Last night, we got a call to transport a well known mental health patient. He is a schizophrenic and can be very violent when off medication. We have been to this apartment over 30 times in the past. We radioed the State Police to meet us at the patients apartment. We do this because we have no authority to restrain or cuff a patient if needed.
The State Police were at the location when we arrived. They entered the apartment first to clear it for us to come in. They gave us the all clear and we entered. The patient was sitting on a kitchen chair yelling his head off. He told us all to get the hell out of his apartment before something bad happened to us. It was then that I noticed he had his arms crossed around his waist. There was just something about that that made me tell everyone to backup and leave him alone.
I asked one of the State Police Officers to step into the living room with me out of earshot of the patient. I told him I felt the patient was concealing a weapon in or around his waistband. He stepped back in the kitchen and ordered the patient to raise his arms. He refused and the Officers then took out their tasers and told him to stand up. He refused. By now, he's getting more and more agitated. One of the Officers went behind the chair and grabbed his arms back. Lo and behold there was a large handgun stuffed in his waistband.
One of the Officers removed the gun from his waistband and the patient started screaming. He said it was his gun and he had every right to have it. Then he told the Officer he had a gun permit and the gun was registered to him. Asked where the paperwork for the gun was, the Officer was told to look in the top drawer of the desk in the bedroom.
Guess what? A known schizophrenic was able to get a gun permit and his gun was registered. Date on the paperwork was from last May. This patient was diagnosed with Schizophrenia four years ago and is still being treated.
Can someone tell me how he obtained a gun permit and registered a gun?
The State Police were at the location when we arrived. They entered the apartment first to clear it for us to come in. They gave us the all clear and we entered. The patient was sitting on a kitchen chair yelling his head off. He told us all to get the hell out of his apartment before something bad happened to us. It was then that I noticed he had his arms crossed around his waist. There was just something about that that made me tell everyone to backup and leave him alone.
I asked one of the State Police Officers to step into the living room with me out of earshot of the patient. I told him I felt the patient was concealing a weapon in or around his waistband. He stepped back in the kitchen and ordered the patient to raise his arms. He refused and the Officers then took out their tasers and told him to stand up. He refused. By now, he's getting more and more agitated. One of the Officers went behind the chair and grabbed his arms back. Lo and behold there was a large handgun stuffed in his waistband.
One of the Officers removed the gun from his waistband and the patient started screaming. He said it was his gun and he had every right to have it. Then he told the Officer he had a gun permit and the gun was registered to him. Asked where the paperwork for the gun was, the Officer was told to look in the top drawer of the desk in the bedroom.
Guess what? A known schizophrenic was able to get a gun permit and his gun was registered. Date on the paperwork was from last May. This patient was diagnosed with Schizophrenia four years ago and is still being treated.
Can someone tell me how he obtained a gun permit and registered a gun?
