Many of us were shocked at the death of this young man despite whatever threat he posed. Even some of the people on the street car were confused by what seemed to be an extreme show of force. Surely this kid had mental health issues which had not previously been manifested. His immigrant family have been gracious in not comdemning all police but they want answers. So do the rest of us.
I have the feeling that some readers will be thinking that this could have been a member of their family because they are dealing with the mental health issues of teen and adult children who are struggling with mental stability. I have spent a lot of time with parents who are aware that in their darkest moments their children are a threat to them and could be to others. But nIne shots fired at a confused young man does appear to be a literal overkill. Once again we have to wonder about police preparedness to deal with mental health crises. Not only is the family of the young man changed forever, it is also the reality for the officer who pulled the trigger. We need to pray for them all.
How are you sorting through this one? Are you angry or sad or both? Is our society still slow to deal with mental health issues.? What about congregations?
The individual was alone on the streetcar with a knife. There was no immediate threat, and even if he had made a move towards the police, he would have to go down several steps, or jump down, which would have taken time. The police had time and distance on their side - they did not have their backs to a wall.
ReplyDeleteI do not see any justification for this shooting. They could have kept talking to him, deployed a taser, even smoked him out. Any of those options would be much more preferable to using lethal force. There is not a stopwatch ticking, telling you that you have 3 minutes to contain the situation. This is a case that screams out the ability of police to really take their time in trying to solve this peacefully.
Whether he was on drugs or had mental health issues, from the videos I have seen, shooting was not an appropriate option.
To answer your question, yes police do have a lot of work to do in dealing with people with mental health issues.
Sadly, there are times when police must shoot to defend themselves or the public. It appears this was not one of them.
I agree with Roger - the force used was not necessary at all ... re churches' preparedness to deal with mental health issues ... no, we are not prepared - we do not have a clue (maybe a few ordained clergy have taken training to deal with the issues, but the average congregation member would probably prefer not to see or hear anyone with a mental health problem, let alone try to deal with it. Frankly, it just scares us.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful and thorough assessment Roger. Your many years in law enforcement give it a lot of credibility. I think you are correct Judy that many church folk are at a loss to know what to say and do directly and indirectly (family support) with anyone who doesn't fit our notion of normal. It's interesting knowing that Jesus spent so much time with those outside societal norms.
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