Minneapolis gunman was mentally sick: Family

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43. I know from experience - Even when you get them hospitalized involuntarily, they still...

...have the right to try to talk their way out, and only under extreme circumstances can a person be forced to take medication.

My friend who imploded last year and attempted suicide on December 5 was taken in by the police under Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code - You may have heard that number if you were ever a fan of Dragnet, Adam-12, or any other California-based police TV shows of the past.

Section 5150 allows for a person to be involuntarily committed for up to 72 hours for evaluation. After that, subsequent code sections take effect. I called the police that night. They showed up with a psychiatric nurse and an unmarked car, and took my friend away.

My friend managed to talk her way out of the county mental hospital on her 10th day of confinement. She was able to persuade a Superior Court judge that she had agreed to a workable treatment plan. Her psychiatrist and the social worker assigned to her case did not agree, but she figured out the right words to say to the judge through brute force intellect, and trial and error.

She didn't take her medication. She never made use of dedicated crisis intervention resources that were available using the cell phone the county provided at no charge. She didn't show up for an initial appointment with a psychiatrist who specialized in treating Borderline Personality Disorder. Seven weeks later she was dead.