Got a problem?

Call the cops.

Now you've got two problems!

I honestly don't know what the hell you're supposed to do in America if a loved one has a psychotic episode and threatens you, because calling the cops for help could be a death sentence for them, but not getting help could be a death sentence for you. Maybe make some sort of plan with neighbors in case something happens? But then you get the neighbors all worried that they're living next to someone who could get dangerously psychotic. I'm not talking about what should be done if things were more ideal, I'm talking about what people with such loved ones should do if it happens today, May 22, 2024. Because it sounds like someone has a good chance of dying no matter what.

We had this happen in my town a couple weeks ago. Cop got called for a mental health check because a 19year old with a knife was acting erratic. Cop pulls up and gets out the car, the kid runs at him yelling "shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!" so the cop pulled out his gun and shot him. Didn't go for the tazer or the his mace, just right to deadly force despite being called over specifically to prevent the kid from dying.

Cops should neve, under any circumstances, be called in for a mental episode. All they will do is escalate the situation and cause harm.

As someone who struggles with mental illness, but has been lucky enough to not need intervention or hospitalization in my life so far, this seems like another good time to say ACAB.

Step 1) Find out the name of the cop who shot your son

Step 2) Call a mental health check on the cop

I feel like I'm reading this same story once a month. There are so many people that need help and then the police show up and murder them. All the time.

It sounds like the family did the right thing. They did NOT call the police, they contacted LA’s mental health team, who sent a mobile response unit.

The issue with mobile crisis teams (which most cities have by now) is that they won’t do anything if there’s a weapon besides call the police. That’s where things went south.

There needs to be more collaboration between mental health response teams and police to prevent this sort of thing. Also, wtf is the point of carrying a taser if you pull out your gun on a dude who is barely moving and holding a knife? Probably didn’t even need to be tased.

Don't call police unless you want someone to die.

Police should NOT be involved in the mental health process.

Currently they are legally required.

I thought this was a repost from a while ago, but USA gonna USA.

Can always trust the cops to show up and make everything infinitely worse.

Cops aren’t your friend. They aren’t there to help you or protect you. They are there to oppress you.

Very genuine question: why do cops never use taser guns for situations like this? Presumably they knew the weapon was a knife, so no risk of a shootout.

"police recount a clinician’s saying Yang was violent before the shooting on May 2"

Yeah, they knew that surely.

They knew they were going into an environment where someone with diminished mental capacity had access to bladed weapons.

They likely knew he was actively wielding bladed weapons.

They had access to less than lethal methods of self defence, tasers, body armour, mace, tranquilizers, superior numbers, training in hand to hand combat, fucking nets etc.

They chose to use firearms in lieu of these and shot a mentally ill person to death unnecessarily.

Guns should be a last resort, not a first resort

If a blind man were to ask a police officer for help crossing the road, the cop would probably shoot all the drivers.

do not call the police. many countries outside the united states understand this already

Everyone say it with me, FUCK THE POLICE!

Anyone that had lose someone to yhe police knows how hard it is to get "justice." Especially if they are sheriffs.

We shot the sad person, mental health crisis averted!

*jumping highfive over the sounds of grief *

The less interactions with Police you have the better. Even if a family member is having a mental health episode, you're better off trying to figure out something yourself at this point. This same thing keeps happening where people call for help during a mental health crisis and Police kill them.

There needs to be a way to call for help from unarmed specialists. 😖

At this point we need to treat Police with rules similar to the handling of a firearm. Always assume they can go off, only ever point them at something you're willing to kill, and be aware of possible collateral damage.

This keeps happening and it is infuriating. It's also scary for people with SMI/SEMI (severe and enduring mental illnesses) such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as if the fear of the illness itself wasn't enough.