In the search for solutions to police brutality, we need a mental health " force" more than a space

[tulipsandroses]

force.

There are far too many cases, where police respond to a call where someone is having a mental health crisis and the person ends up dead.

It is time we stop criminalizing mental illness. You don't call the police if you are having a heart attack. Why should police show up when someone is having a mental health crisis?

What is needed is more mental health crisis units with trained professionals that know how to de-escalate.

Those of us that work in mental health go through yearly trainings of non violent techniques to keep the patient and staff safe.

I was on a nursing message board yesterday, and the question was asked, what can police learn from nurses when it comes to de-escalation. Its what we do very often, we are yelled at, cussed at, threatened and yes, sometimes physically attacked.
In those moments, your instinct is to protect yourself AND protect the patient.
Of course it was said in that thread, is that they know how to already. They have even more intensive training than we do when it comes to non violent techniques and take downs. Whether they use that training is another story.

I think what is necessary is to not have police show up when someone is in mental health crisis. It can be deadly for the person who may be hearing voices telling him to act a certain way, paranoid that police that show up are out to get him or her or even when the person is suicidal and would engage to die by " suicide by cop".

In April such an incident happened in San Leandro California. I won't post the video, I cannot watch the killing of another human. A 33 yr old black man was shot and killed in a Walmart. He was swinging a bat and was " menacing" to customers. Other customers have said, he was saying things like he wanted to die.

I posted about Anthony Hill in anther thread, a veteran, shot and killed while he was naked. I am not sure what threat he posed to an armed officer while he was naked.

We should take this job out of police officers' hands. They are not mental health professionals. They cannot assess these situations and see that these people are in health care crisis. What they see is a criminal that needs to be taken care of.

I have personal experience with this after calling 911 when a relative was in a mental health crisis. They were trying to take him to jail instead of the hospital. I had to plead with them that he needed to go to the hospital. They asked for proof that he was mentally ill. He had punched a hole in the wall, had pushed me. But they just thought that meant he was a criminal. They made me get his medication to prove that he was supposed to be taking medication. All the while they had him face down handcuffed on the ground. One officer proceeded to go to his room. I stopped him and said, I did not give you permission to go to his room. I knew then what he was trying to do. Trying to find some kind of evidence to arrest him for a crime. They ended up calling the sergeant to the scene who then agreed that my relative should be taken to a crisis unit. This should not happen. I kept repeating that he needed to go to the hospital. A trained professional, would have known that he was having a manic episode. Police are not trained to do identify that.

I am sure people will say, well what about when the person has a weapon. Still does not mean they need to be killed because they have a brain disorder and this disorder is preventing them from thinking clearly in that moment. We need to have better options to address this.

[ms liberty]

1. They see themselves as hammers, and every encounter is a nail.

[LuvNewcastle]

2. K&R

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Better mental health services are definitely required in a world without police. However, as we move

to make change, it is really, really important to acknowledge that the mental health system is built on white supremacy as well, as are all systems in this country. People are brutalized in the mental health system. The mental health system is also weaponized against BIPOC and women. As we move toward transformation, ALL of our systems must be reexamined to ensure we don't reinforce systems of oppression.

[tulipsandroses]

4. I agree. As with all systems. Hiring more minorities is absolutely necessary.

Hiring the right people for the job and funding mental health systems appropriately.
I have worked on units where there are only 2 nurses taking care of over 30 patients. In medical hospitals, that is unheard of. The techs that we rely on as a part of our team are paid next to nothing, yet these are jobs that require college degrees. I worked with mental health techs making $13 per hour. All while getting cussed at, threatened, spit on. My point is - you will have less people that are qualified that want to take these jobs - which means, that sometimes - and I have seen it - just like police that should not be there- are hired and kept for too long when they should have been fired.
So yes, getting rid of unqualified staff is necessary and paying qualified staff to want to work is absolutely necessary.
I have seen people leave the field to work retail because they can get $15 an hour in retail without the stress of dealing with 30 patients with mental health issues.