Pennsylvania teen in mental health crisis had hands up when police fatally shot him, videos show

[Jilly_in_VA]

A Pennsylvania teenager who was in the middle of a mental health crisis had his hands in the air when state police fatally shot him last December, according to new videos released Thursday.

Christian Hall, a 19-year-old Chinese American who had been diagnosed with depression, was standing over the ledge of a highway overpass near Stroudsburg, Pa., when troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police tried to persuade him to come off the ledge. Troopers then backed away when they saw Hall had what appeared to be a firearm, which was later determined to be a realistic pellet gun.

Videos obtained by Spotlight PA and NBC News, the first to report on the footage, show that Hall had his hands in the air for 14 seconds Dec. 30, 2020. The videos, which were also obtained by The Washington Post, show that Hall’s hands remained up, with one of them holding the pellet gun, when two state troopers began firing at him, causing the teen to crumple to the ground almost immediately.

Footage previously released by the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office blurred the final seconds before Hall was killed. Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine Jr. ruled that the fatal shooting of Hall was justified and that no one would be charged, saying the lives of the troopers were in danger. Michael Mancuso, an assistant district attorney, described Hall’s death at a March news conference as a “classic suicide-by-cop scenario.”

Now, Hall’s parents and their attorneys are calling on the Justice Department and the Pennsylvania attorney general to launch an “unbiased” investigation into a police shooting that has shattered the family and the northeastern-Pennsylvania community.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/18/christian-hall-pennsylvania-police-shooting/

[pinkstarburst]

1. I remember reading about this case

a few months back. Very sad. Kid was adopted from China as a toddler and had RAD and other emotional disturbances. RAD in particular is very, very difficult to overcome. He had shown signs of mental health crisis for years.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/christian-hall-police-shooting

At a young age, Christian had learning and mental health issues. Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and auditory processing delay led his parents to take him out of the public school system starting in fourth grade to join a homeschool co-op with about eight children in his age group. He also had depression and reactive attachment disorder, a condition that affects many adopted children and impacts their ability to form emotional attachments with people.

When Christian was 10 years old, he accidentally started a fire while playing with matches, damaging a room in a building. No one was injured. He was placed in juvenile detention pending his completion of a counseling program. “Due to the trauma caused by being separated from his parents at such a young age and being housed with strangers as old as age 21 — some of whom were violent offenders — Christian’s mental health deteriorated making it difficult for him to complete the counseling program,” Devon Jacob, the Halls’ attorney, said in a statement. He was detained until around age 14, when he was released to his parents and placed on probation. “By then, however, the damage was done,” Jacob said. A cycle began where, in violation of his probation, Christian would run away from home and then be detained again for lengthy periods of time. “This unfortunate cycle continued until the time of his death.”

I feel terrible for the parents as they are grieving the loss of their child, but at this same time, this young man was clearly very disturbed and had been for a long time.

[modrepub]

2. Just Wondering

If a social worker or other trained professional had been there if the outcome would be different. Maybe if the confronting person was unarmed the situation might have been defused. Police aren't always the best option in some circumstances.

Of course it takes a special type of person to confront someone who is armed with a deadly weapon, police or otherwise.

[Jilly_in_VA]

3. They don't teach de-escalation techniques

at the police academy any more. I think the whole idea is to get them on the street ASAP. Yeah, the kid was disturbed, but even though he had a gun (a toy pellet gun), he had both hands in the air. it's pretty hard to shoot someone from that position.