Take Another Look: Police Response to Seizures and Epilepsy

Receiving the Call

What kinds of calls are most likely to be seizure-related?

Calls rarely come in with a label of “seizures” or “epilepsy” attached to them. If they do, then the law enforcement officer is one step ahead in that he or she already knows that there is a heightened likelihood of encountering a person who is emerging from a convulsive seizure and is confused and out of contact with the environment. Since seizures typically last only a minute or two, by the time police arrive, the individual likely to be in the recovery phase. The officer should also consider that the person may still be in a complex partial seizure, with impaired consciousness and repetitive, aimless behavior. In rare cases, the officer may come across a severely agitated person who appears belligerent, violent, and who is already struggling against efforts of other bystanders to restrain him or her.

Other kinds of calls that may involve seizures but have been interpreted by those making the call as some other type of behavior include:

• drunk or disorderly
• stoned on crack or PCP
• mental illness
• suspicious behavior (i.e., clumsy attempts to open doors, wandering out of stores with unpaid-for merchandise in full view)
• indecent exposure (because some seizures involve not just fumbling with clothes, but efforts to take them off altogether)
• threatening behavior towards others (again, the perception of those making the call will reflect their failure to recognize the behavior as a seizure).

What are an officer’s basic responsibilities when responding to this type of call?

• Be aware that a seizure might be causing the behavior involved
• Look for indications that consciousness in impaired (vacant stare, inability to respond to police directions, clumsy, undirected movements);
• Determine whether the person is intoxicated, mentally ill, suffering from a seizure or its after effects, or all three;
• Determine if a violation of the law has occurred;
• Collect information about the incident so that an appropriate disposition can be made.