Can police take you to the psychiatric hospital with no probable cause?

[TheGr33k]

I do believe I had mentioned this situation in off topic. I don't believe I got a chance to really discuss it though. Here's the thread if anyone's interested.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1401031.0

 I am also looking for legal advice here if it can be given. Maybe a financial adviser would be best for my situation. For my friend's girlfriend's situation though, she might need a lawyer.



So if I do recall correctly, she mentioned she was in her bedroom with headphones on behind her locked door when all of a sudden, police barged into her bedroom. Mind you, she's under 25 and still lives at home with both biological parents I believe. Her father gave the police the keys to her bedroom door. They barged in, started questioning her, but she said she had the right to remain silent. Next thing she knew, she was verbally harassed, physically harassed, pinned on her bed, handcuffed, then sent to the psychiatric hospital. The doctors let her go that same evening in about 4 short hours. I do believe if the police rightfully took her in, they would have kept her much longer.


I don't know what to think here. This is quite unusual to me. I don't know if she's telling the truth that she was in her bedroom, not making a sound and just listening to music. If that is the case, what should she do?

[Lethn]

If you don't know whether she's telling the truth or not you should check with the local police station first and see if there are any records of what she says, then if there are contact any sort of local lawyer and just try to talk to them about it, they shouldn't have a problem if you're just asking what the hell to do.

By the way, actual records at the station will also be a way of getting the lawyer to take you seriously, I don't mean to dismiss your girlfriends story but if you don't even know what's going on it's down to you to find out for certain what's happening rather than overreact. I find that story a bit odd, you don't know whether or not she was doing something illegal and so on and was just using you to try and get out of it, or perhaps, did she end up getting into a verbal fight with her biological parents and they called the police on her and so on?

fyi, I'm not a lawyer but I think everyone would need more context including the lawyers in how this actually happened if anyone is to help out.

[TheGr33k]

If you don't know whether she's telling the truth or not you should check with the local police station and see if there are any records of what she says, then if there are contact any sort of local lawyer and just try to talk to them about it, they shouldn't have a problem if you're just asking what the hell to do.

As much as I love my friends, I'm not getting into it like that because it isn't my business. I will let her know to just call a local lawyer, but I think she said she already tried that...


Plus if I was to go to the police station that handled that, they'd probably tamper with evidence. It'd be impossible to sue them. The only thing that'd save her is if she's got written documents from the hospital she went to at least to prove she was indeed sent to the hospital in handcuffs for sitting in her bedroom behind a locked door.

I think she has been to psychiatric hospitals in and out. I do remember back when we went to HS together, she went for about a week for suicidal thoughts and depression.




Does that count as probable cause maybe? If it does, that was so long ago.

[TheGr33k]

If you don't know whether she's telling the truth or not you should check with the local police station first and see if there are any records of what she says, then if there are contact any sort of local lawyer and just try to talk to them about it, they shouldn't have a problem if you're just asking what the hell to do.

By the way, actual records at the station will also be a way of getting the lawyer to take you seriously, I don't mean to dismiss your girlfriends story but if you don't even know what's going on it's down to you to find out for certain what's happening rather than overreact. I find that story a bit odd, you don't know whether or not she was doing something illegal and so on and was just using you to try and get out of it, or perhaps, did she end up getting into a verbal fight with her biological parents and they called the police on her and so on?

fyi, I'm not a lawyer but I think everyone would need more context including the lawyers in how this actually happened if anyone is to help out.

I don't know. I guess this is all she is telling me. I just texted her boyfriend, (who is my close friend). He texted her, and he just said to me that she said that when she got to the psychiatric hospital, they told her that there was a domestic violence scene of some sort happening downstairs and the police wanted to question her about it. Again, very odd, as it had nothing to do with her.





(Also, she's not my girlfriend. It's my friend's girlfriend.


I have a fiancé. This girl and I have never dated.)

[Lethn]

Ah sorry my bad, but either way, the hospital would be your best bet, CCTV footage of the entrance and the parking area would stack some evidence up against the police if they were doing something genuinely illegal.

