The police came knocking at the home of Parlier, California, resident Terry Hillblom (59) in April 2006. They were there to deal with a dispute between Hollblom's daughter and her son, but Hillblom got involved and ended up scuffling with a sheriff's deputy, and getting arrested. Hillblom, who has diabetes and wears an insulin pump, says his pump's needle was torn out during the incident. Worse still, he claims the deputy involved would not let him reinsert it before taking him into custody. He says when he told the deputy he needed to fix the pump, the officer said "I don't care." Hillblom was later allowed to reattach the pump but says by then his blood sugar was more than twice its normal level.

Hillblom's not taking this lying down though - last week he filed a lawsuit over the incident. The deputy, Hillblom says, not only damaged his pump connection, but also entered the home without permission or a warrant, and Hillblom wants damages. The Fresno Bee reports that Hillblom is a prominent local resident, former attorney, and vice president of a medical-related non-profit.

As for the deputy involved, he maintains Hillblom caused his own injuries by resisting arrest. Says Hillblom's lawyer, however, "What I know from prior cases is that officers sometimes lose their temper and feel civilians fail the attitude test and they sometimes misuse their power."

What is most disturbing about this case? It's not the fact that the needle was torn out, but the fact that Hillblom was not allowed to fix it immediately. Like the incident involving Doug "Mr. Universe" Burns, this seems like yet another example of police ignorance causing harm to diabetics. Police must be better informed about diabetes, particularly the seriousness of disconnecting person from pump!

Anyone out there following the case of Mr. Universe's beating and subsequent arrest at the hands of police will be interested in this latest news: a five million dollar lawsuit has been filed by the bodybuilder against Redwood City, California. The suit includes claims for two million dollars in economic damages and three million in non-economic damages.

Read Allie's previous blogs (one and two) on the subject if you want all the details. But here's a quick summary: Mr. Natural Universe, Doug Burns (43), was at the movies in Redwood City, back in April. Burns, a type 1 diabetic, felt a little giddy. Attributing this to low blood sugar, he headed to the lobby for a snack but was intercepted by security who mistook him for a drunk. There followed a struggle with police, during which Burns was allegedly beaten and maced.

Needless to say, this sorry episode is yet another example of how law enforcement see a person swaying, weaving and incoherent and the assumption is always that the person is drunk or high. At least in the case of Doug Burns, the victim has some public clout to help him out. There is an urgent need for education here: police officers must be aware of the signs of hypoglycemia.

House Calls, a popular newsletter written by the prestigious Dr. Inglis, highlights a very important question in light of the Avandia mishap: how many other potential whistle-blowers are out there who have been silenced into submission before the Big Pharma vultures?

A medical expert testified that he agreed to sign a statement that was meant to appease the company's investors. This is not the type of behavior anyone should expect or dismiss of a doctor, entrusted with a patient's life. In his defense, he did forward a letter with his concerns to the FDA, which means they also were aware of the same threat. This same doctor is the President-elect for none other than the American Diabetes Association. Isn't that special? The ADA -- my friend, my confidant, my utter supporter of the C-peptide crusade ... sense the sarcasm? So much for advocacy, when the president-elect of this organization so willingly swept those safety concerns under the table, when he should have been throwing a tantrum on top of it! And all over the threat of litigation from a drug company more concerned about its investors than patients.

The closing comments in Dr. Inglis' newsletter say it all: There are so many vultures out there waiting to pick the bones of the American public, it disgusts me. This example goes to show why I always recommend to you -- and to all of my patients -- that you always question everything when it comes to your health. I don't care if it's your doctor you've had for 50 years or one of these nonprofit organizations -- give them all hell.

Last week Amy Tenderich, creator of Diabetes Mine and co-author of Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes, sent out an email asking us to speak out on behalf of Mr. Universe. I remembered the gist of the story when it first happened, back in April. What I didn't realize was the ensuing atrocities for Mr. Burns after the event.

Back in April, Doug Burns was maced by police during a hypoglycemic event at a movie theater. During the episode, the police assumed he was intoxicated, despite a bystander's insistence that it might be a diabetes issue. He was handcuffed, thrown into a car, and driven to a nearby ER without proper treatment for his hypoglycemia. Officers arrested him for assault and resisting arrest. Prosecutors initially insisted Burns needed to provide more medical evidence that he was a Type I diabetic suffering from insulin shock at the time. For some unknown reason -- a blood sugar of 40 isn't proof enough? The records from the event show that Doug never struck anyone, and in fact, he was the only party injured in the incident. However, the case was raised to assault and resisting arrest when one of the policemen suddenly reported an injury -- week-and-half later.

Turns out the county prosecutors have dropped misdemeanor charges against Mr. Universe. Ladies and gentleman, this is proof of how misinformed the general public is of the hurdles diabetics must overcome to continue life, uninterrupted. I'm proud to say that when issues are raised, awareness prevails. Thanks to everybody who called into the DAs office last week and thanks to Amy for calling out for the help.

According to Diabetes Health Magazine -- he is a well-spoken and forthcoming man with a good sense of humor and an easy-going manner. His name is Doug Burns and he's Mister Universe, for crying out loud! So why was he severely beaten by police? Sad but true - it happened during an episode of low blood sugar that occurred at a movie theater in Redwood City, California.

Doug states that he remembers seeing his friend in the theater and then feeling that he was getting low. He had recently started using a new drug to treat his diabetes. He hurried to a snack counter to find food but apparently was intercepted by a security guard who thought he was intoxicated, even though he did not smell of liquor and was wearing a medic alert bracelet. The next thing he remembers is waking up while being given glucose by paramedics. He was surrounded by 7 armed policemen who had severely clubbed him in the head and body and maced him. He was handcuffed in spite of his medic alert bracelet.

This event raises a huge issue that needs to be addressed. Police officers and security personnel should be thoroughly educated so that they can distinguish between and individual experiencing hypoglycemia or one that is intoxicated.