Paramedic: Cops abuse law to detain people

A veteran paramedic sued his employer and Brooklyn Center Police Department on Thursday, alleging they have routinely abused a state law that allows police officers to bring mentally ill people to a hospital if they are a threat to themselves or others.

Nate Berg, 30, who has spent almost 10 years working as a paramedic in the metro area, said he has personally witnessed more than 200 incidents in which an individual's civil rights have been violated. He said local police agencies have been misusing the law as a way to temporarily force people into hospitals when they don't have enough information to support an arrest.

Under an emergency hold, doctors can detain an individual for up to 72 hours against their will. Hospitals are allowed to charge for their services. Berg claims his employer, North Memorial Medical Center, overlooks questionable holds because the activity generates significant revenue. He said the hospital also wants to protect its relationships with local police agencies.

"An administrative hold is an incredibly powerful tool," said Patrick Burns, Berg's lawyer. "You're denying somebody their civil liberties and it's something that shouldn't be used as a means for a hospital to make money, for ambulance companies to make money or municipal law enforcement officers to shirk their duties and responsibilities."

In a statement, North Memorial said "there is no merit" to Berg's allegations.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Scott Bechthold said he couldn't discuss the lawsuit, but he said his department has policies, training and supervision in place to make sure officers are following the law regarding emergency holds.

Berg's lawsuit, filed in Hennepin County District Court, was prompted by a July incident involving Brooklyn Center police. He arrived at a group home on a hot afternoon, finding a sullen 15-year-old boy sitting in the back of a squad car.

The police officer said the patient was having psychiatric issues and was upset, Berg said in his suit. The officer said the patient may be off his medications, Berg said. But they were unable to produce a copy of the boy's care plan, which would have shown what medications he was on as well as his doctor's instructions for handling various situations.

The boy told Berg he was mad because he had gotten into a fight with his caretaker. But Berg said the boy didn't appear to be suffering from a medical problem and was speaking coherently. Berg told the officer it wasn't ambulance policy to take someone to the hospital because they were angry.

When the officers told Berg that the boy had assaulted his caretaker, Berg said they should treat the case as a law enforcement matter, not as a medical issue. But he said police officers refused to listen to him, with one insisting that the boy "was going in," according to the lawsuit.

With the police yelling at him, Berg helped the boy out of the squad car and put him in the ambulance. Berg drove off, taking the boy to the emergency room of a nearby hospital because he felt it was the safest place for the boy after his confrontation with the police. On the way there, the boy told him he was upset about not being able to live with his parents, but he said he was taking all his medications.

"I did my job," Berg said. "I protected my patient. He shouldn't have been put on a hold and he wasn't in this scenario because of what I did."

Berg said he immediately called his supervisor to tell him about the incident. The next week, he filed a complaint with the state Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).

The POST board forwarded the complaint to the Brooklyn Center Police Department, which is required to investigate.

Cmdr. Mike Reynolds informed Berg in a letter that the department's officers were exonerated and that "the allegation of misuse of services was unfounded."

The hospital subsequently reprimanded Berg, saying his complaint to state officials could compromise "our excellent working relationship with this particular police department, a relationship which we painstakingly nurture and which is crucial to the functioning and safety of our crews on the street."

Hospital officials later apologized and said they would remove the disciplinary action from his record, documents show.

North Memorial spokesman Robert Prevost said paramedics aren't legally qualified to "question or otherwise make decisions" about whether an emergency hold is warranted.

"North Memorial has always followed the practice that it is the peace officer who has the authority to make the transport decision,'' Prevost said in a written statement. "North Memorial is certain that this practice has been well communicated to its staff, but will be preparing a written policy to advise all personnel about it." 

Roger Schwab, a state regional ombudsman for mental health and developmental disabilities, said the emergency hold law doesn't address whether EMTs or paramedics have permission to transport patients. The statute says only peace or health officers are allowed to transport patients. Emergency medical technicians and paramedics aren't considered health officers under the statute, Schwab said.

"It always used to be that law enforcement were the ones to transport," Schwab said. "Now it's an issue because law enforcement agencies need their officers in the field and don't want to be doing transport. Quite frankly, if the peace officers were that concerned, they could have transported the individual themselves."

Schwab said the statute needs to be updated and the question of whether emergency medical personnel can transport patients under an emergency hold should be addressed.

Lora Pabst • 612-673-4628