Officers arrive at a domestic disturbance call in the early morning hours. A man reports that his girlfriend, who has a history of mental health crisis, showed up intoxicated and began destroying property inside his home. What unfolds next is a tense encounter that raises important questions about how law enforcement handles situations involving mental illness, domestic [music] violence, and substance abuse. Hey, what's up, sir? What's up, man? Hey, what's going on? Uh My back hurts. I was sleeping and she what she left pissed off. Okay. Drink, I guess. I don't know. And she just started calling me at 4:00 to come get her. Uh I told her I'm not leaving my house until 6:00 in the morning until after I go to my restaurant. Yeah. And uh she just showed up here and just started breaking my [ __ ] man. So, I told her to actually leave. She wouldn't leave. She did this previously, this window. And she was trying to break this window. She broke my TV. She broke my my breathing thing. She broke my um humidifier. Man, I just wanted to leave, man. Got you. Okay. I just want her So, what what else happened? I guess we got information saying that there was kicking and punching or whatever being thrown. Uh I just want her out of here, bro. I just want her out of here. >> Please. What's her Who is she to you? Like the last Does she live here? Sort of lives here, not really. She has her own house. She owns a house on Main Street. >> So, she just comes and goes? >> Yeah, she comes and goes. Okay. I'll be honest with you, like about 3 weeks ago she just got um Baker Acted. The man just mentioned something critical. He says his girlfriend was Baker Acted about 3 weeks ago. In Florida, the Baker Act is a law that allows for the involuntary examination and treatment of individuals who may have a mental illness and pose a danger to themselves or others. The fact that she was recently involuntarily committed and is now back engaging in destructive behavior while intoxicated [music] suggests a pattern that officers will need to carefully evaluate. Now, she's taking my medicine. Can you grab that for me, please? Hey, hon. I need that to live. Hey, stop. >> grab her, please? Call it up. I got it. Go. We'll get THAT LATER. STOP RUNNING. YOU'RE GOING TO GET TASED. STOP RUNNING. I DON'T KNOW WHO IT IS. STOP. DAMN. What are you doing? How did she become a wanted thing? How did she become a wanted thing? Stand up. That escalated quickly. The woman grabbed the man's prescription medication and took off running. Officers pursued and detained her after she refused verbal commands to stop. In law enforcement, fleeing from officers who are conducting an investigation can result in an obstruction charge. But more importantly, taking someone's prescription medication, especially medication they say they need [music] to survive, could potentially be classified as theft of a controlled substance, which is a serious felony. What was the point of that? I'm not going to jail. For what? Because the doctor won't give me For what? Why are you going to jail? Okay. That was crazy. That was dumb. How did she We're walking her back to uh location one. I got the meds, bro. Keep going. I got it. She was She was Baker Acted like 3 weeks ago. Yeah. That's what she says to me. Yeah. She's messed up, man. She's drunk. I can tell what it is. Yeah, you can smell it on her breath. I don't drink at all, man. I own a restaurant. She's not getting arrested for running from us. We just got to make sure she's good. Yeah, just She's not healthy, man. Yeah. Not healthy. She needs to They need to Baker Act her. Yeah, we'll figure it out. She's got to She was just Baker Acted. What she doing for what? She went on the top of her roof on Main Street. You probably heard the story, bro. >> No. She was on her roof on Main Street for like 6, 7 hours um screaming and yelling. The cops showed up. They called me like at 3:00 in the morning. I drove over there trying to calm her down. I talked her down and she was delusional and like and they Baker Acted her then. And then she's like turned my life upside down, man. I can imagine. Well, you got a couple options, right? Regarding So, if you don't want her to come back over here, you can always file for an injunction. Yeah. It's a restraining order, pretty much. If she comes back over here, she'll be violating it. If she contacts you, she'll be violating it. Things like that. Um but we're going to We're going to evaluate her and stuff like that. See where her mindset's at. She said she didn't want to go to jail. We're like, what are you going to go to jail for? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like She don't need jail. She needs help. She needs to be home. >> Yeah. She's not right. She So, we'll try to get her some resources too and stuff like that. Yeah. But uh I'll get with you in a second, man. We'll get more information, okay? >> They let her to go early, I think, you know. Is she going voluntarily or she forced? She was forced. It's okay. And she's like How long is she gone for? >> sober, she When she's sober, she's smart, bro. She's a school teacher. She can you know, talk to people, but she needs help, man. Yeah, she's in a She's in a kind of a a rut right >> All right. You know. I'm sorry. All right, you know. Yeah. You tried talking to her, kid. Let's Let's let her do her thing. Yeah, we'll we'll You go back inside or whatever. Hang out. We'll be with you in a second, okay? All right, I got to clean up all this. Thank you. Oh, thanks. She's the offender or what? I think that she's the offender. Oh. Yeah, she was She was hitting him. He's saying nothing about it, though. So, we also have theft of prescription, so right in our presence. It's in her presence. Yeah, but did she say that she was going to permanently deprive him of it? She's running from police. She She hasn't He said, "Hey, that's my medication. Can I get it back?" >> destruction. Yeah. We're going to get her with this. So, at the very least we got obstruction. All right. Hey, sir. Yeah. No problem. What's fascinating about this moment is the legal complexity officers are navigating. They've identified multiple potential charges: obstruction for fleeing, potential theft of prescription medication, and domestic battery since the man has visible scratches on his chest. [music] But the officers are also weighing uh something else entirely. They recognize that this woman may need psychiatric help more than she needs a jail cell. This is the kind of judgment call that officers make every day, balancing public safety with compassion. The man himself is conflicted. He wants her gone, but he also