Everyone had already decided she was going to be a problem. The paramedics, the police, half my department. They were wrong.
She came in interrupting, arguing, that is not true, I did not say that. Police on either side, tension climbing. Easy to write her off in about four seconds.
I was in charge. So I asked the police to leave. Their frustration was not helping, and it was not my job. My job was her. I pulled up a chair and sat down.
I told her, I do not care what anyone else said. I want your version, so I can help. And the whole story came out.
Redundant during COVID. Scraping casual shifts. A psychiatrist appointment she missed, so they came and pulled her from her home. But that is not what she was crying about.
She was crying about her cat. She had been dragged out with no time to make sure it was safe. That was the whole distress. Not the police. The cat.
So I rang the RSPCA. A volunteer went to her house and checked on it. And she settled completely.
Here is what I ask people. If I had never asked about the cat, who would she have thought I was? Sometimes the whole thing is one question nobody bothered to ask.