New Florida law meant to protect people with Alzheimer's, other dementias
MIAMI - Encounters with law enforcement can be stressful, even if you've done absolutely nothing wrong.
Now imagine you have no idea where you are or even who you are.
That's a frightening reality for a growing number of people living with Alzheimer's, the most common type of dementia.
But a new law that went into effect Tuesday in Florida is meant to protect our vulnerable seniors who may find themselves lost and confused.
"My dad was diagnosed when he was 75," Angelique Suarez said through tears. "His progression was very slow. Until about 2020 when COVID hit and his routine stopped. He used to go to the gym. He used to go to church every single day. Once his routine stopped, that's kind of when his progression became vertical."
Suarez said her father, known to friends and family as Papi, was a wanderer and would sometimes slip out of his home undetected.
"One time he got lost for 22 hours and the next time he got lost for 24 hours," she recalled. "A million things go through your mind. You're so worried sick. The worst thing is that he had his cellphone on him both times, but he was just in such probably an altered state and so scared."
This is why Suarez is an advocate today and one of her recent legislative wins is now in effect.
Florida House Bill 801 establishes a continuing education course on Alzheimer's and other dementias for law enforcement and corrections officers across Florida to ensure they have the resources to handle situations involving people with the disease.
Studies show six in 10 people living with Alzheimer's will wander at some point, a scenario we saw this past summer in Florida.
"Ma'am come on, let's go. We've got to get you out of here," deputies are heard telling a lost elderly woman. "We're going to get you home ma'am.'"
Body-worn video captured in August shows Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies finding a missing woman with Alzheimer's in a gator-infested swamp near her home.
Suarez watched that video and said the deputies handled the situation well.
"I think they absolutely have to be the calming factor making them feel comfortable, reassuring them that you are there to help. You're going to bring them home, you're going to get them to safety," she said.
The law requires the Florida Department of Law Enforcement establish this training online, developed with the help of the Department of Elder Affairs.
Suarez said she's willing to be part of the training process in memory of her father.
"Everything I do, he's in the back of my mind," she said. "This is for him."
Suarez is hoping to work with Miami-Dade County to create a voluntary registry for people with Alzheimer's and other disabilities and disorders to help law enforcement better identify those with the disease during an encounter.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said its deputies received online training earlier this year focused on patients with Alzheimer's and other dementia.