a make-shift campsite.
One was fine while the other, Dave, was not. He had been consuming prescription
medication and Listerine and was quickly deteriorating. An ambulance was called
and he was transported to the hospital.
It wasn’t
until 4:15 pm that Dave reappeared on our radar. He was intoxicated and
refusing to leave a fast food restaurant. Perhaps it was because he was so
drunk he couldn't walk. Back to the hospital he went.
At 9:30 pm Dave
was back at the same fast food restaurant, intoxicated, he had fallen again,
splitting open his head injury from the previous day. This had been a bad day
by anybody’s standards and back to the hospital he went.
Two days
later Dave surfaced in Saanich where the Saanich Police were called to a
restaurant for an intoxicated male. The paramedics had examined him and deemed
that he did not require medical attention. Dave was lodged in cells because he
was too intoxicated to care for himself.
Just after
midnight Dave was back downtown at a fast food restaurant passed out a table.
We couldn't wake him and the ambulance was called. Back to the hospital he
went.
Six days went
by without a sign of Dave.
Then, out of
the blue, we received a call from Dave’s daughter. She lives in another part of
the country and she was worried about her dad, as children sometimes do. They
had grown apart over the years due to his mental health, addictions, and the
turmoil of emotions that surrounds them. For some unexplained reason she had
simply become “anxious” about his well-being and wanted to find him. She
couldn't explain why and had no idea of his current situation.
Our officer
promised her that he would find her dad.
It didn't
take long and Dave was located, chemically sedated and locked down due to his
violent outbursts, at the hospital. He was now considered at a high risk
to die as a result of his lifestyle. Dave had expressed a willingness to attend
addiction counselling upon his release but, he’d done that before. He had
learned, long ago, that saying the right things would get him out the door
where he could go on doing whatever he wanted.
Our member
recognized that now was the time to reach out to our community partners and
find a way to save Dave, whether he wanted saving or not. He was scheduled for
a court appearance and, with everyone working together, Dave could be put in
front of a Judge, and we could seek a court ordered rehabilitation program.
This came to
be and Dave found himself in front of a Judge who knew him well. The court
deemed that a condition to attend, and participate in, counselling was
justified. In response, Dave made it perfectly clear that he had no intention
to stop drinking and that he believed counselling didn't work.
He was
released.
The message
from his daughter was passed along to Dave.
The following
day Dave called us himself. He wanted to go to the hospital. Things were
beginning to change.
Two days
later we received another unusual call. Dave was at the hospital, sober, and
refusing to leave. He wanted help.
It was
midnight and he was at the emergency ward with no “real” emergent medical need.
Due to his history of violence and abuse towards the hospital staff, he wasn't
welcome.
Again, we
tried all the shelters and no one would take him in. Dave didn't appear to
understand why. We tried to explain to him how his long running rampage of
anti-social behavior, violence, and abuse, had brought him to where he was.
There was nothing we could do for him. He had to leave.
Twelve hours
later Dave was back at the hospital having consumed glycerin, he was unsteady
on his feet but otherwise functioning well. However, now he was refusing to
accept any treatment and wanted to leave. We arrived and negotiated a peaceful
settlement. Dave left a little later having been cleared medically.
Later that
evening, Dave was found outside a downtown market vomiting from all the
Listerine he had consumed. The Victoria Fire Department was there and
paramedics attended to take him to the hospital.
He was
released from the hospital three hours later wearing his blazer and hospital
pajamas. We picked him up and restocked him with warm clothes, a scarf, and a
blanket. Again we tried the shelters and this time one graciously allowed Dave
to stay for one night, and one night only.
The next
evening Dave came back to the same shelter despite being told he could only
stay for the one night. He was sober and looking for help. For the first time
he said he was “getting too old to sleep outside”. He agreed to leave but
wanted to try back later in the night to see if he could stay.
Two days
later Dave was unwanted again at the shelter that had helped him. When we
arrived he was sober. We gave him a lift to a different shelter for a hot meal.
Where he was going to spend the night, he did not know.
Since
appearing before the Judge, Dave’s behavior had changed. A number of partner
agencies had been brought in to provide assistance and, for the first time in a
long time, Dave was listening.
Four days
later, Dave had a bus ticket. It’s quite possibly a ticket that could save his
life. It will take him out of Victoria to an Addiction Treatment Center.
This is a
sample of twenty-four police interactions with Dave from Christmas until the
end of January. There are 539 interactions on file. Dave has multiple warrants
for his arrest in two western provinces including two mental health warrants
for his apprehension. None of these warrants are enforceable in British
Columbia.
