Most Oklahomans searching for diamonds this time of year head for B.C. Clark Jewelers. If they are wanting to mine for diamonds themselves, then they are likely to head across the state border to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. So when police get a call that a woman is searching for diamonds on the roadside near Northwest Expressway and 63rd Street in Oklahoma City, there is a better than average chance that drugs are involved.
Police responding to just such a call earlier this week discovered 26-year-old Brittany Thompson rolling around in the road clutching ordinary rocks. When they approached her, she told them, "God told me to pick up these diamonds," before asking the officers if they would give her a lift to Walmart.
Noting that the woman was obviously not in her right mind, police transported her to Deaconess Hospital for an involuntary mental health hold known as an Emergency Order of Detention (EOD). The procedure for an EOD is outlined in 43A O.S. � 5-207. According to this statute, "Any person who appears to be or states that such person is mentally ill, alcohol dependent,or drug-dependent to a degree that immediate emergency action is necessarymay be taken into protective custody and detained as provided pursuant to the provisionsof this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed as being in lieu of prosecutionunder state or local statutes or ordinances relating to public intoxication offenses."
A law enforcement officer is allowed to take such a person into protective custody "in the least conspicuous manner" and transport him or her to the nearest designated facility for an emergency examination.
It is during this examination that Thompson ran into even more trouble. Prior to changing the woman into a hospital gown, the nurses asked her if she had any needles on her. Thompson denied having any dangerous or sharp objects.When nurses attempted to get the woman into a hospital gown, she became combative. During the struggle, the nurses were stuck by needles that were in Thompson's clothes. Police also found other drug paraphernalia, including a syringe, a broken needle, and a spoon with burn marks.
Thompson was arrested on three complaints of assault and battery upon an emergency medical care provider and one complaint of possession of drug paraphernalia. As of this writing, she remains in the Oklahoma County Jail in lieu of $16,500 bond for each count.
Assault and battery of an emergency medical care provider is penalized in 21 O.S. � 650.4. It is a felony punishable by a maximum of two years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.
