Police Handling of the Mentally Ill

According to The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "A January 1999 survey of 194 U.S. cities found that more than 40 percent have a special program that instructs officers on how to handle the mentally ill. Those programs range from social workers who accompany officers to specialized police teams steeped in mental health awareness." These cities are on the right track. Turnbaugh wrote that these programs are "community policing at its best," preventing tragic incidents, increasing police efficiency and improving the public image of both the mentally ill as well as the police (NAMI Advocate, October/November 1999). Hopefully even more cities will join this effort.

How well was the Pickett incident handled by police? Some will say he's lucky to be alive; others will say he should not have been wounded at all. What we can hope for is that this occurrence brings more pressure on communities, where needed, to train their police well for dealing with the mentally ill.