A Real Live Drunk Showed Up [Would you know what to do?]
March 18, 2008 by Mark
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
An honest-to-God, real live drunk showed up at our meeting last night followed closely by the men in blue… 
He’s been here before. A few years ago. He was disruptive then and he was disruptive last night – but not too bad, thankfully. Our meeting went along with just a couple of bumps, then the policeman showed up. It wasn’t over…
He’d shown up late. During the meeting we discovered he’d driven himself to the church because the officer popped into the room and asked who was driving a particular vehicle. What became apparent later was that there had been reports to the police from the local neighborhood about this person driving erratically. After the meeting we discovered that one of our members, who is a long-term, good standing sober member of our group, had been run off the road by this person on the way to the meeting!
The police could not arrest this person – he was not in his vehicle when they arrived, they had not seen him driving. They did thoroughly explain to this young man that were he to get into his car to attempt to drive away that he would be arrested.
So, the questions become – what would you do if this person asked you for a ride home? What would you have done had the police not been there?
I’ll take this moment to remind us of “the very spirit of Step Nine.”
[Image credit - Daniel Wildman]
Congratulations on posting this question. Regrettably, I have–through the years–seen a number of wet drunk enter meetings. And the question is: What WOULD you do. Let’s leave the cops to one side for a moment. And let’s remember that the primary purpose of the group is to help the alcoholic who still suffers. How? My first question would be, “Why not ask God for guidance? My second question would be, “Why not welcome him, sit with him, ask him about himself, and ask him if he really wants to quit drinking and is willing to go to any lengths to do so. My third, and most important, question would be whether this person needs to see a doctor or be taken to the emergency room. Early AAs considered medical attention a “must.” And several times I have seen a new person detoxing in front of my eyes, sweating, babbling, and confused. If such a person has been willing, I’ve led him to my car, told him to have me stop if he was going to vomit, and then forwarded him to my own physician or to the emergency room. What if he isn’t that bad off? If that’s the issue, I give him my name and phone number and ask him to call me. That’s what was done for me, and that is how I got started on my road to recovery at my first, second, and third meetings–before I had three grand mal seizures in a meeting because the man helping me didn’t have a clue about the medical need and medical solution. What about the cops? Who is to say that they can’t recognize the need for the man to be hospitalized. They have in three or more cases I have been involved in; and it was they who called the paramedics at my request. If the man resists all help, the problem is his and also the problem of the police. I don’t see any great merit in simply giving him a ride home or trying to protect him from the police or from a dui. The question is whether I can help him, whether I’ve asked God for help, and whether he is willing to go along. Aloha, Dick B.
Thanks so much Dick! He hadn’t given us the opportunity to do very much at all in the meeting as he was “cutting up” and cross-talking.
Had the police not asked, during the meeting, “who was driving that car” so they could speak with him, then kept him outside until almost the end of the meeting, it might have gone a different way, more like what you’ve described.
Truly appreciate your experienced comment!
I agree with and appreciate all that has been said.
Our program is to practice these principles in all our affairs, like becoming a citizen concerned about our community safety.
When I offer options to secure a ride or call the police, I’m not protecting the alcoholic from a dui, I’m trying to help protect the community.