Bryan’s Freedom Blog

My friend is doing research on mental illness and how it is handled in the prisons/jails. I figure if you know someone or are someone that has mental illness and were/are in jail, you might respond to this and help her out. The questions she is trying to answer are:

1. Did you have access to your meds when you needed them?
2. How did you feel you were treated by staff?
3. Were you asked if you had a mental health issue, and if so, were you placed in special housing?

Come on. This is an easy one to respond to and you can help her get a good grade. BTW, I have received many questions from you all, about getting your meds while going to Tent City. I know some of you can respond to her questions and help her out.

Thanks!

What a night in the news! First a story about Sheriff Joe losing a federal court battle because his jails are health hazards, and then a Minnesota police officer is arrested for DUI. It was in a separate report that the Minnesota officer was trained to work on a DUI task force, as well. He faces extreme DUI charges and child endangerment (his kids were in the car).

Looks like the Federal Judge found the Sheriff was guilty of violating the following statutes:

Arizona Revised Statutes
Title 31 Prisons and Prisoners
31-121. Duty of sheriff to receive and provide for prisoners…
A. The sheriff shall receive all persons who are committed to jail by competent authority and provide them with necessary food, clothing and bedding…
31-126. Examination of certain prisoners for mental disorder
When a person confined in the county jail upon arrest for or conviction of a misdemeanor manifests symptoms of a mental disorder, the sheriff shall notify a licensed physician who shall examine the person. If in the judgment of a licensed physician the person is suffering from a mental disorder, proceedings shall be taken as prescribed by title 36, chapter 5. The proceedings under title 36, chapter 5, shall be separate from court proceedings relating to the misdemeanor charge.
31-127. Abuse of prisoner; classification
A public officer who with criminal negligence is guilty of inhumanity or oppression toward a prisoner under his care or in his custody is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

Don’t drink and drive; and stay out of jail - no news here. The stories ran on Fox 10 news at 9pm.  The full story on Sheriff Joe’s Jails can be found on myfoxphoenix.com.

I spent time in the tents and I put the experience and all the helpful info I could on the DVD at www.tentcityaz.com. When people sent me some more good tent survival info I put it on the website page called ‘more info’. However, it just wasn’t interactive. So… (trumpets sound) I am no longer going to use the ‘more info’ web page to add your comments. This is the post for you to update with your tips, hints, helpful information. Any experience that you can add to help others would be appreciated. So blog away friends!

Several people have talked to me about offering a ride share program for people that have lost their license and need to get to and from jail. It is kind of tough to be on work release, catch a bus and get from one end of town to the other. If you are ‘in’ for awhile, you can ask others that you get to know for rides. But if you are only in for a short time, getting to know someone well enough to ask might be intimidating.  I can offer this blog post as an opportunity to leave posts that might hook you up with a ride. I’m thinking you leave a post with where you need a ride from/to and the times, and others can reply if they can assist you. It’s up to you to leave contact information (email or phone). I’m not responsible for anything that doesn’t work out. After all, I’m just trying to help you out and offering this blog space as a favor. Good luck!

I can’t help but wonder what the effect of the bad economy will have on ticketing and arrest rates here in Arizona. I noticed a reduced amount of police vehicles on the road when our gas rates hit their peak. Saw more bicycle police than patrol cars. It was just a few months ago that our municipalities were experiencing the pain at the pump. Now that everyone has slowed down their spending and companies are laying off workers, it seems logical that the ticketing and/or arrests of citizens will rise to make up for the lost income to the municipalities. The little things that used to get overlooked, i.e. a cracked windshield, 10 mph over limit, changing lanes without using signal, may soon be the money generator ‘they’ need. Watch the ‘little things’ and keep your money in your wallet.

Updated: 10/16/08

Well it didn’t take long to get comments on this one. I couldn’t help but listen to the news these last few days regarding the State’s and City of Phoenix budgets. Seems they both have been planning on spending WAAAYY more money than they are taking in. As they plan their respective budget cuts, looks like (at least the city) will not cut back on Police and Fire protection. Instead, they will just not hire anymore personel to try and keep their departments budgets on track. Well, maybe there is some truth to my musings. Obey all the traffic laws, keep your taillights and license plate lights in working order, don’t speed, and use your turn signals! Keep your money in your wallet!

TentCityAZ Girls

I was asked how I advertise the site. Well besides all the web search engine feeding you have to do, I do have some nice spokespeople for the site. The TentCityAZ.com store sells some nice T-shirts (and we are adding more). Here is a picture of some of the TentCityAZ girls that you may run into in bars promoting the site, while wearing our shirt.