I, Anonymous

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It depends. If I found someone lying right in the middle of the sidewalk, or in an otherwise strange or unsafe location, I would check on them (and have in the past). Even if they look like a drunk they may be having a real medical emergency, although it can sometimes be hard to tell the difference.

Sea Otter on November 4, 2014 at 6:10 PM

yeah... if the sidewalk is in Mayberry.

portland scribe on November 4, 2014 at 7:20 PM

Wow! I cant tell if it was the drunk writing this, or one of those twice a year church-goers that get all patriotic when humanity lashes out and starts attacking crowds, thinking that "evil" is all about the Devil. "Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Every man has to seek in his own way to realize his true worth. You must give some time to your fellow man. For remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too". Albert Schweitzer

Seattlebcc on November 4, 2014 at 7:27 PM

Stop drinking Rainier Beer, it's made in California and its marketing strategy is playing to nostalgia. Drink and smoke local.

yesthatsme on November 5, 2014 at 8:30 AM

911 can forward you to the sobering center. The sobering center staff will go to the person and assess whether they need medical attention or offer to take them to the sobering center. Either way, good idea to help that person get to a safer place.

Fuji_Apples on November 5, 2014 at 8:46 AM

However, they may need to go to a safe detox center. Calling the police's non emergency number can direct you to the King County van that scoops people up to "sleep it off" without OD'ing at the Dutch Shisler Sobering Center.

on November 5, 2014 at 8:56 AM

It's a few minutes out of a responding officer's time to shake them awake, get them into shade, make sure they're okay, and frankly I'd much rather have SPD spend their time checking up on drunks than shooting the disabled. Just saying.

treehugger on November 5, 2014 at 9:14 AM

Posters like this are a reminder to never drink a jug of wine and pass out on the street. Some people just don't care.

Sam Levine on November 5, 2014 at 9:17 AM

I always try to find them a dry place to sleep.

But people keep putting locks on the dumpsters.

Slam1263 on November 5, 2014 at 10:08 AM

Maybe not every drunk needs a doctor, but not everyone who is passed out on the street is a drunk, either. I have diabetes, and it's gotten to the stage where I don't always feel when my blood sugar is dropping quickly. I have passed out before, and thank god I had someone nearby who felt it necessary to get me help rather than simply stepping over my unconscious body. Did you check for a medical alert bracelet or did you just turn up your nose and walk away?

sanguisuga on November 5, 2014 at 12:15 PM

Wow, f*cking heartless.. Whatever happened to, you know, good old-fashioned values like "compassion"?

'Cause not all drunks don't actually care about their own wellbeing. That's the thing about addiction, and having no means to deal with life on the streets except that. We can't all be such self-righteous assholes and live such a perfect life as yourself, Anon.

May you never find that out, you heartless piece of sh*t.

Chandira on November 5, 2014 at 12:25 PM

If you didn't read #5, go back and read it. there are a few good suggestions and comments here, but this one wins.

marymc on November 5, 2014 at 12:39 PM

it's actually the Fire Dept. that will come out and check on them. They will generally wake up and refuse treatment. And no, there is no sobering phone number you can call, it was cut to a small area of downtown. So , if you are driving,walking by someone down on the ground, you can yell at them to see if they stir. I would not get close to them as the may wake up and spit in your face or puke on your shoes, with the face thing leading you to needing follow up care as they may have Hep C or a litany of other diseases. You make the call, my call is to let em sleep on EVERY occasion, as I know how the system works. But do everyone a favor and DON'T just drive by, call 911 and keep driving as it does cost thousands of dollars to send people out to do what you could do yourself.

on November 5, 2014 at 12:42 PM

I once passed out on the street because my insulin pump malfunctioned and gave me an overdose. Prior to that, due to low blood sugar, I was staggering about a bit, and before passing out, fell against a parked car. Four people on the street thought I was drunk; at least one of them called an ambulance. And saved my life, potentially. You can't know if a person is drunk or not; I had insurance, and I paid my bill, and I was stone sober. I'm glad those people didn't take your advice, writer.

freddlerabbit on November 5, 2014 at 2:16 PM

I was on the Burke Gilman at night through Fremont where it's really dark and bikes go fast. A person was curled up in fetal position around a 6 pack of Harp with legs on trail. Yelling, highbeam light couldn't wake him. Call no call?