acknowledges she needs help. The officers wisely suggest pursuing an injunction, a legal protection order, as a long-term solution. Now, the investigation takes a more formal turn. The officer approaches Abigail to conduct a formal interview. But before asking any questions, he's required to read her Miranda rights. This is standard procedure when someone is detained and about to be questioned. It's worth noting that being read your Miranda rights does not mean you're under arrest. It simply means that you're in custody and anything you say from this point forward can be used as evidence. Abigail. Are you able to sit up for me? So, I was trying to ask you about what happened tonight. Before I can do that, I have to read something to you, okay? Are you good to try and talk now or do you want me to give you a couple minutes? No. Okay. All right. So, obviously you're detained, so I'm just going to read something to you, okay? So, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have them present with you while you're being questioned. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you for any questions and situations. You can decide any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions. Do you understand these rights that I explained to you? All right. I'm closing that. Does that mean you're putting me in a cell now? No, it means you're detained and I'm advising you of your rights before I fight you. And like does that mean I'm going to jail? Okay, you're You're detained because we're conducting an investigation. You're detained. That's all. But can I go to the So, so How am I going to >> I'll read this to you again. Here's Put your Put your leg back in the car for me, okay? Abigail. Thank you. You want to go to real jail? Okay. I'm not crazy. My doctor said I'm Okay. It wasn't an accident. She can't get I'm just really scared and I'm like I don't I'm not excited about being upset. It's not fair. It's been 5 years of this. before. tased her. I fell down. I'm not crazy and no one cares about anything. I don't want to be called crazy. My doctor tased me. I don't care. My doctor tased me. I don't want to be called crazy. Okay. So, I'm not calling you crazy. Right? I just want to ask you about what happened. And I just need to make sure that you're aware of your rights before I ask you any questions. Okay? So, we'll do this. How about I give you a few minutes? I don't want to go to jail. Okay. Anything can happen. I don't know what happened. My medical records have been signed over by my kids' mom. Call her. She knows I don't want to go to jail. You don't want to go to jail, do you, baby? It's not fair. They're really dead. And I should be allowed to be upset. It's not crazy for me being upset. There's no consequences for killing our dog. No, they She's never been in trouble. I didn't go after her. He doesn't like confrontation. He's a [ __ ] And I'm tired of being abused by [ __ ] men because they can't defend anything. I don't I want to go to jail. Okay. And then like I can't Open the door, please. Sometimes I want to This is one of the most revealing moments of the entire encounter. Abigail keeps saying she wants to go to real jail, not the mental health facility, which she calls the honey bed. She's clearly referencing a previous Baker Act hold and is terrified of being labeled crazy again. She mentions her dogs being dead and expresses deep grief and anger. What's emerging [music] is a complex picture, a woman who was a school teacher and homeowner dealing with what appears to be severe emotional distress, >> [music] >> possibly compounded by alcohol use and unresolved trauma. The officer handles this delicately, assuring her he's not calling her crazy while still following proper procedure. It's a domestic Sure. Yeah. Did she ever take your phone? Uh personally, that's what ever happens. Just tell me you call someone. Um Uh give me 1 second. Do you have an ID, sir? Yeah. Do you mind if I get that from you? No problem. She's fine. Or I guess Uh I guess yeah. Yeah. She uh she Last night we went to the gym and came home. You know, she's been up and down. She got Baker Act like 3 weeks ago. So I've been trying to like uh just be nice with her, you know, just have a stable kind of like a calm relationship and but she's it's been like pretty crazy for a year with her. But uh so she come home, you know, she starts like getting angry about something. I'm just like, "Abby, relax. Just calm down. It's not that big a deal." It's not, you know. And What time did you cursed off and she she ran She ran off with my like around 11:30 Okay. at night. And she know she does this all the time, you know. So I just went to sleep. I started getting I can show you my phone. I started getting a phone call and texts like at 3:00 in the morning, 4:00 in the morning and and I told her I said, "Abby, your actions ain't going to make me get up in the middle of night. You left. I don't know how what you did, where you went. Find your way home. I'm done. Like I'm all Like I usually go pick her up, but I'm I'm just I'm just over it. Do you think she's trying to hurt herself or others? Uh yeah. [ __ ] those [ __ ] Blah, blah, blah, this and that. I actually she's trying to trying to It's the guy she Sounds like she's domestic. Oh, I wouldn't say she's domestic. He's got mad scratches on him. He doesn't want to do anything about it, though. He's just trying to uh He's going to keep on sleeping things. How did he get those? On his chest. He just scratches him up. Like scratching and bruising? Seems like he's been drinking. Okay. Uh Okay. Are you going to activate her flare? Hm? You going to activate her flare? Yeah, that's fine. Okay. Just with like the unknown and how she's acting, I would just say be safe. And that's where this body cam footage ends. What started as a routine domestic disturbance call revealed layers of complexity that officers deal with on a regular basis. Mental health crises, substance abuse, domestic violence, and the delicate balance between enforcement and empathy. The officers in this situation demonstrated restraint and professionalism, [music] weighing multiple options before deciding on a course of action. Cases like these highlight the growing need for mental health crisis intervention training in law enforcement and the importance of resources beyond the criminal justice system for individuals struggling with mental illness. If you like this video, be sure to hit the like button and consider subscribing to the channel so you don't miss our next upload. We think you might be interested in the video that just popped up on your screen. Check it out.