[TheGr33k]

For the record everyone, I do not actually believe her story as it is very odd for the police to accept a key to her bedroom door to enter her room and question her about a situation that had nothing to do with her. It's very, very odd. If this is in fact true, I definitely want to look into it and see if I can assist her. If she is indeed telling the truth and the hospital confirms this, I wanna find out if compensation is within her reach.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

...And you're asking people on bitcointalk for this kind of advice?

Don't know about "probable cause" but you can get a physician's certificate if someone is deemed a danger to themselves or others and yes the cops can take you to the hospital against your will.  Any more than that, consult a lawyer.

[TheGr33k]

Just got her phone number. Okay, I suppose I'll be questioning her more on the matter, since she's asking me for advice and asking me to give input. I'm not even sure why I'm entertaining this situation but there is a part of me that thinks she wouldn't lie about this. If she did and she took this to court, she'd definitely be in severe trouble.


I just don't know.


Please stay tuned for more information if I can provide it everyone. Thank you so much. I greatly appreciate it if anyone can, and will be of some verbal assistance.


Be sure to give input on what I should do with my finance issue regarding a lawsuit.


Edit: never mind. I just spoke to a legal finance office. I was approved.  

[Moloch]

You can also expect the hospital to bill you $1,000/day... not that I would know anything about being locked in a psych ward  

[TheGr33k]

You can also expect the hospital to bill you $1,000/day... not that I would know anything about being locked in a psych ward  

They take involuntary drafts into consideration and send the bills to some sort of welfare, which I believe is called "Medicaid'.

[TECSHARE]

Yes, the police can involuntarily commit you without any evidence. It is more common (and easier) for family members to do this though. Your family can most certainly have you committed. If she is having difficulty with her parents and doesn't actually need medical treatment she needs to get out of their house otherwise this will probably happen again and she might not get let out next time.

[target]

is she going mad?
Seem very unlikely but lets say she's telling the truth, she could file an abduction case for that as far as i know. Even if her parents give permission or invitation, it doesn't count since she was being forced.

[TECSHARE]

is she going mad?
Seem very unlikely but lets say she's telling the truth, she could file an abduction case for that as far as i know. Even if her parents give permission or invitation, it doesn't count since she was being forced.

Wrong. I wish you were right but you aren't.

This is specific to the state of Maine (just because it came up first in the search results) but the law varies slightly from state to state. In most cases it is basically the same. Anyone can be involuntarily admitted by police or family, some times anyone.

https://www1.maine.gov/dhhs/samhs/mentalhealth/rights-legal/involuntary/faq/home.html

[designerusa]

I do believe I had mentioned this situation in off topic. I don't believe I got a chance to really discuss it though. Here's the thread if anyone's interested.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1401031.0

 I am also looking for legal advice here if it can be given. Maybe a financial adviser would be best for my situation. For my friend's girlfriend's situation though, she might need a lawyer.



So if I do recall correctly, she mentioned she was in her bedroom with headphones on behind her locked door when all of a sudden, police barged into her bedroom. Mind you, she's under 25 and still lives at home with both biological parents I believe. Her father gave the police the keys to her bedroom door. They barged in, started questioning her, but she said she had the right to remain silent. Next thing she knew, she was verbally harassed, physically harassed, pinned on her bed, handcuffed, then sent to the psychiatric hospital. The doctors let her go that same evening in about 4 short hours. I do believe if the police rightfully took her in, they would have kept her much longer.


I don't know what to think here. This is quite unusual to me. I don't know if she's telling the truth that she was in her bedroom, not making a sound and just listening to music. If that is the case, what should she do?

for sure, this can happen if you live in a police states . . but it must be investigated whether she said the truth or not.. and what reason made her father call the police ? i think she is hiding the true story..

[TECSHARE]

for sure, this can happen if you live in a police states . . but it must be investigated whether she said the truth or not.. and what reason made her father call the police ? i think she is hiding the true story..

There is no "investigation" as you describe it. The person is evaluated by a psychiatrist. That is the only double checking happening. There are no penalties for the person reporting if the claim was false. Possibly if they do it more than once you could sue them or charge them for harassment but that's about it.

[magnific61]

Easy!
Imagine that man was jogging in street with his sweatsuits and earphones. An ordinary day. But no... Police wants to stop him.
Calls him to stop... But he has earphones and doesn't hear. Continues running. Police takes his gun and shoots him from his behind.
Comparise now. Which is worse?.

