Wife: Diabetic man mistaken for drunken driver and beaten

[Shardik]

Source: Detroit Free Press

A diabetic Detroit man was mistaken for a drunken driver by Allen Park and Dearborn police, and brutally beaten to the point that he had to have part of his brain surgically removed, the man’s wife and their attorney allege.
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Ernest Griglen, 59, has been comatose and on a ventilator since the June 15 incident, said attorney Arnold Reed of Farmington Hills.

Reed filed a lawsuit in federal court today against the Allen Park and Dearborn police departments and five officers on behalf of Griglen and his wife, Pamela Griglen. They’re seeking $20 million in damages.

According to the complaint, Griglen was driving south on the Southfield Freeway when he suffered a hypoglycemic episode. The complaint says Griglen exited his vehicle in an effort to summon the Allen Park officer. Then he was pulled over by an Allen Park Police officer. Dearborn officers also arrived on the scene to assist, according to the court document.

The complaint alleges that police came in contact with Griglen’s insulin pump in Griglen’s stomach and diabetes equipment in his vehicle, but still threw him headfirst into the ground.


Read more: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080922/NEWS02/80922045/1004

[LynzM]

1. I hate reading these stories....

It happens relatively frequently that people suffering from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) are mistaken for drunk and treated as such. So awful to see such a bad outcome in this case. :( As a diabetic myself, it's something I've certainly thought about. My heart goes out to Ernest and his family...

[dana_b]

2. the police account sound reasonable however if the guy needed brain surgery

because of injuries sustained, it seems that a chunk of information was left out here. I hope the patient is able to wake up and becomes cognisant enough to get on with life. Poor wife.

[atreides1]

11. Police Accounts always Sound Reasonable

Mainly because they circle the "Blue Wall of Justice" and make sure they get the story straight, while the Police union plays distract and cover.

[Shardik]

12. There were two different police reports.

Looks as if they didn't get their stories straight.

"According to the lawsuit filed by his wife Pamela and lawyer Arnold Reed, Mr Griglen was driving along a freeway near the US city of Detroit when he experienced a diabetic hypoglycaemic episode.

They said the episode forced Mr Griglen to swerve between lanes before he was pulled over by police who thought he was drunk.

“They began to hit him, punch him and throw him to the ground,” Mr Reed said.

WDIV said two different reports of the incident was filed by police.

One report said Griglen was pursued along the freeway by police because of a domestic violence complaint.

The other report said he became “combative” and was forced to the ground by officers."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24390085-12377,00.html

[lurky]

3. That's how Eric Dolphy died, supposedly.

He went into a diabetic coma while on tour in Berlin. The doctors assumed he was just another jazz musician wacked out on dope, so they left him there to "sleep it off".

[rubberducky]

4. This story needs to be read far and wide.

Black man acting eradically in mostly white neighborhood. I lived very close to where this took place. Breaks my heart. This poor man will never be "made whole" with any court proceedings. God, this shit needs to stop. This is so sad, there are no words in my heart to explain how sad this makes me feel.:cry: Tears, tears and more tears.

[Michigan-Arizona]

9. Doesn't surprise me with Dearborn or Allen Park police. n/t

[rubberducky]

10. Very, very sadly this does not surprise me either.

I lived blocks from this area, so this is really upsetting to me.

[greenvpi]

5. As long as they get to beat someone...

the thugs in blue don't really care about the details.

[aquamarina]

6. Even assuming the guy was drunk, why does this give the

police the right to beat someone to a pulp? Is this really how they are trained - to inflict force first and ask questions later?

[slampoet]

7. Why beat an actual drunk either?

[berni_mccoy]

8. I have two young boys with Type-1 diabetes. These stories make me absolutely ill.

I think about these things happening to my poor boys when they are older.

:cry:

[bean fidhleir]

16. I hope you're following Bernstein's low-carb plan with them, not the ADA's

He's been a T1 for over 60 years and actually switched from engineering to medicine because the med establishment didn't want to hear that a low-carb diet allows even T1 to be brought under complete control.

[1776Forever]

13. This scares the heck out of me - My son has MS & could be a victim of these thugs

Everyone you know and love that has a medical problem should have an ID that says so! The cops might not try to find out if they have a medical problem, but it can't hurt. I believe the Bush Administration has only worsened behavior like this! Disgusting and heartbreaking!

Just one place on the web that has these:

http://www.americanmedical-id.com/

[Bake]

14. Another in the endless stream of thug-cop sotires.

And yet we're supposed to respect them?

Not me.

Bake

[DustyJoe]

15. Medic Alert Bracelet ?

Did he have his on, I don't think it would have made any difference sadly. Anyone with a diabetic in their care as my 11 yr old grandaughter knows that hypoglycemia can result in severe disorientation and confusion and uncooperative behaviour. Not his fault at all, all he needed was help, not what he received. Hopefully thse officers are charged with felony assault & battery, because that is what happened.

[Javaman]

17. this is our nation. mission accomplished. nt

[Bombero1956]

18. that happened in the city I work for

The man was the principal of a charter school. He was sitting in his BMW in a gas station parking lot. The cops broke his window and pulled him out of the car. In the end he was clubbed in the head with a nightstick and required stitches. Of course the fact that the man was black was just icing on the cake as far as the cops were concerned.