I had my first panic attack in front of a cop.

He'd asked a group of kids on the street to go home after a fight. My friends and I were off to the side, standing away from the crowd, silent and still, in a city we didn't know, waiting to be picked up by my parents 1/13 This was over 10 years ago, before parents consistently owned cell phones. We couldn't "go home" as instructed. But instead of listening to me as I tried to explain, the officer sprayed the area in front of us with pepper spray as well.

My friends moved back several yards. 2/13