[newtus]

Mayor defers to PD chief before watching video of officer shooting man | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

a mentally ill man was acting errattic was shot here recently and the police said its cause he moved and charged at them. a neighbor had a surveillance camera outside and it recorded the whole thing. the camera showed the man didnt even move. now the dallas police are being investigated for lying against the mentailly ill man. but hes still been shot.

interesting read

[Yoda]

That is horrible.

[medicalfox]

This makes me sad. People are so ignorant about mental disorders and the police can be ruthless. There have been so much evidence capture by civilians on police brutality; some people are given way too much power and use it irresponsibly.

[IndieVisible]

sadly this sort of thing happens more often then you might think but is not usually caught on video, and not just the mentally ill either.

[newtus]

Originally Posted by IndieVisible

sadly this sort of thing happens more often then you might think but is not usually caught on video, and not just the mentally ill either.

yes true.
its the abuse of power is what it comes down too. yea

[likewater]

I don't think the police understand mental illness at all. I wonder what we can do about that? I think we should do something. I'll ask docjohn if he has any ideas. I know I've had a Horrible police experience and I think newtus did too, but at least we weren't shot.

[IndieVisible]

They are suppose to have training including how to deal with the mentally ill. Some cops just don't care and that's where the problem is.

[faerie_moon_x]

No the police don't understand mental illness, and I believe that is one of the jobs that needs extensive training on the subject so that they can make proper judgments on things. For example that Master Chef contestant who sadly has commited suicide recently, when the police encountered him saying he was being possessed by Chef Ramsey they did not have the proper training to handle it and arrested him and put him in jail for "attacking them," instead of knowing what to do.

It's just another story of ignorance that needs to be corrected.

[faerie_moon_x]

Or look at this article here on PC today. It's about Kennedy tryingto create outpatient mental health centers 50 years ago, and that it's failed. It says in 1800 mental hospitals were built because the mentally ill were just put into prison. (Of course we all knwo the horror of those hospitals...) Kennedy wanted to end the hospitals and have the mentally ill treated in community and contributing. He realized we're not just needing to be locked up forever, it does seem at least. But now, 200 years later prisons are the primary housing for those who are ill... it's like we went in a circle...

50 Years Later, Mental Health Care in America Still Hard to Come By | World of Psychology

[newtus]

yea i had a horrible experiece multiple times with police.

i tried to jump off a bridge one of those times and the police got to me. they said "now are you arent gonna act stupid with us are you?" i said "no?"

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by newtus

yea i had a horrible experiece multiple times with police.

i tried to jump off a bridge one of those times and the police got to me. they said "now are you arent gonna act stupid with us are you?" i said "no?"

This is what I mean... police are only trained to deal with criminals and not people who need help. Isn't the motto protect and serve?

I mean, they don't have to be doctors or anything, but just being able to spot certain signs could be useful. and then have a protocol on what to do.

[junkDNA]

when i was committed the police shackled my legs and put handcuffs on me and put me in the back of a cop car....i felt like a criminal...but i wasnt...it was unnecessary

[newtus]

ive been in the back of a police car a few times. 3-4 times. its no fun

[junkDNA]

ive been arrested twice and ran away once when i was younger so ive been in cop cars too....they are so small and no where to put ur legs....sooo uncomfortable....and when i was committed the cop tried to make small talk with me but i wasnt having it...

[sweetmadness]

One thing at least from personal experience, we have a good police force in our county. One time I reported my school bookbag missing, and they found it for me!! Not many police officers are that friendly. They prob keep some tabs on citizens, I'm not sure. I have told one officer in confidence about my mental health, and he was very understanding. I called the ER on myself stupidly once when I was having anxiety, and the officer was there telling them that I was fine and not dangerous or in a life threatening situation because he knows me.

I've talked to this officer on a number of occasions because often it's people with mental health that become victims of other people's cruelty or abuse.

Of course, after waiting at the ER for over 6 hours, I went home frustrated. The mental health system here is OK, but they'll only take you if you really need it or are dangerous.
They were about to take me in when I called my mom and decided nervously to leave. I was in a state of paranoia and anxiety, I was hearing voices too. It was not dangerous for me per-se, and tbh I don't think in this current system a hospital would have even helped me.

A lot of people in the hospital rooms are in extreme states, not just suffering symptoms from the wrong medication, psychosis or delusions. You can treat psychosis by getting someone to take their medication or if theirs isn't working, get them on the right one.

The cops are doing their jobs really well here, but the barriers to mental health in this county are what is preventing my mother from treating her psychosis and delusions. This leads to misunderstandings, for instance an officer in a plain car drove up and said that my mom wasn't in trouble but she wasn't allowed in a certain store anymore. From my mom's side the woman made her empty her bag, and sounds like the woman was unnecessarily mean to her because she didn't understand my mom's untreated condition (my mom gets very confused and scared sometimes) and my mom has never stolen anything.

The insurance has booted my mom from services after a week inside a hospital which was the first time she had actually seemed herself in years. My mom later quit taking medication because she claimed it made her blank out.

sad to read this.

*sighs*

[faerie_moon_x]

There is good and bad in all things. There are police who will understand or be more caring, adn then those who won't. Just like any other group.

My MIL several years ago was a victim of a crime. And at the time she wasn't in treatment and her only source of "treatement" was watching t.v. doctors (like Dr. Drew or... well, Dr. Phil...) So, she told the police she was watching Dr. Phil because it was all she ahd access to for her bipolar. The lady cop's attitude changed and when she left my MIL asked the man cop if he noticed how her attitude changed. He said, "It's because we don't like Dr. Phil and think he's annoying." Okay, so whatever.

The next day the lady cop was the one who came to pick up my MIL for questions on the case, and she says once they were alone the lady cop appologized to her. So she knows the guy said something, and after that the lady cop was nicer.

But... wouldn't it be nice if no one had to say "hey, you were obviously being a jerk once you found out that person had MI." My MIL talks a lot about that experience, I know it sits with her.

[KUREHA]

I hate the police, everytime I go to see them, they laugh at me or look at me like I'm effin crazy.

I got arrested when I was younger a couple of times and one time they were really nice to me, now though they act like dicks.

[Sneezyyy]

Very sad

sneezyyy

[Sneezyyy]

Police enforcement don't.understand

sneezyyy

[faerie_moon_x]

Last night I saw in the news that the cop who shot this man has been fired from the police force and charged with the shooting! The police cheif said police are not above the law. Good chief!

But then I saw another story on that poor woman in Washington DC who was gunned down for ramming her car into the barricade. It was going on again about how she had a delusion that Obama was recording her for a government reality t.v. show. And her boyfriend had called 911 worried about her a few times for her delusions. but her sisiters insidist that wasn't true. >.< Whatever happened, I am sad for her daughter and family. I feel it's a tragedy that could have been avoided somehow.

[the abyss]

a sz was shot dead in my town about a year ago, he did have a knife but the policeman who cornered him was a safe distance away. the police are not trained to deal with the mentally ill.
take care