In the wake of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri,
a resident has filed a lawsuit
alleging that local police used excessive force in dealing with
her unarmed, mentally-ill husband in 2011, ultimately leading to
his death. In the suit, she calls for cops to receive better
training on responding to those exhibiting signs of mental illness.
I recalled reading earlier this year about
police “confronting a rising number of mentally ill suspects,”
often with disastrous results, and decided to see how many specific
examples I could turn up. This list is by no means a complete,
simply the results of a couple hours of Google searching. I left
out any cases I came across wherein the suspect/victim had a
gun.
A (incomplete) timeline of fatal shootings of
mentally-ill individuals by U.S. cops in
2014:
January 5, 2014: A North Carolina family
calls 911 for help when their schizophrenic son, Keith
Vidal-Wilsey, begins acting out. The
90-pound 18-year-old winds up dead.
January 25, 2014: Lodi, California, police
officers receive a call from a woman who says her
brother—a veteran with PTSD—is “going crazy.” Less than twenty
minutes later,
her brother winds up dead.
March 16, 2014: Albuquerque
officers fatally
shoot James Boyd, a mentally-ill homeless man they’re trying to
prevent from camping in the foothills.
April 2, 2014: Matthew Pollow, a
28-year-old with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder,
is fatally shot by cops outside his mother’s apartment building
in Boca Raton, Florida. In a statement, investigators say Polow
charged a deputy with a screwdriver before being shot.
April 7, 2014: Tinoris Williams, a mentally-ill
31-year-old in Palm Beach,
is shot in the head after struggling with an officer who
mistakes him for a burglary suspect.
April 13, 2014: A Santa Clara, California,
woman calls 911 to say she’s suicidal.
Police open fire when she answers the door holding a baseball
bat, fatally wounding the 53-year-old.
April 30, 2014: Milwaukee police
fatally shoot Dontre D. Hamilton, 31, a schizophrenic who is
laying face-down in the park when police arrive.
June 6, 2014: A Norfolk, Virginia, family
call 911 for help with their schizophrenic relative, 35-year-old
David Latham. Latham
winds up dead.
June 14, 2014: A Dallas mother calls the cops
for help taking her schizophrenic son, 39-year-old Jason Harrison,
to the hospital.
Harrison winds up dead.
August 11, 2014: Los Angeles
cops fatally shoot
Ezell Ford, an unarmed 25-year-old suffering
from unspecified mental issues. The circumstances surrounding
the shooting are still unclear.
August 14, 2014: A 19-year-old Florida
woman with bipolar disorder is
fatally shot by police when they mistake a cordless drill
she is holding for an Uzi.
August 14, 2014: Phoenix police officers
arrive at the apartment of Michelle Cusseaux, 50, to take her to a
mental health facility under emergency court order. She has a
hammer. She
winds up dead.
August 18, 2014: Jeffrey Towe, a Woodland,
California, man with “profound mental illness,”
is fatally shot after cops are called to his apartment building
due to him screaming. Towe allegedly charged the cops with a
knife.
August 19, 2014: St. Louis
cops fatally
shoot 25-year-old Kajieme Powell after he robs a
convenience store of energy drinks and a pastry. Witnesses say
Powell remained at the scene of the crime pacing and talking to
himself until police arrived. The officers allegedly opened fire
when Powell began walking toward them with a knife, shouting for
the officers to “shoot me now.”
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