A month earlier same trail in afternoon two drunks under a tree one a lady passed out another a drunk guy mounting her from behind call or no call?

on November 5, 2014 at 2:28 PM

I once found a passed out guy in the street outside my home. I called 911 and the despatcher pretty much told me to get lost and leave the drunk where he was. It took quite a bit of arguing with her, but she did send an ambulance. The ambulance staff were nice, kind, helpful.

originalcinner on November 5, 2014 at 2:40 PM

#notalldrunks

Ground Control To My Big Dong on November 5, 2014 at 4:15 PM

F*ck you, Anon. My uncle died in the street because of sh*t stains like you. He was on his way to work and keeled over from a heart attack. He was left in the gutter until it was time to come home and his family called work and found out he never made it in.

Y.F. Redux on November 5, 2014 at 6:54 PM

@10 I am hypoglycemic and have passed out because of a sugar imbalance, similar to your diabetes events. I would hope that someone would at least check to see if I haven't cracked my head open or broken a limb or something. Anon needs to more aware of the weakness of the human frame, not all recumbent persons on the sidewalk are drunks.

longwayhome on November 5, 2014 at 8:12 PM

"If they'd rather die, then they had better do it and decrease the surplus population."

johnjacobjingleheimerschmidt on November 5, 2014 at 9:02 PM

At least have the decency to lie on top of them in an inverted manner, to prevent hypothermia.

MacGruber on November 6, 2014 at 10:42 AM

Number 5 got it right.

Tetsujin28 on November 6, 2014 at 2:11 PM

Ignorant.

Kla32 on November 7, 2014 at 1:10 PM

A few months ago I came upon a hipster who had passed out across from the Viva apartments on Union, fallen forward into an alcove and smashed his head against a brick wall. he was laying face down with his head and neck wedged between the wall and his shoulder. He was completely unresponsive (to the point that I thought he might be dead) and I was afraid to roll him if he had a neck injury. I called 911 and stayed until the paramedics got there; Seeing the constant stream of indifferent & cruel drunks who made fun of him as they walked past was a fucking disgusting... I don't know what happened to him, but even if he was completely unharmed and just drunk as hell, I don't regret getting him help.

UNPAID COMMENTER on November 7, 2014 at 1:13 PM

Stranger, I know this doesn't reflect the views of your staff and everything, but it's borderline irresponsible to print this. This dumb, throw-away column could literally mean the difference between a reader saving someone's life or letting them die. Come on.

drshawshank on November 7, 2014 at 1:21 PM

Sure. Not every person passed out on the sidewalk needs medical attention. But you should still check to see. Take five seconds to look a guy over, ask them how they're doing — make a fucking judgement — rather than, you know, just stepping over them.

The callous bullshit in this letter reinforces apathetic behavior.

Involved compassionate behavior is required for civilization to function.

tkc on November 7, 2014 at 1:39 PM

Sorry, but I'd rather harsh some drunk's buzz than ignore a passed out diabetic or a stroke victim.

L_Sid on November 7, 2014 at 1:51 PM

What if they're making chimp noises?

Epic Corn Dog on November 7, 2014 at 3:11 PM

Alcoholics are people too and just because they are a burden on society and cost the tax payers thousands of dollars a year they still need help. After all.....we still tolerate Republicans who are more of a burden and much more costly!!

Dem4 on November 7, 2014 at 3:39 PM

#notalldrunks

love that.

but seriously, if it's 3am and the person just looks passed out, leave them be, they'd thank you for it later. since it's pure hearted Seattle, go ahead and check to make sure they don't have a medical alert bracelet of some other thing to alert you. signed- from Baltimore.

à partir de Baltimore on November 7, 2014 at 4:43 PM

I once saw a drunk on the street. They were unresponsive, so I karate chopped them in the face. I know more than any EMT cause I read stuff on the internet, so I then proceeded to suck his blood like a vampire. Anyway, just thought I'd share that. Thanks!

on November 7, 2014 at 5:45 PM

Trust me. Harborview hates "concerned citizens." This was most likely written by an HMC nurse or doc.

