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Arleen Avila & Parkinson's

My Story

My name is Arleen Avila. I’m 47 years old, a mother of two, and I have been fighting Parkinson’s disease for 25 years.

On Friday May 11, 2007 at approximately noon I was in my vehicle waiting in line to enter the drive-through at the In-N-Out Burger on the corner of Mooney Blvd and Walnut Ave in Visalia, Calif. It was a hot day, temperatures in the 90s and the line was moving very slowly. There were at least ten vehicles ahead of me and the staff finally sent a worker out into the parking lot to take orders manually in order to speed things up as much as possible.

Due to the long wait in the oppressive heat I dozed off while sitting in line with my vehicles transmission in the park position. I was asleep long because when the vehicle ahead of me moved forward and I didn’t move, the person behind me came up to my window and awakened me. I then moved forward and shortly placed my order with the worker who was in the parking lot. I proceeded through the line to the payment window which took about eight minutes more. After paying I saw a motorcycle officer come south on Mooney, he looked directly at me then proceeded west on Walnut out of my vision. I later found that he had turned into the parking lot off of Walnut. When I had reached the second window and was given my food I started to pull out of the line only to find my way blocked by a police officer standing in front of me in the middle of the lane motioning for me to stop. I tried to pull far enough forward and to the right to not block the vehicles behind me from leaving. The way the exit lane is constructed there is a point of the curb that sticks out. As a patrol car was blocking the left turn I pulled as far to the right as possible and brushed the curb at this point.

Officer Casey approached my passenger side front door and finding it locks automatically when the vehicle moves forward she walked around to the driver side front door. She told me to get out of my vehicle and I responded that it would be very hard for me to do so as I have Parkinson’s disease and can’t really walk. She then said to me in a very aggressive tone “you don’t have Parkinson’s and you can too walk.” She then pulled my door open, grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me out injuring my leg and I fell to the pavement hurting my back and shoulder. Officer Casey then grabbed both my arms and officer Swarthout grabbed both my legs. They half dragged, half carried me to Casey’s patrol car, dropping me several times.

During this time I continued to tell the officers that I was not drunk or on drugs, “I have Parkinson’s Disease.” The officers both ignored me and I called for someone among the bystanders to call help for me.

The officers were twisting my wrists and ankles trying to put me in the patrol car and a third officer assisted them. Officer Swarthout the grabbed my arms so hard it left finger mark bruises and forced them behind my back and put handcuffs on me. I still didn’t know why I was being treated this way. Officer Swarthout then lifted me off the pavement by jerking on the chain between the cuffs and threw me face down into the back of Casey’s patrol car.

I was told I was going to be taken to the hospital. At that time another officer named Abitet (spelling provided by police non-emergency line), who was identified to me as a supervisor came to the patrol car and asked me what I had been drinking? I told him I had been drinking water. He asked “have you been drinking alcohol?” I answered “I don’t drink alcohol.” I asked Supervisor Abitet to bring my power scooter as I can’t walk and he told me the scooter wasn’t charged. When I informed him it had a full charge he just walked away without comment.

When officers Casey and Swarthout and I arrived at Kaweah Delta Hospital for what they said was to be a medical evaluation (the evaluation consisted of two vials of blood being drawn for what the nurse said was police use and no other actions were taken to determine my medical condition or needs) I was put in a small room and chained to a wheelchair. Supervisor Abitet came and again asked if I had been drinking alcohol? I again told him that I don’t drink alcohol. Abitet then said “that’s not what I think, I’ve been to your place before and you were drinking, don’t you drink alcohol when you’re depressed?” I said he must have me confused with someone else. He said “I don’t think so” and left the room.

Officer Casey came back into the room and I asked her if this was happening because they thought I had been drinking alcohol and she denied that anyone had said anything about that, and told me “you don’t have Parkinson’s.” Then Abitet returned and I brought up what he said about drinking alcohol with him in front of Casey and he replied “I’m just a supervisor, what do I know?” in a sarcastic tone of voice. I once again told Abitet they were making a big mistake and that’s when he told me I was being arrested for being combative. Supervisor Abitet then told officer Casey “be sure you cover yourself, you know where this is going.”

While I was at the hospital officer Casey took a cell phone out of my purse, which she’d had in her possession since taking it from my vehicle, located my boyfriend’s cell number and called him. (His name is Denis and his new cell number is 559-334-8553) Casey told him I was at Kaweah Delta Hospital and was “under arrest for being under the influence of narcotics.” Denis informed her that I “don’t even drink or smoke, let alone use narcotics.” Casey then asked him “then what’s wrong with her?” Denis told her that I have Parkinson’s disease and she asked him if I can walk. He told her that I can’t walk very well or very often and there’s no way of knowing when that might be. Casey then said “so she can walk” and Denis said “I just told you that you can’t count on it that’s why she has a scooter.” Officer Casey then lied to Denis telling him that I was unconscious when she arrived at In-N-Out Burger and she had a very difficult time waking me up, she also told him that I had “collided with an object.” Denis asked if I was alright and if there was any damage? Casey said there was no damage and I was angry. Denis told Casey that under the circumstances he understood why I would be angry. Casey then informed Denis that my brother Serafim was at home and someone needed to be there with him. Denis then went home to check on Serafim.

