HOLLYWOOD

When Police Intervene

The head of the LAPD's mental-health unit explains what happens when authorities must involuntarily hospitalize a person with psychiatric issues—as recently happened to Britney Spears.

By Katie Paul | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Feb 2, 2008

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  • Posted By: USAFRET91 @ 02/03/2008 11:49:57 AM

    Let her alone. Let her be. Stop hounding her. She needs to heal and the only way is to not write stories

    • Posted By: tktitze @ 05/24/2008 12:45:57 AM

      I just want to know why USAFRET91-Steve left Front Porch Graphics. We've missed him and he didn't say why he left. Steve? Why did you leave? sunandfish@hotmail.com
      sunandfish@hotmail.com

  • Posted By: JimmyStevenson @ 02/08/2008 1:52:02 PM

    Britney,

    Great, you're out! The meds they gave you have worked. Now get out of here. Run, run away. You don't want to be here. You don't want to be in our boat. It's a worn out, tattered, rusty old barge. Across the side is written, in faded black paint, "MENTAL ILLNESS". This boat is drifting aimlessly on the sea. You want to get off of it.

    You fell overboard, from a large gorgeous luxury liner called Hollywood superstars. That's the largest luxury liner there is. I fell overboard from a smaller luxury liner called Army officer, Airborne Ranger, MBA, PE. And I landed on this old barge with SS Disability. It's a terrible terrrible place, just take my word for it.

    Take the life line that they are throwing for you and climb back out of here to that better boat. I got caught in here, and I can't get out, and it's not a pretty place. Just read below here, what they have written about you, when they found out what you have, what you are. Everybody hates us in this ugly boat.

    You have to deny it. Spin it any way you can. Say you were on crack, on laxatives, or even OD'd on toothpaste. Anything is better than admitting that you are in the MI boat.

    And if you run fast enough across this rusty old deck, and jump far enough, maybe you can make it back to that big beautiful cruise ship and nobody will ever even know you were here.

    I wish you all the best.

    Jimmy Stevenson

  • Posted By: dopelgangerA @ 02/06/2008 1:16:51 PM

    I don't want celebrities to get special treatment just because they are celebrities, but if the level of police resources used simply reflected the objective circumstances, then that would not be special treatment: If ANYONE who needed this help, for some reason had a mob of photographers outside their home, then it would be appropriate if extra police came.

  • Posted By: minpinmommy @ 02/05/2008 5:23:32 PM

    i find it very ironic she seems to have spiraled out of control and no one seeems to have noticed or cared. It kinda like she is living out her own song Lucky she has it all but has nothing at this point and all that money and she has not been treated. Also to have this kind of illness and have your every move videoed or recorded can only add to her troubles. Why not appoint someone completely neutral almost like a guardian ad litem just to ensure that she doesnt continue to be a victim of the people who are supoosed to care about her. With recent events it makes you wonder if the reason she divorced her husband was she was cylcling. I know most people are against her X but he has kept out of the lime light and hasnt revealed or hinted if there was behavoir like this during their marriage.

  • Posted By: masongr @ 02/05/2008 4:12:20 PM

    Finally a medical diagnosis. The woman has issues. I don't know how many of us could tolerate people picking through our garbage to look for "tidbits". There were pictures of her in a "Rite-Aid" at 3 am doing Christmas shopping. Cops had to form a wedge to get the ambulance out!!!! The kid has problems, let her alone to her herself straightened out.

  • Posted By: JimmyStevenson @ 02/05/2008 7:12:10 AM

    I was wondering when she was going to be re-hopitalized again. The reports say she probably suffers from bipolar disorder, a form of brain disease.

    I too have this form of mental illness. I have a severe form of bipolar called psychotic bipolar which includes psychosis. Fortunately, I live a very fulfilling and sane life with the help of lithium and zyprexa. I have to take them both everyday at bedtime.

    I have had two involuntary commitments. My first one was just like Britney's first one and was only for one night. My second one was for 7 days. It will be interesting to see how long Britney will be held on this second one.

    I can't imagine having this illness and being under the microscope that she is under. 25% of us with this disease will commit suicide. This illness is a top 5 killer of people between the ages of 18 and 44.

    I wish her all the best and hope she doesn't become a statistic.

    That's 25% of 5 million Americans or over 1 million people will die from it.

    I wish her all the best.

    Jimmy Stevenson

  • Posted By: horsedooty @ 02/04/2008 2:44:17 AM

    looks to me like she needs a hobby. She has been working mostly non-stop for many years and now she has nothing to do with a boat load of money.

    yo soy Horsedooty!

    • Posted By: freedom57 @ 02/05/2008 1:22:22 AM

      You need a hobby. Why don't you do a little research on what these people have to do just over come their dememons and be our supper stars.

  • Posted By: shazomar @ 02/04/2008 5:01:58 PM

    I AGREE SOME LAW NEEDS TO BE PASSED AGAINST PAPARAZZI.. THEIR HAS TO BE A LIMIT TO IT, THEY LITERALLY CREATE TRAFFIC HAZARDS AND CAN CONTRIBUTE TO A PERSONS LEVEL ON STRESS AND THEREFORE INDIRECTLY THEIR PERSONAL HEALTH.

