Foothills Area
May 5, 12:05 a.m.
A man was found not only living in squalor, but also having spread food and paint around his house in the belief that it would protect him from trespassers, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report.
Sheriff’s deputies went to the residence of the north-side homeowner after a neighbor reported that he’d vandalized and broken two nearby streetlights.
Upon arrival they saw that his house had been painted sloppily in blue paint coating random places like the outside walls, the sidewalk and even parts of windows. They could hear him rambling loudly inside the house.
When he opened the door, deputies could see that the house’s inside walls boasted masses of scribbling in black permanent marker; the walls also had several holes in them, and areas not covered in marker were painted with different-colored patches of house paint. The front room was empty except for a dirty mattress and boxes of books, papers, “bags of food” and clothing stacked up against the walls in piles—with these piles featuring feces (from an unknown source) “smeared” across their top surfaces.
Deputies found that the man’s bedroom contained a wet, discolored carpet and another soiled mattress, as well as more piles of junk “almost like from a packrat”—this time, however, placed in the middle of the room instead of against the walls (and not topped with excrement). Deputies were unable to enter another bedroom because so many papers, clothes, tables, food and other items were piled almost to the ceiling.
Even more oddly, when deputies spoke with the man, he said he was highly preoccupied with personal cleanliness, stating that he “constantly needs to take a shower … and wash his hands a lot.” He made many other random statements, talking about shopping at Wal-Mart and saying “someone had broken his bag of ice,” and that there’d been a black sedan outside his house that made him nervous—so he’d poured chocolate milk on his doorstep (which deputies noticed), as if it had the power to repel the sedan’s driver.
When asked about the blue paint (which was also on his pants), the man said “it is his house and he wants to make sure everyone knows that people live here and it belongs to him,” and that “it is a way of keeping bad people away from his home.”
Another deputy noticed and inquired about some generic Fruit Loops cereal that was spread all over his floor and along the edges of his windows; the man again replied that it was to show others that he was living there.
Finally, deputies pinned him down about the streetlight-breaking issue about which they were originally called to see him—but the subject adamantly denied breaking them (although someone’s security camera had him on tape doing so).
The man was escorted to the Southern Arizona Crisis Response Center to get help.
This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2015.
Because mental illness is hilarious. Right, Anna Mirocha?
Sad story. Have a heart Anna.
Anna’s reporting reflects nothing but the good and kind heart she has. Shame on you knee-jerk critics.
This article is clearly not written in the tone of mockery towards those who need help. Reporting about an incident factually does not make someone heartless, it is documentation of something that has happened that is beyond both the control of the person directly involved, as well as others. For all we know, this article can be an eye opener for someone who needs help themselves, or it could be one way for those who do not directly witness this kind of thing on a regular basis to have some compassion and empathy for people when they are experiencing the darkest times.
Leila, the entire function of Police Beat in the pages of the Weekly is light entertainment. Police Beat consists of shallow stories of petty criminals or inebriated people doing odd things, silly things, stupid things. “Ha – look what the funny drunk did! How very amusing!” A lot of the people who’s actions are described here are alcoholics or drug addicts. There’s nothing educational or compassionate about it. Intent matters! Do you really think the headline “Fruit Loops Everywhere” refers only to the cereal this person spread around, when a common perjorative for the mentally ill is “fruit loop?” I don’t!
I don’t want to feed this thread. (Although it’s inevitable!) I just can’t help but say that this is an unimaginably difficult column to write… and while the point of it has become, in some people’s minds, “shallow stories of petty criminals or inebriated people doing odd things, silly things, stupid things”—it’s *real* intent is, in the words of a former TW editor, is to show the “shady underbelly” of our community. I believe I reported truthfully, factually; the man got help, and that’s important. I myself and many people I love, and have worked to help, are people with “mental illness” (what I prefer to refer to as behavioral health problems)—including any “silly drunk” you see. You have *no idea* what I read about in police reports… but I’ve never heard about a “silly drunk”… only someone with a lot of problems, which is what almost all people in these stories have. There aren’t even enough “silly drunk” stories to go around. ***I do regret the title***, and wish I’d had more time to think of something other than this tempting pun right before my deadline. All I ask is to please be a little more forgiving and open-minded with your words next time… Respecting someone’s sensitivities, even a stranger’s who you believe has made a mistake, is kind. I apologize for what I also believe was a mistake re: the title. Thanks.
Nothing in that column is an opinion of the writer. At no point in that article does Anna M. ridicule or demean any mentally ill persons. Not sure why you all are so offended by a double entendre in the title. Good job Anna M.
Anna, thanks for the reply. I apologize for my first comment; that was unfair. It occured to me later that Police Dispatch may not be the best gig at the Weekly, and that perhaps you’d rather be doing something else. I believe I would. I can imagine a lot of drudgery reading the police blotter with little satisfaction in return.
I do stand by my second post, however. Even though you and your writing did not ridicule this person, I do feel that the inclusion of stories like this about mentally ill (which I think is still an acceptable phrase) in Police Dispatch is ridicule by default. The column just doesn’t present as a place where readers come for enlightenment about people with behavioral problems. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the whole column.
I was talking to an ex-fellow-employee about writing a little blurb to go with the column. I still have to talk to the editor about it. Thanks for the back-up—I can use your suggestion when I bring it up to Mari.