I know not only from sleeping on the floor but the ground, concrete, and sometimes even sand that DVT is a frequent companion of the homeless. This is because not only are we dehydrated and vitamin deficient our sleep is of the exhausted we don't move often enough causing circulation issues. We also walk extensively making our legs weak from over use.
Now imagine being hog tied into a stress position in this condition. Hauled to the police station. Get your legs untied and be expected to jump right up and walk right way.
It just isn't going to happen. Not even in a healthy person. There will be a time period where the muscles, starved of oxygen, need to have the circulation restored before they can function. This is usually accompanied by very painful tingling sensation.
Another man stands at a distance and watches as Officer Scott Van Treese unties her feet and tries to get her up. She collapses and the video shows him grabbing her with one arm and dragging her to into jail while the other man watches.
The police report says she's Sonya Mimminger, who was arrested on drug charges and obstructing or opposing an officer without violence.
The 36-year-old woman is homeless, but FOX 13 found her on the streets of Tampa.
Initially, she was hesitant to talk -- "There's nothing I can do about it," she offered. But she then agreed to look at the video and answer some questions.
"He did me like a little rag muffin," she offered. "I wonder why he'd drag me like that?"
Mimminger said her feet were untied, but she couldn't walk.
The officer was reprimanded and a token policy change was made that never addressed the need for officers to have a scintilla of empathy for those of us not wearing a badge.
