Advocacy on Issues Affecting People with Epilepsy

Law Enforcement Guide Released

Police officers have extremely difficult and dangerous jobs, often requiring them to make split second decisions. They come into contact with all types of people, often in very stressful situations. These persons may or may not present a physical threat or have a mental or physical problem that may not be able to be easily discerned.

Epilepsy can sometimes cause confused behavior, an inability to respond to communications or verbal commands and possibly lead to inappropriate actions. Often times these situations may lead a law enforcement officer to misinterpret the event as a drunk and disorderly, a person under the influence of drugs. The lack of response from the individual, or the resistance to physical restraint sometimes can be seen as resisting arrest.

The key to an appropriate law enforcement response to the nearly 3 million Americans with epilepsy is training: training in how to recognize the various types of seizures, training in the correct physical response to seizures and the importance of making sure a person with seizures has access to their medications if they are taken into custody for any reason.

The Epilepsy Foundation has produced a new Law Enforcement Training Guide designed to educate officers in seizure recognition/ first aid, the rights of persons with epilepsy and the importance of medication access in order to control their seizures. The law enforcement training packet includes a training guide and DVD and is available at no cost upon request by area law enforcement officials.

Make Your Needs Heard

Become an Advocate and visit our Action Center to "Speak Up, Speak Out" on issues of importance to people with epilepsy. This is how you can make a real difference. By contacting your lawmakers, you will strengthen our collective voice to help all those with epilepsy.