I get to make my first "official statement" on Monday. Joy of joys. I'm sure it will be the first of many! One of the people who came into IPDA has complained that the police detained them when they were not intoxicated. I happened to be the intake worker. Thus, I have to make an official statement. Should be "interesting". I still don't know who the complainant was, although i have my suspicions. My boss acknowledged that I might not remember, so we'll see, we'll see.
See the thing is, who is brought into IPDA is entirely at the discretion of the officers on the scene. I can say no if the person is unconscious or so badly hurt that I think they need to be taken to a hospital, but I can't say no because I don't think the person is intoxicated. That's not my call. It's not supposed to happen, but we do occasionally get someone who is clearly not intoxicated. How does this happen? Well, the police don't do any drug tests or breathalyser tests or anything before they bring someone in. Lots of people ask for this, and it's not given. And of course, we don't have the equipment to do that ourselves or anything. Once someone is in our custody, we have to hold them for the minimum time of four hours, we don't have a choice. So if a person is not intoxicated, they get pretty pissed off, which can make the seem intoxicated anyway!
So, I don't know. I hope I remember the situation, and if I don't, I'll just say that. Because really the only thing I can tell is the truth.
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