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BubbaTee t1_jdboysr wrote

Reply to comment by Mississimia in An Indianapolis mother called for mental health help. System failures led to Herman Whitfield III's death by Red0817

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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