Man Back Under Mental Health Treatment after Violent Outburst
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A man is on the road to mental health recovery after having been ordered to treatment for his mental health problem under a Criminal Procedures (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act. The man, Darren Robert Dickson, went wild at the Riccarton Road service station in New Zealand last year.
On April 7th, 2007 Darren, went into the service station and threatened to kill the shop assistant. He also demanded that the assistant give him some cigarettes, which she did. He left the station, but then attempted to head butt another customer on the forecourt. Dickenson missed but did proceed to punch the man several times, causing bruising and a cut to the cheek. Dickson was restrained by several people but managed to break free and attacked another person, both punching and threatening him. Finally police arrived and arrested Dickenson who continued to struggle violently and threaten them.
All of this was the result of a psychosis that Dickson lives with and struggles with chronically. He had been on the road of mental health recovery previously, but suffered this setback. Dickson had been living in his own flat with a roommate and was working fulltime. He saw his parents on a regular basis and they began to notice the signs of his psychosis returning. They did notify Hillmorton Hospital because they were concerned and the authorities were looking for Dickson but they didn’t find him in time to prevent the explosive outburst. To top it all off Dickson has no memory of his violence.
His defense counsel Steve Hembrow said, “He’s extremely apologetic and hopes he will never behave like that again in his life.” He is now back on his mental health program and understands that he’ll need to pay closer attention to his mental health.
Tags:Mental Disorders Mental Health