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Mississimia t1_jdbebny wrote

>Herman Whitfield III was having a mental health crisis. While he had never received a mental health diagnosis – to his parents’ knowledge –he had experienced recent episodes where he’d become disoriented. His mother said they’d been able to calm him down.

We need to start taking mental health crises more seriously. He should've gotten help before the police needed to be called.

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BubbaTee t1_jdboysr wrote

Often, the state's response is that they can't do anything until the person poses an imminent threat to the physical safety of themselves or others.

And the gap between "poses an imminent threat" and "has committed a crime" is extremely narrow. By the time the former is recognized, the latter has often occurred. And that's what brings the police response.

There's been attempts to expand the scope of "pre-threat" intervention (eg, CA's new CARE law, Ricky's Law in WA), but they face stiff opposition by civil libertarian groups like the ACLU.

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Mississimia t1_jdbp7e8 wrote

I was thinking more that his family could've encouraged him to seek out a diagnosis, even if they'd been able to calm him down.

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FiveUpsideDown t1_jdd3uut wrote

We need to develop an approach to mentally ill people in distress that does not involved the police. All of these incidents establish that the police throughout the US are not equipped to deal with people suffering from mental illnesses.

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[deleted] t1_jdb541k wrote

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RingSlinger55 t1_jdb8e47 wrote

100% agree. When people say “defund the police” this is generally what they mean. Take a sizable chunk of their budget and create/support these types of programs.

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SunsetKittens t1_jdce6ha wrote

Yes. Denver's already doing exactly what you said. It's working well. Here's an article on it from the Denver Post.

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mrg1957 t1_jdcmu2i wrote

Yes but the rest of the state is still fucked. We're in the four corners area and my wife had a panic attack 4 years ago. She was arrested and spent 5 fucking days locked up without her essential medicine. She was 62 when this happened.

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[deleted] t1_jdlq2vs wrote

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mrg1957 t1_jdm3d3z wrote

No she was in jail. There's no psychological help down here. She was never put in a cell to have a pallet to sleep or sit on because they expected her to have a seizure due to Taki g her off medication abruptly.

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[deleted] t1_jdb88dh wrote

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Ok-Brush5346 t1_jdb9s8a wrote

If someone is behaving erratically and it can't be ascertained whether they are concealing a weapon, how do we keep mental health experts safe?

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Fit-Being-7989 t1_jdbw7o8 wrote

Raise your hand if your actually fucking over reading headlines like this. Day in and day out a new story of someone being wrongfully murdered and nothing happens from it. This world is so fucked and the people here to “protect” us…..kill us. Nice job USA! I’m proud to be American /s

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JorrEriker t1_jddejx8 wrote

Yeah, I am fed up. Fuck the cops, they're a bunch of murdering bastards

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MalcolmLinair t1_jdbiq13 wrote

Stories like this are why I'm afraid to seek psychiatric treatment.

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scbinpa t1_jdbkrlk wrote

The longer you go untreated the higher the chances you will have a negative interaction with police.

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zombieattackfox t1_jdc4pm8 wrote

Do seek mental health treatment, before you find yourself in crisis.

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mrg1957 t1_jdcmjuw wrote

Get help to avoid emergency problems.

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Riff316 t1_jddap2m wrote

Stories like this are exactly why you should seek treatment. You can treat it early, or let it devolve to a state where someone calls the cops, and then you’re at their mercy.

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Strict_Difficulty656 t1_jdg5z3c wrote

I can understand why someone would feel that way. Getting help isn’t easy, and options that are there for some people aren’t there for others. Mental health care can offer profound help but finding the right path is not a simple task. I wish you the best.

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dagbiker t1_jdcqq7s wrote

"System failures" is a weird way to spell "murdered by police".

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