[TECSHARE]

Easy!
Imagine that man was jogging in street with his sweatsuits and earphones. An ordinary day. But no... Police wants to stop him.
Calls him to stop... But he has earphones and doesn't hear. Continues running. Police takes his gun and shoots him from his behind.
Comparise now. Which is worse?.

I am having a hard time even following what you are trying to argue. Your point seems completely unrelated to this thread.

[magnific61]

Easy!
Imagine that man was jogging in street with his sweatsuits and earphones. An ordinary day. But no... Police wants to stop him.
Calls him to stop... But he has earphones and doesn't hear. Continues running. Police takes his gun and shoots him from his behind.
Comparise now. Which is worse?.

I am having a hard time even following what you are trying to argue. Your point seems completely unrelated to this thread.

I just tried showing that there is worse than what she lived.

[BADecker]

I do believe I had mentioned this situation in off topic. I don't believe I got a chance to really discuss it though. Here's the thread if anyone's interested.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1401031.0

 I am also looking for legal advice here if it can be given. Maybe a financial adviser would be best for my situation. For my friend's girlfriend's situation though, she might need a lawyer.



So if I do recall correctly, she mentioned she was in her bedroom with headphones on behind her locked door when all of a sudden, police barged into her bedroom. Mind you, she's under 25 and still lives at home with both biological parents I believe. Her father gave the police the keys to her bedroom door. They barged in, started questioning her, but she said she had the right to remain silent. Next thing she knew, she was verbally harassed, physically harassed, pinned on her bed, handcuffed, then sent to the psychiatric hospital. The doctors let her go that same evening in about 4 short hours. I do believe if the police rightfully took her in, they would have kept her much longer.


I don't know what to think here. This is quite unusual to me. I don't know if she's telling the truth that she was in her bedroom, not making a sound and just listening to music. If that is the case, what should she do?

First, watch this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twn96nj0jfw&index=10&list=PLHrkQxgz0mg6kUBciD-HIvTXByqjcIZ-D.

Then Listen to the first two audio MP3s on the right side of this page - http://www.myprivateaudio.com/Karl-Lentz.html.

Then listen to audios 01 and 02 at the bottom of this page - http://recordings.talkshoe.com/rss127469.xml.

Then contact Karl here - http://www.broadmind.org/Contact.html.

Snippets of some of Karl's audios can be found here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tNkWzZSNBDTl4CcjZcj1naheT0yaH9WDxdr4Q60Zz2A/edit.

Just for some very interesting info that might in some ways apply - http://voidjudgments.com/.

[TheGr33k]

I do believe I had mentioned this situation in off topic. I don't believe I got a chance to really discuss it though. Here's the thread if anyone's interested.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1401031.0

 I am also looking for legal advice here if it can be given. Maybe a financial adviser would be best for my situation. For my friend's girlfriend's situation though, she might need a lawyer.



So if I do recall correctly, she mentioned she was in her bedroom with headphones on behind her locked door when all of a sudden, police barged into her bedroom. Mind you, she's under 25 and still lives at home with both biological parents I believe. Her father gave the police the keys to her bedroom door. They barged in, started questioning her, but she said she had the right to remain silent. Next thing she knew, she was verbally harassed, physically harassed, pinned on her bed, handcuffed, then sent to the psychiatric hospital. The doctors let her go that same evening in about 4 short hours. I do believe if the police rightfully took her in, they would have kept her much longer.


I don't know what to think here. This is quite unusual to me. I don't know if she's telling the truth that she was in her bedroom, not making a sound and just listening to music. If that is the case, what should she do?

for sure, this can happen if you live in a police states . . but it must be investigated whether she said the truth or not.. and what reason made her father call the police ? i think she is hiding the true story..

I think she is too.


She told me a domestic violence problem between her parents was happening downstairs and the police wanted to talk to her about it.


Very odd, as it has nothing to do with her. There has got to be something she's leaving out. This is so bizarre....



I don't know. I asked her to get some documents from the hospital that she went to and we can go review the paperwork. If she's telling the absolute truth, I'll let you all know.