Neighbors were threatened with an ax – the police were greeted with flowers – sekunde.lt

The people of Stumbriškis, which is surrounded by the green forest, nearby Sodelei, and Vabalnink, which belongs to the neighboring Biržai district, feel that they live in constant danger. A neighbor pushed them into this situation.

Unsatisfied with his rampages, the locals called the ambulance and the police just yesterday, wanting to regain their peace and help the mentally ill person himself. Unfortunately, it did not solve the problem.

Officers say they cannot assess the person’s mental state, especially since he was calm when they arrived.

Doctors are also bound by the patient’s rights – coercion does not take a person to the hospital if he does not want to be treated.

Afraid to open the door

According to the locals, the neighbor, for whom the authorities and doctors were contacted, has already terrorized himself and the surrounding villages so much that he has to lock his doors day and night.

“How else? – says Vytautas, who lives in Stumbrišky. – That neighbor constantly walks around the house and asks to lend money, sometimes he consoles himself that he is hungry. But lending to him is the same as throwing your money in the trash. We used to lend, now we don’t. But if we don’t give money, we tend to blurt out really selected words. Since we don’t want to listen to those words, we protect ourselves by locking up our neighbor.”

The resident of Stumbriški states that he experienced the aggression of his neighbor yesterday, when he came to his house and behaved inappropriately – he ran around and overturned his container. According to Vytautas, he was still grasping a branch – probably to get caught. It’s good that that one turned out to be too heavy.

“I remained healthy,” Vytautas sadly rejoiced.

Valentas Šaulys, who lives there in Stumbriškis, agrees with him: having such a sick neighbor makes it unpleasant even to go out into your yard.

Seeing people toiling outside, he immediately introduces himself.

“The conflicts arise because we no longer want to lend him money,” says V. Šaulys. – After hearing a negative answer, that neighbor of ours launches such tirades that you don’t know what to do anymore. And so every day.”

Need help

According to V. Šaulis, there is no doubt about the illness, the man is a local person – he was born and grew up here, had excellent parents, later created a family himself, worked and farmed. And it became controversial not so long ago. Maybe, the people around me think, the death of the parents had an effect.

Eventually, his wife and daughter also left the bison. According to V. Šaulis, both women try to take care of the patient, but he strictly refuses their help.

His relationship with his brother also ended.

“Among other things, that neighbor of ours drives, he has already wrecked more than one of his cars. I asked the doctors how he was issued a driver’s license, so they explained to me that mental illness is not an argument for not giving him a driver’s license,” said the resident of Stumbri.

According to V. Šaulis, he himself told the village that the person is really sick. A few years ago, when the disease began to manifest itself, due to which that person became acute, obsessive, conflicted, he was treated.

After returning from the hospital, he apologized to his neighbors for the insults, the insults he had caused, he explained that he had an illness, he said that he had been prescribed medication and was taking it.

“But probably last fall, the neighbor reported that he felt better, said that he would no longer take medicine. That’s when it happened: his visits to our house, borrowing money started,” consoled V. Šaulys.

According to him, the neighbor probably has all kinds of unrealistic thoughts in his head, because he is telling things that are not true.

No matter how much money he has, he spends it as he pleases and does not pay taxes. As a result, the electricity in his house was turned off, the radiators exploded, and he allegedly sold the firewood prepared for the winter.

“The person is really struggling, he needs help. But how to summon her?” – asks V. Šaulys.

Came with an axe

Recently, according to the neighbors, the patient who was causing them concern had taken refuge with an old woman living in Sodelei, near Stumbriškis. But it so happened that a few days ago, an elderly woman in her nineties disappeared, and a search for her was announced. So the officers arrived, questioned the resident who was sheltered by the old woman, and inspected his house.

“Because of the police visit, maybe that neighbor of ours will get upset and maybe even angry and come to my place of work with an ax in his hand, – Valentinas Sarapas, an elder of Sodelii who works in Stumbrišky, shared his unpleasant experience on Friday morning. – I hastened to lock it, and then he walked under the windows cursing. We had to call the police.”

According to the elder, both the officers and the medical brigade came immediately. Until recently, a neighbor holding an ax welcomed visitors with huge bouquets of blooming yew branches.

After assessing that the person does not pose a danger to others or himself, the crews left.

“I asked the police what to do if the neighbor picks up the ax again. I was told that the police can be called again,” said V. Sarapas.

Can neither treat nor arrest

Odeta Jukniūtė, Head of the Communication Sub-Department of Panevėžys County Chief Police Commissariat, confirmed that officers were called to Stumbriškis yesterday. Communicated with a person about whom the police were called.

“The officers who arrived at the scene cannot assess the mental state of the person. We have no reason to detain when a person does not cause harm, behaves calmly, does not pose a danger”, stated the presenter.

Rūta Ramoškienė, head of the Panevėžys branch of the Emergency Medical Service, agreed with the police representative. Even then, if it is known that a person suffers from a mental illness, and those who called for help tell about his inadequate behavior, first of all, according to the doctor, it is assessed whether he is really dangerous to himself or others.

Seeing the danger, the person is taken to the hospital. After assessing that there is no such danger, the person himself is asked if he agrees to treatment. Without consent, he is not taken to a treatment facility.

“There is no forced treatment in Lithuania,” R. Ramoškienė reminded. – So there is no right to forcibly take a person to the hospital. In addition, it is not clear whether he will be admitted to the hospital after being taken, because his consent to treatment will be requested there as well.”

The manager of the Panevėžys branch of the emergency medical aid service advised to document the cases when a person behaves inappropriately with video or audio recordings, so that they would be evidence that the person really needs help.

According to R. Ramoškienė, these records can be useful in providing medical assistance to a person.