My brother lost half his face in Iraq. When he came home, he was still having medical probs (physically) and I called EMS one night. A police car arrived first, officers let themselves in and came upstairs where we were.. The first thing I saw was Officer was holding sidearm.
I immediately told him there was no threat here and this was purely an emergency medical issue. I kept very calm because we were waiting on ambulance, but I was pissed beyond words. As EMS was loading my brother, I motioned for one of the officers to come over.
Our dad was fmr sheriff, so I had that "going for" me. But, asked if he noted the fireplace mantel. There are some flags and medals there. After he said yes (hard to miss), I calmly told him if he responded to that house again for a med emerg in that matter, he would eat his gun.
I'm still set back by that night and couldn't believe that they would have entered the house with weapons drawn for a medical emergency that was calmly and clearly explained to dispatch. I know this is nothing compared to other's experiences, but it shows a definite problem.
* and I meant "manner". This was over a decade ago and I still get angry when I think about it. The presence of a firearm like that would make a lot of people jumpy and emotional, which could then be taken as a threat. It can be completely avoided.
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