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Sheriff’s Dept. seeks database to help people with special needs

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Capt. Bill Riley’s mother suffers from Alzheimer’s and his grandson suffers from autism.

He knows they have special needs, but he wishes law enforcement knew, too, so officials would know what to do if his mother or grandson had an emergency.

Riley, the chief helicopter pilot for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and coordinator for Project Lifesaver, doesn’t have the power to start a program that would help his mother who lives in Tennessee. But he can do something to help others here in Fayette and he has.

With the sheriff’s department blessing and a nod from Peggy Glaze at the local 911 Center, Riley has started a program that would ensure special needs people will get proper help in emergencies.

That includes those who suffer from severe communications impairments, life-threatening or chronic conditions, airborne communicable diseases, severe mobility impairments, patient handling requirements and other special needs.

With help from his wife, who’s a nurse, Riley devised a Citizen Premise Caution Request form that he wants all Fayette County residents and/or their guardians to fill out.

“It’s to flag the computer about special needs in the case of an emergency,” Riley said. “It could help save somebody’s life.”

The form can be received by calling the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department at 770-461-6353. The completed form can be mailed back to 155 Johnson Ave., Fayetteville, Ga., 30214. Capt. Bill Riley or sheriff’s spokeswoman Lt. Belinda McCastle will handle the requests.

Riley said he will have the information entered in the 911 Center’s database. In the event of an emergency the information would be made available only to crews dispatched to the emergency call.

Riley spoke of an autistic girl who hides in the closet when she is afraid. This is the type of vital information the department is looking for.

“If that house caught on fire, if the fire department looked in the closet, they might save a life and keep her from burning up in the house,” Riley said.

Houses could be flagged if dangerous dogs or weapons are known to be kept at the home or if the person has a communicable disease such as AIDs. This information is used to keep officers safe, officials say. But red-flagging a home for a special needs patient would also help the patient.

Riley indicated there have been instances where an officer responded to a home and encountered a person who suffers from autism and the situation ended badly.

“There have been two specific cases in other states where autistic people have been killed because the people didn’t know how to react and the cops thought they were on drugs,” Riley said.

Riley wants to keep that from happening in Fayette County. He said the reality is that autistic people act differently.

Riley said there are about 40 autistic children in Fayette County who have not been flagged and he wants that to change.

He said some parents see the “red flag” as a stigma, but he doesn’t think so.

If the person was lost and law enforcement had to locate that child, having that information could make the difference, Riley indicated.