    • Posted By: freedom57 @ 02/05/2008 1:20:08 AM

      your comments are much neeeded. Paparazzi are taking advanage another person misfortune. She was born with her disability, she didin't give it to herself. We can only give her surport her battle with her illness and to be a positive part of her child lives.

  • Posted By: JimmyStevenson @ 02/04/2008 9:34:34 PM

    I was wondering when she was going to be re-hopitalized again. The reports say she probably suffers from bipolar disorder, a form of brain disease.

    I too have this form of mental illness. I have a severe form of bipolar called psychotic bipolar which includes psychosis. Fortunately, I live a very fulfilling and sane life with the help of lithium and zyprexa. I have to take them both everyday at bedtime.

    I have had two involuntary commitments. My first one was just like Britney's and was only for one night. My second one was for 7 days.

    I can't imagine having this illness and being under the microscope that she is under. 25% of us with this disease will commit suicide. This illness is a top 5 killer of people between the ages of 18 and 44.

    I wish her a the best and hope she doesn't become a statistic.

    That's 25% of 5 million Americans or over 1 million people will die from it.

    I wish her all the best.

    Jimmy Stevenson

    • Posted By: freedom57 @ 02/05/2008 1:16:19 AM

      Jimmey I wish you all the best. It does help people who are lively with this disease that there are others and you will will help them find stenghts. I felt what you had to say with my heart. Thanks for sharing.

  • Posted By: freedom57 @ 02/05/2008 1:07:22 AM

    I just hope that Spears was dealt with appropriatley. CA seems to not reconginize mental health needs. Mental health center sare under funded and services not provided that these people need. Most likely Spears would get more appropriate treamment in CO or WY. CA is up held as being more advanced, however the opposite is true.

  • Posted By: kdot2008 @ 02/04/2008 9:04:16 PM

    Has she passed on yet? Poor thing probably on a ventilator by now, sad day for the Spear's family.

  • Posted By: shazomar @ 02/04/2008 5:00:04 PM

    they did what they needed to do and am glad for that. Hope this young women gets her life nack on track.

  • Posted By: kahnquest @ 02/04/2008 4:32:32 AM

    Why dont they arrest these paparazzi that are blocking ambulances, tresspassing, blocking traffic, and generally disturbing the peace? Free speech or not, there is a limit to what people can do to get the story, and these scumbags cross that line everyday, and for Brittney, every day for the last year.....SHAME ON THEM ALL!

  • Posted By: jporterlv@msn.com @ 02/04/2008 2:36:17 AM

    Most people would like to see her go ahead and kill herself!

  • Posted By: jporterlv@msn.com @ 02/04/2008 2:34:58 AM

    Why and how does it cost $25K to take someone to the hospital??????? I hope that *** dies soon so we don't have th hear about her anymore!!!

  • Posted By: jporterlv@msn.com @ 02/04/2008 2:31:13 AM

    Why and how does it cost $25K to take someone to the hospital???????

  • Posted By: kdot2008 @ 02/03/2008 3:28:24 PM

    I am not ignorant I just keep it real. These people are "whack jobs". To bad we are not living in the old west times, they'd give you a shot of whiskey then drill a hole in your head to cure you of your mental illness. I am a nurse and deal with these freaks daily. They come in to the ER at 0300 seeking drugs or just for something to do. I have no empathy for a schizophrenic psycho.

    • Posted By: hmmwhyme @ 02/04/2008 1:06:10 AM

      People like you are the reason that the people who really need mental health help do not get the help they need. I personally suffer from a mental illness and have faced people like you in ER's when I was in a crisis. I know that there are people that go into ER's and are there specifically for drug seeking purposes but the majority of those "whack jobs" as you so crudely put it are there to get help and live there life as productive members of society. There is nothing as horrible as feeling out of control of your life and working up the courage to get help and then being faced with people like you in a place that is supposed to provide you with a safe secure place to get the help that it took all your courage to admit you need. While you think you are "keeping it real" all you are doing is causing the people that read this and have a mental illness to realize that despite all of the educational material that mental illness awareness groups put out and provide to health care providers we still have a long way to go in order to educate the public and health care providers that mental illness is just that an illness. If someone where to come into the ER with all the signs of a heart attack but it turned out to not be a heart attack you would never have complained in a public forum that the person that thought they were having a heart attack was a "whack job". Someone should have you spend a month with one of those "schizophrenic psychos" and see how you feel after that or better yet let someone in your family have a mental illness then we'll talk about how you feel about people with mental illness.

    • Posted By: kb693 @ 02/03/2008 5:25:55 PM

      hopefully your bosses will see this and fire you.......You should probably not be dealing with people anymore

  • Posted By: Sassybear @ 02/04/2008 12:51:22 AM

    Didn't the paparazzi learn anything ? When they hampered rescue efforts with Princess Diana ?? Their presence in an emergency situation medical or not, is truly in bad taste and prolongs the victim to get treatment. Maybe they need to arrest a few more reporters and the like instead of waiting until it ends in a death again.

  • Posted By: Sassybear @ 02/04/2008 12:47:42 AM

    Didn't the paparazzi learn anything ? When they hampered rescue efforts with Princess Diana ?? Their presence in an emergency situation medical or not, is truly in bad taste and prolongs the victim to get treatment. Maybe they need to arrest a few more reporters and the like instead of waiting until it ends in a death again.

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