Traditionally, the major impacts are felt the week prior to school starting and the first week back. There are new students who are freshly graduated from high school and perhaps aren't aware of the laws concerning alcohol use, or the powerful effects alcohol can have on the body.
The last shift of this last weekend seemed as if it was "alcohol poisoning" night. My partner and I found and sought medical attention for at least three students who were overcome by alcohol poisoning.
In the first two cases, the poisoned person's "friends" were "helping" them by getting them a cab ("It's O.K. we called him a taxi"). I'm not sure what the cabbie is going to do with them, but the potential for this person to die was significant. In one case, the "friends" were people who were also intoxicated and had "just met" the person at a bar. Tell me, what emotional ties do these "friends" have to this person? If they dump him off in a bathroom or bedroom and leave him, will it matter to them? Here are intoxicated and apparently immature people making life altering decisions for someone they barely know. It may not matter to them, but I'll bet it will matter to the families and loved ones who's son or daughter this is.
The last one of the night for my partner and I was a young adult who had drunk himself into a complete stupor. Bystanders found him under the back tires of a vehicle parked near a favorite downtown bar. Luckily, they pulled him out from underneath the vehicle and placed him on his side, propped against a parking meter. While this is the correct position to prevent asphyxiation on his own vomit, it left him completely vulnerable to the whims of whatever person walked by. Again, luckily for this man, we came by and were waved over by another set of bystanders.
My blog partner Jim Parrott came across a similar situation the same night while he was patrolling on his horse in the South Campus Neighborhood. He and his partner were flagged over by a student who said there was a drunk girl passed out in the alley behind his house, and he was concerned she would become a victim. Jim and his partner rode into the alley and found the female pictured below. She was alone, seated on a curb in the dark alley, bloody from an apparent fall, and her feet resting in a pile of her own vomit. She was able to tell Jim that she was a student who lived in an on-campus dorm. She was so intoxicated that she could not stand. Jim and his partner summoned an ambulance and she was taken to Enloe Hospital to detox.
Last year, two minors died of alcohol poisoning within a few weeks of each other. This was a huge loss for the families and unfortunately one that is repeated annually. With the influx of students unfamiliar with alcohol and the ready availability of mass amounts of beer and other forms of alcohol, the health of the students becomes a significant concern.
Chico State CADEC Alcohol Poisoning card
I personally like working with the college students. While it gets old hearing, "F*** the Police" repeatedly, most are reasonable people who are here to have a good time. We have worked hard this year at educating and building trust with the students at the regular hotspots around the south campus neighborhoods. This has worked well in helping deal with out of control parties.
While we'd rather people didn't host parties that could quickly rage out of control, most residents have realized that they can call us to help them settle the situation. We explain that there are several consequences to hosting large parties, including:
· Alcohol poisoning
· Underage drinking
· Narcotics sales
· Assault and battery
· Stabbings
· Sexual Assaults
· Vandalism
· Thefts
· DUI’s
Other potentialities include the possibility that the residents could be civilly liable for the bad things that happen to victims at their parties. This along with the fact that now hundreds of people know what nice stuff is in the house. These same residents are frequently calling us the next day to report the theft of laptop computers, IPOD's, purses and other valuables.
I am personally glad to help people who are taking the responsibility for their homes and parties. I am more than happy to let these types of calls take precedence over general noise complaints where the reporting party refuses to provide their information.
This has been an interesting and exhausting week for law enforcement. The sheer amount of calls and types of calls have taxed our reserves. Despite this, the Officers and Supervisors I work with have handled it well. I congratulate them for their patience and congratulate the student body for doing a good job (for the most part) assimilating into our community.
*For more ideas regarding alcohol intoxication, please refer to the Shelby's Rules website. This is a wonderful movement borne of sorrow and loss. Perhaps it will help to prevent such tragedy.
**More alcohol related resources include:
Chico State's alcohol and drug education center
Chico State's alcohol poisoning tips
Chico Safe Rides
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1 comments:
Well said, James. Accurate pictures to what really goes on when the weekend rolls around. Keep putting the information out there.
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