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| Man cuffed near Banner Bank / credit B. Yoder |
The officers were lingering over and questioning this man for about 30 minutes. A Medic may have stopped by.earlier. He was cuffed -- standard operating procedures for liability? It's possible they may have been waiting for Narcon to take effect but that's only a guess.
When the cuffed fellow was released he staggered over to me and offered his hand, showing off a bible. I shook the hand and washed afterwards. His eyes were glazed, he was dirty, and looked sick, but was smiling. He staggered east on Redmond Way. My thought was he was heading towards known homeless sanctuaries --Anderson Park, the woods behind Overlake Urgent Care, and the Target's western parking lot buffer.
I emailed Kent Hay, the City's Homeless Outreach Coordinator to inform him of this man and see if he could help him. Mr. Hay responded: "There are some new people that have come to Redmond that I have not met yet and I’ve been informed are in that area. I will try and make my way down there tomorrow to see what I may be able to do. Allot of factors play a part in what help I can offer people. Hopefully he is open to changing his situation and we will see what plan we can come up with."
-- B. Yoder, opinion
As I read your blog, I struggle to figure out what point you were trying to make. Clearly, you have some strong opinions, as demonstrated in your use of words. However, your commentary left me feeling really uncomfortable as a long time resident of this community. The use of the word vagrant is an excellent and effective way to instantly dehumanize someone to the reader. And why did you put "homeless man" into parenthesis? It's almost like you called him that as a joke, quickly reverting back to the word vagrant.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why would you automatically assume (and lead your readers to assume) this person was administered Narcan? Your description of events clearly show he wasn't. You prove that your statement was incorrect simply by linking the press release that details the procedure the police would take if they ever (rarely) administer it.
I'm curious what you did when this fellow human being in our community reached out for your hand. Even though he looked sick, and in need of assistance, your comments lend the reader to believe that you didn't actually do anything except pass him off to someone else later with a phone call. Did you converse with him? Did you show him any kind of kindness? You were at McDonald's; did you ask when the last time he had a meal was? I do agree with your final statement though, this is a really sick story. Even more so, you observation of this incident makes me really sad.
Tracia, when he offered his hand I shook it and then washed afterwards. Thanks for your feedback, I updated the piece.
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