Connecticut Military Veteran Forcefully Disarmed By Police After Refusing Psychiatric Evaluation

It has been more than a month since local police came into the home, and confiscated the guns of fifty-year-old Navy veteran, Dave Schmecker.  Schmecker, when recalling that particular day, still can't seem to make sense of it all.

"I posed no threat to anyone", says the Navy Veteran, who lives alone, and doesn't have a wife, or children.  Schmecker continued, "I have no psychiatric history, or criminal past."

Jeff Durkin, of We Are Change CT, and myself, went to the home of Dave Schmecker, in Naugatuck, CT, to get the story straight from the military veteran, in his own words, and capture Dave's story on video. (video above)

According to Schmecker, it all started about six months ago when he called the VA hospital to request a check on his spine, which has been giving him pain for some time.  Schmecker was assuming he would be allowed to see a pain management specialist.  When the hospital called the veteran back, they informed him that if he wanted to see a pain management specialist, he would first have to see a psychologist for one half-hour, and a psychiatrist for one half-hour.  Schmecker refused.

"Why should I have to see a psychiatrist, and a psychologist, for a back pain?", asks Schmecker.  Several months went by, and Schmecker never heard back from the VA.

Fast forward to February 5th, Schmecker was having a conversation, over the telephone with his friend, and it was decided that the two should meet.  When the two friends met, they decided to attend a church, and maybe talk to a priest, for spiritual guidance.  They visited a church, at random, in West Haven, which to Dave's later surprise was 'a stones throw away' from the VA hospital of West Haven.  Dave had a private conversation with the priest, assuming their conversation would be kept private, and then left.

When Schmecker arrived back to his home in Naugatuck, CT, he noticed a missed called from the local police department.  When he called the police department back, and asked what they had called about, he was told that his primary care physician had called the police to perform a "wellness check" on Dave, because of a peculiar message that the doctor heard on Schmecker's answering machine.

Before Schmecker left his home, earlier in the day, to meet up with his friend to attend church, not having a cell phone, he changed his answering machine message, and directed it to his friend, with whom he was just having a conversation with, just in case his friend called, after Schmecker had already left.

What did the answering machine message say?  Well, according to Schmecker, the message was:

"I feel like it's poisonous staying in my house.  I feel like Co-Intel-Pro is after me.  I'm running."

Dave Schmecker insists "there was nothing in that message that was threatening to myself, or anyone else."  Schmecker also believes that the answering machine message was just used as an excuse, and it didn't matter what the message said, the police were coming.  I, Goodman, believe as Dave does, that the message doesn't seem to be of any significance in this ordeal, because, in my opinion, there is nothing in this message to cause alarm, and, also, I post worse things than that on my Facebook page, everyday.

Schmecker decided to go down to the police station and "clear this all up".  Schmecker was waiting in the lobby at the police station, and nobody came to see him.  The Navy veteran then decided to leave.  Schmecker called the police station and told them that he was waiting, nobody came, and that he left.  The police official responded that the police were called away, but they still need to perform a wellness check on Dave, so they were going to drive up to his house.  Schmecker told the police that he did not want the stigma of having police in front of his house, where the neighbors would see, so he would meet them at the end of the street.

In his truck, Dave was now waiting at the end of the street for the police.  When the police show up, they commandeered his vehicle, and told him he wasn't going anywhere.  The police then informed the fifty-year old veteran that he was going to let them in his house, give them his weapons, and he was being forced to go a psychiatric evaluation.  Schmecker was told forcefully, by the police, that "you must let us in", and "if you don't open the safe, we'll bust it open".  The veteran was also led to believe that the police had a risk warrant, but later found out that they did not have a warrant.

Schmecker says he submitted to the police requests under "duress".  "I live alone, I have no witnesses, if I did try to resist", says Schmecker.

The police, who Schmecker described as looking like "thugs with guns", performed a thorough search of his home, inspecting everything, rummaging through Dave's safe, taking his three guns, and sending him away in an ambulance to a psychiatric ward for three days.

The time spent in the psychiatric ward was an extremely traumatic experience.  Being stuck with needles, given pills, and getting his blood pressure checked every half-hour, Schmecker says he felt he had to submit to this treatment because other patients in the ward were telling him "you better be cool here, or you'll end up in a patted room".

After 72 hours inside of the psych ward, Schmecker was released, and began trying to make sense of the event.  He called his doctor and asked him why he called his house that day.  According to Schmecker, the VA told him they called his house "because you hadn't renewed your medication", though they never did this before, and he has let his medications lapse in the past.  On top of that, according to Schmecker, his medications did not need to be renewed.

Dave Schmecker now believes that the priest that he confided in, at the church in West Haven, called the VA hospital in West Haven, to report on Schmecker, who in turn, called his doctor at the VA of Waterbury.  This would not be surprising to me, as I have reported in the past, on my experiences with learning of religious leaders in Waterbury, secretly working with the federal government.  

So far this event has cost Dave Schmecker several thousands of dollars in bills from the hospital stay, the EMS ride, and more, plus an unmeasurable amount of emotional turmoil.  This experience "has literally devastated me," says Schmecker.