Trollytrolltroll on November 7, 2014 at 6:06 PM

Seriously? As a social worker who works with alcoholics, this post disturbs me to no end. Please, for the love of god, do call 911 if you think someone needs help. Let a medical professional make the decision on what is best, not your apathy.

tammy on November 7, 2014 at 6:41 PM

Actually, in King County you can call 911 for someone that is passed out drunk on the sidewalk. 911 is the proper number to call for the King County Emergency Service Patrol Vans which will take someone to the Dutch Shisler Sobering Center.

Below are links to more information for the Sobering Center and ESP Vans.

http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices…

http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices…

mr. sprinkles on November 7, 2014 at 7:26 PM

Uh you have to be able to walk to go to the sobering center. If they can't, they go to the hospital. Let em sleep

Trollytrolltroll on November 7, 2014 at 8:23 PM

Read the column morons, anonymous isn't saying don't help diabetics, injured people or drunk sorority girls about to get raped. He's saying let's spare the urine soaked drunk, frequent fliers from a few of their weekly trips to harborview to sober up and eat a sandwich for $2000+ of the taxpayers dollars.

reality_check_206 on November 7, 2014 at 11:13 PM

Remember, if they croak and begin to rot they cannot be used for Soylent Green. Call the authorities immediately whenever you see potential food lying in a puddle of piss. Wednesday is Soylent Green day in Seattle.

on November 9, 2014 at 12:56 AM

on November 9, 2014 at 12:59 AM

It isn't just Harborview. Drunks come to all the ED's in the area. Frequently. And it is a huge waste of resources. The sobering center will not take them if there is eve a hint of a medical or psychiatric problem, and gues what? A lot of folks don't want to go there so when the ESP van shows up they say "I have chest pain" or I want to kill myself." True story.

Black Sheep on November 9, 2014 at 9:36 AM

Call for them. You can only assume their condition if you don't do an exam. From my personal experience, during my college years I slipped and fell on the ice, hitting my head. Got up, got on the public transportation I'd been running to catch.. and started having problems. I didn't loose consciousness, but I lost the ability to see, to move, to speak coherently for about 30 minutes. I was attempting to ask for help. But all of those good citizens who were my co-riders did nothing but comment about what a public disgrace I was to be so much under the influence of drugs in public. I could have died, I was coming close. The spur on my top vertebrae has broken off in the fall and I was bleeding internally. Don't be like those self-righteous, judgmental riders. Render assistance. You don't know someone else's circumstances and your guess could be wrong and cruel.

acninee on November 9, 2014 at 12:01 PM

@36 You're the moron: How are we supposed to know the difference between a heart attack, a diabetic, or a blacked-out alcoholic if the person is passed out cold?

IAnon is an asshole. Better to err on the side of compassion and care and call 911. If a passed-out person is not responding to me, I will always defer to professionals and call for help.

mitten on November 9, 2014 at 12:35 PM

Sometimes you need to call 911:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-08-03/fa…

This guy had hit his head, but because they thought he was 'just drunk', he died.

on November 9, 2014 at 6:51 PM

Unless you are a doctor, you can't tell whether the person is "just passed out" or is dying from alcohol poisoning. Call 911 and let the EMTs make that decision. You have no right to practice medicine without a license!

Diagoras on November 10, 2014 at 11:47 AM

Yeah, I'm not going to be the guy who declines to call 911 and lets a human being die as a result. Fuck sake, shake the guy a little and see if he's lucid. If he's just drunk and tells you to fuck off, leave him to sleep it off. If he's unresponsive, then you have a potential medical emergency and should call the amber lamps just in case.

venomlash on November 10, 2014 at 12:44 PM

http://freakonomics.com/2011/11/02/drunk…
drunk walking... on a per-mile basis is, believe it or not, 8 times more likely to result in a death than drunk driving

If you wouldn't let someone drive drunk, you sure shouldn't let someone walk drunk (and pass out alone).

ChefJoe on November 10, 2014 at 12:54 PM

I've been calling 911 for decades -- whenever I came across someone passed out in public areas.

"Are they drunk?" I've been asked, and I've always responded "I don't know," because I didn't.

I've only had to call about four times over four decades, but I've since read about heart attack victims left to die on sidewalks because it was assumed they were drunks.

