Senator describes troubling encounter with police officer

During Wednesday’s hearing of the Committee on Homeland Security, Justice, and Public Safety, Sen. Alma Francis Heyliger described a disturbing encounter with a V.I. Police officer, who she said refused to assist in getting a family member into mental health treatment.

Heyliger said she was trying to use provisions of the new V.I. Behavioral Health Act that provide for involuntary commitment of individuals in needs of psychiatric treatment, but was shocked by the police response.

Heyliger first said she’s concerned about the Act, which was initially drafted by Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.’s administration and revised by the legislature, and “how potentially dangerous that law is because it’s so open, it’s scary.”

Rather than using it to help an ailing friend or loved one who poses a danger to themselves or others, “someone malicious could use it to be vindictive, so it has to be cleaned up,” Heyliger said.

She described in detail the situation that played out when she tried to get the family member into treatment.

“In attempting to follow how the law was written, I called the police department, who told me to bring in the paperwork and I would get some assistance getting this person to the hospital. One officer showed up, I handed them the paper, I explained to them the help I need,” Heyliger said. “The officer spent more of his time trying to convince me not to use the document, because they were concerned about the stress of trying to go through this documentation and all the trouble the police department gets with using these types of medical documentation.”