At 1pm at the hospital I told both Casey and Swarthout that it was time for my Parkinson’s Medication.

When we finally left the hospital I refused to ride in Casey’s patrol car because the back floor was covered with some sort of sticky substance that was sticking to my feet, so I was put in the back of Swarthout’s patrol car. Swarthout and Casey, each in their own patrol cars, took me to my home so I could get my Parkinson’s medication (for which I was now seriously overdue) before they were to take me to the Bob Wiley Facility.

At my home officer Casey told my boyfriend, Denis, that I was being taken to the Bob Wiley facility, but needed my medication first. Denis requested to talk with me and Casey refused to let him. When Denis retrieved my medication and some water he requested to administer the medication to me, again Casey refused, saying she would give it to me and took the medication case from him. Denis said I would need water, Casey said I’d get the medication at Bob Wiley instead. Denis asked officer Casey if there was a wheelchair available for me at Bob Wiley and Casey said there was.

At Bob Wiley due to my lack of on-time medication I was unable to exit the patrol car on my own, and there was no wheelchair, so officer Swarthout dragged me out of the car by chain between the cuffs and he and Casey forced me to try to walk to the building. I fell several times further injuring my legs and knees. Each time they jerked me back up by the chain of the handcuffs, which inflicted more bruises and extreme pain.

The staff at Bob Wiley couldn’t get anyone to administer my medication and refused to accept me into the facility. So, officers Casey and Swarthout walked me back out to Swarthout’s Patrol car, during which time I was again allowed to fall and further aggravate my injuries. Again I was pulled back up with a jerk on the handcuffs chain. When I was back in Swarthout’s patrol car the officers returned to Kaweah Delta Hospital to admit me to the prisoner’s ward, but the hospital also would not accept me.

Officer Swarthout then received instructions to take me back to my home and release me into the custody of my boyfriend, Denis. When we arrived at my home officer Swarthout didn’t want to pull into the driveway to ease getting me out of the patrol car and into a wheelchair. Denis asked officer Casey to have him pull into the driveway and she called Swarthout on his cell phone instructing him to pull in from where he was parked up the street. Swarthout made a U-turn and stopped at the base of my steep drive, quit a long distance from the garage, and Denis again asked Casey to have him pull up the driveway. When Casey did this Swarthout pointed out a surveillance camera over the garage. After much discussion Swarthout finally pulled into the driveway.

Once in the driveway officer Swarthout tried to pull me out of his patrol car with the handcuffs still on. My boyfriend told him it would be easier and a lot less painful for me if the officer would remove the handcuffs. The lock that prevents the handcuffs from tightening up on their own due to bumps and movement had never been engaged and after this many hours they were so tight and my wrists so swollen and bruised that Swarthout had a very hard time unlocking and removing them.

Both my wrists were bruised and swollen, my forearm had bruises from Swarthout’s fingers, my back was hurt, my legs were scraped and bleeding and both legs and knees were bruised because I fell asleep in the restaurant parking lot for a moment. All this time in custody and I still didn’t receive my medication until Denis gave it to me about 4pm which was time for the next dosage. The officers then left and Denis and the other people who witnessed my arrival took pictures of my injuries and then Denis took me to the hospital for evaluation and treatment of the injuries.

Had the officers taken a few minutes to verify when I told them about my medical condition or Supervisor Abitet properly overseen their actions, this unfortunate situation would have been avoided. When my boyfriend, Denis, asked officer Casey why he wasn’t called from the In-N-Out Burger to confirm my condition and so someone could be sent to get me and my vehicle, which was towed, Casey said she didn’t have his cell number. Denis then asked how she managed to call him from the hospital and she said she used a cell phone from my purse where she found his number. Denis then asked her if she had been in possession of my purse at In-N-Out and couldn’t she have use the cell phone then and she refused to answer.

Instead of properly performing their duty to protect and serve a citizen, the officers rushed to judgment, falsely accused me, used excessive force to the level of brutality to detain me and then lied to cover up their mistakes.

Instead of performing his duty to protect and serve a citizen by properly supervising the other officers, Supervisor Abitet allowed the officers to proceed and in fact abetted them in their efforts by trying to coerce a confession from me that I had in fact been drinking alcohol, and advising officer Casey that she better cover herself.

These officers do not deserve the position of power they enjoy or the trust of the public they have sworn to serve and protect.

Visalia Times-Delta & Tulare Advance Regsiter
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