I'd rather err on the side of compassion, than allowing someone, even an alcoholic, to die on a city street.

judybrowni on November 10, 2014 at 12:54 PM

Fuck money. Always call. Always help. Always fuck money. It should be the last consideration on anybody's mind.

on November 10, 2014 at 12:59 PM

@43: THANK YOU. Yes, you should call 911 because maybe the person had a stroke or heart attack, but you should also call 911 because maybe they're dying from alcohol poisoning, or are at risk for dying of hypothermia, or are overdosing on opiates. It's like OP believes that the appropriate consequence of substance abuse is death by neglect.

stirwise on November 10, 2014 at 1:28 PM

Its nice to see that Saettle has finally licked that street inebreate problem I remember it haveing. Unfortunately it sounds like it has been overrun with diabetics that have gone into insulin shock.

Seattle in Alaska on November 10, 2014 at 2:03 PM

I'm not going to weigh in on the question in the abstract, but I'll just say that I was taken to a hospital after passing out drunk in a subway station. In the hospital, a nurse told me I should quit drinking. I wanted to argue: no, no, there's some misunderstanding, I'm not an alcoholic. But I looked around me and realized that the evidence pointed pretty heavily in the other direction, and I haven't had a drink since.

minderbender on November 10, 2014 at 3:25 PM

Unless you are a trained medical professional, call 911, because your personal judgement of whether or not this is a medical emergency isn't good enough. I'll also add to the list of reasons someone might be passed out in public. I had someone to help me, but I passed out due to dehydration once. I'm also at higher risk of dehydration, so it could happen again (although I do take steps to try to be careful). It's vastly treatable, but potentially fatal if ignored. And people can lose vision and become incoherent if they are conscious, so you might think they're acting drunk or on drugs. There are so many medical conditions that can look like somebody passed out drunk that asking people not to call for an ambulance is a serious risk of killing people.

uncreative on November 10, 2014 at 3:27 PM

Fuck this Anon, and fuck anyone agreeing with them.

Hanoumatoi on November 10, 2014 at 3:42 PM

Wow, no empathy, no compassion, arrogance & entitlement. Are you a Fortune 500 CEO or Sean Parker?

One of the best teachers we know had a heart attack and collapsed in a parking lot some years ago; people called 911, an ambulance was sent, unfortunately the EMTs were morons who decided that he was a passed-out drunk, and left. He laid there for two hours while a bunch of people passed by with their pinched mouths and noses in the air. Then someone else called MedicOne. He's now paralyzed. The cardiologists said it was a minor heart attack & he would have recovered completely if he had gotten medical care promptly.

on November 10, 2014 at 4:03 PM

Isn't determining the need for an ER the responsibility of the person or first-responders?

If you're saying a drunk person shouldn't be allowed to request a hospital, that seems dumb.

If you're saying first-responders are not qualified to determine if someone needs to go to the hospital, that also seems dumb.

Many things seem dumb, but good trolling all around.

Swearengen on November 10, 2014 at 5:25 PM

Ask them if they are Jesus, and why they are so sad, that way you may actually get something out of the deal (insight)

bakatya on November 10, 2014 at 6:25 PM

"Dear reader, you be the judge of someone prone on the street. If you smell booze fuck em! Because you know best."

Writer is a grade AAA piece of shit. Caring for strangers is laudable even when misplaced.

The CHZA on November 11, 2014 at 3:46 PM

Don't play medic without the proper tools.

There are more diabetics out there than you realize. They may not even be wearing a medic alert tag.

Low blood sugar makes them appear drunk, behave like a drunk and sound drunk. The next stage is unconsciousness and death.

Log Lady on November 16, 2014 at 2:53 PM

There but for the grace of God go I

warrior41882 on November 27, 2014 at 11:09 AM

From a former Medical Examiner: if you see someone passed out on the sidewalk, DO call 911, and describe them as "collapsed and unconscious". The sad truth is that there are many emergency response personnel who will dismiss the situation out of hand if they believe the victim is intoxicated. As others have noted in prior comments, this leads to unnecessary deaths - many of which had nothing to do with alcohol. (And even if alcohol IS a factor, there is nothing humane about letting anyone die of neglect - even if they brought themselves to that condition.)

on November 29, 2014 at 1:37 PM

I, Anonymous

Not All Drunks Need a Doctor

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