A casual night out with friends turned into a nightmare for 20-year-old Breagh Martell.
The young woman was arrested and ticketed for public intoxication during the early morning hours of Dec. 10.
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She claims she wasn’t intoxicated, she was suffering from a severe panic attack after being separated from her boyfriend at a bar downtown.
“I was huffing and puffing, shaking, and wondering what I was going to do,” Martell said.
Martell said she has a borderline personality disorder and when she couldn’t get hold of anybody she knew, her anxiety escalated.
She said she was outside when a Halifax Regional Police (HRP) officer found her.
“He instantly assumed that I was intoxicated because I was unable to answer his questions clearly and concisely,” she said.
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HRP say the main factor involved in whether or not they bring someone into a holding cell or the “drunk tank” is safety.
“If we feel a person can’t look after themselves, they’re not with a sober person, they’re potentially a risk to themselves or others, then they are at risk for being arrested,” Const. Dianne Penfound said.
While in custody, Martell said she wrapped her pantyhose around her neck in an effort to get medical attention.
Instead she said she was strapped to a chair.
It’s a method Penfound said is used whenever someone is in danger of self-harm.
“A lot of thought goes into someone being put into a restraint chair and they have to be a risk to themselves,” she said.
After being treated and released from hospital, Martell later posted pictures online of bruises she says were caused by “excessive force.”
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She included a writeup of the incident and tagged Halifax Regional Police in the Facebook post.
“We’re reaching out to the young lady who made the post to speak to her about her concerns and we have a senior officer who’s currently reviewing the case in total,” Penfound said.
Community psychologist Todd Leader said balancing policing and mental health is a complex issue.
He said many police agencies have some mental health training but there’s always room for improvement.
“If you come to understand and be able to recognize what someone is going through and whether it’s psychologically driven in some way, than you can respond in a way that matches that person’s situation better,” Leader said.
Martell said she wants police to receive more mental health training.
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