To whom it may concern

I believe that my civil rights were violated and that I was discriminated against based on the perception of mental illness. Ten years after divorcing my battering husband, I was assaulted by my roommate. Initially I did not want to file a complaint against him for several reasons. First, I was physically ill. Secondly, I knew what I would have to go through if I filed a complaint. Thirdly, a friend who introduced us pleaded with me not to press charges.

After the local police convinced me to file a complaint, the man was arrested. He and his friends immediately retaliated. They violated both the judges' terms and conditions of release and an Order For Relief of Abuse (ORA). The local police refused to enforce the two judges' orders. I was frightened after the local chief of police entered my home without a warrant and threatened me with criminal prosecution if I did not permit a violation of the ORA. I did not feel safe in my home. I stayed in hotels. I started having panic attacks. I was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I contacted the local mental health organization repeatedly and was put on a waiting list. I went back into therapy with my former therapist. I changed the locks, installed alarms on the doors and searched for an attorney. I contacted the victims advocate, legal aid and the domestic violence center to no avail. I sought legal representation and attempted to file a complaint with the Vermont State Police. I was told point blank that I could not file a complaint against the officer because "We take care of our own."

After interviewing my neighbors about me, not the man who was arrested, the police contacted my mother who severely abused me as a child. She told them that I was mentally ill and not taking my medication. I was not on any medication. I was in therapy. The local police persuaded the State Attorney's Office to drop the charges against the man who assaulted me because "I was not a credible witness due to my mental illness." He had confessed to assaulting me in front of me and two police officers. He showed them the object with which he assaulted me at the time of his arrest. I was there.

I was told that if I could prove that I was not mentally ill, that only then would the State Attorney's Office consider reinstating the charges against him. I tape recorded the conversation. I have the tape in my possession.

When I did not drop the complaint against the police officer, I was falsely accused of arson. I was investigated by the State Police after the local police made false statements about me. When I requested a copy of the report, my right under state law, my requests were ignored. I was subsequently arrested fro stalking a police office and his wife. I did not even know their names much the less engage in stalking them. Ironically, I was volunteering at a batterer's intervention program as the voice of the victim. I had not history of arson or violence. I had no criminal record. I had never been committed to a mental institution.

I was arrested and placed in Vermont State Hospital. I was suffering from a gallstone that was 3/4 of an inch in diameter, a hemorrhaging uterine tumor and a neurological disorder that may be Lyme Disease. My current physician has ordered testing at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center fro Lyme Disease. I had surgeries for both the gallstone and the uterine tumor after being discharged from Vermont State Hospital. I was told that my medical conditions were a symptom of my mental illness while at Vermont State Hospital.

I was forced into solitary confinement for being demanding and manipulative when I asked repeatedly for a doctor. I was not permitted off the small ward or outdoors for nearly four months after I told the doctor that I was severely claustrophobic and suffering from Post Traumatic Stress disorder. My uterine tumor was described by my psychiatrist as a "delusion" on an application for forced antipsychotic drugging. My friend of ten years, a 30 year veteran of the Tampa Police Department and instructor at the police academy, flew from Tampa to Vermont for my commitment hearing. He was not permitted to testify by my attorney. I was never read my rights.

I was accused by the wife of the police officer of handing her a photograph of Osama Bin Laden and a photograph of a woman attacking a child. There was neither a child nor Osama Bin Laden in either photograph. This was pointed out in court. She was delusional not I. One advocate at the hearing stated that if he were not told who was who, he would have concluded that she not I was the person suffering from mental illness. The police officer commented that the witness appeared to be mentally ill not I. There was no physical evidence or other witnesses to confirm her accusations against me.

I was committed by the judge who stated in her decision that I had committed those acts even though there was no criminal proceeding. I was not permitted to know my defense strategy by my attorney. I was not permitted to use the psychiatrist of my choice for my independent examination. I was deprived of due process. I was falsely imprisoned. I was deprived of medical care and my civil liberties. I was coerced into taking medication by the threat of continued imprisonment or forced drugging or both.

After my release, I was hounded by the State Attorney's Office at my home and my church. I was prosecuted to the tune of $10,000 in legal fees for two misdemeanor charges. I finally was given the offer of court diversion after my attorney was repeatedly denied access to state's evidence (discovery) and exculpatory evidence was destroyed. It was revealed that I was handcuffed and shackled to the floor in a cell for 15 hours prior my psychiatric exam, denied anti-anxiety medication in my purse and denied access to an attorney for 10 days after my arrest.

I want to bring suit against the police, the hospital and the State Attorney's Office for violating my civil rights, false imprisonment and denial of medical services. One newspaper has carried my story. The US Department of Justice CRIPA Division threatened to sue Vermont State Hospital after a year long investigation revealed that doctors routinely misdiagnosed patients, exposed them unnecessarily to dangerous drugs and civil rights violations among other serious problems with quality of care. The report was released 3 months after my release. A state investigation of my case concluded that there were substantial grounds for my complaints against the hospital. Please help me find legal assistance.