Letter 7.

Dear Mr. Humano, 

Patients come into the jail and often I hear horror stories about how their arresting officers treated them.  Now I realize there are always two sides to a story but your words spoke to the abuse of power I often hear about.  As a 37-year-old Latino immigrant man, I can only assume how much you have endured to provide for yourself and your family, but because of my upbringing, I feel an appreciation for the trials that contribute to your ongoing depression. 

When you shared that you didn’t know your rights and didn’t trust anyone in the jail, I wanted to understand more.   You went on to describe the afternoon you were arrested.  You were walking down the streets of East LA and were randomly stopped by a white police officer.  The officers ran your name and there was a warrant for your arrest.  As you described how you were roughed up and thrown in the back of the car, I could feel the pain you endured.  As part of their safety protocol, the officers asked you a list of questions that included whether you had a history of mental health issues.  Appropriately, you reported that you had depression.  The way you described their responses painted a picture of how you felt; they responded with “you little b*tch p*ssy… man up”.  On the way to the jail, while you were still upset with how they had belittled your mental health, the police officer pulled over into a dark alley, took you out of the car and removed your handcuffs.  The police officer said to you, “there are no cameras here… this is your chance… do something.”  He was egging you on and you knew it.  You did not react because you knew if you retaliated the consequences would be even worse for you. 

So you came into the jail feeling like you were stopped for no reason, admittedly had a reason to be arrested but then teased for a disease that pains you, and provoked to put yourself into harm’s way.  You held on to your frustration and anger, until meeting me in this hell of a place where I bombarded you with questions about your health.  You were absolutely right to respond by describing your mistrust of the system with tears rolling down your face.  You merely wanted to know who to trust and what were your rights.  You were correct, the treatment you received was inhumane and you did not deserve it. 

There will never be any documentation in the criminal or health care system of what you experienced because that part of the story doesn’t matter to either system.  I want you to know that it mattered to me.  You live and breathe just like me.  I may have sat across from you with my white coat on but your human rights should be equal to those of the police officer that pulled you into the alley and to my own.  My words don’t make that true and neither does recognizing our different positions in society as contributors for the inequity.   When I handed you the contact information for a legal assistance agency in your neighborhood, that was my way of giving you a resource so that you can find a way to seek the justice you deserve.  It was a very small gesture in a mountainous fight you will have to endure, but maybe sharing your story with others will help amplify a voice that is silenced by the powers that be. 

Fighting for you and others like you,

Dr. A