On Friday Batavia Police coaxed a man by the name of Bradley Broadbent down from the roof of a Hutchins Street apartment house. Broadbent was reportedly combative and was jumping from one roof to another when police arrived on the scene. The Batavian has this report and photograph of Broadbent being taken into custody.
Broadbent’s case is one example of how police are encountering seemingly irrational behavior on a frequent basis and the exact cause of that behavior is unknown. Broadbent’s behavior is consistent with that of someone who may be using synthetic drugs but it is also consistent with someone struggling with a mental health episode. Diagnosing the difference is becoming more and more challenging for police.
"Sometimes people might have a mental health issue that they're dealing with so we can't automatically assume when we go to something that it's somebody under the influence of some time of product," Det. Schauf pointed out.
When it comes to the larger issue of synthetic drugs, the mother of this 14 year-old said she would like to see something done about the growing problem. Her daughter suffered for three days with side-effects from this incident and court records show that the victim told police she vomited multiple times in school the next day and did not eat for two days. She also told police that she had scratch marks on her arms the next morning that she could not explain and that Keene and Lang drove her to school that morning.
