(March 23, 2015) A video released last week captured the moments leading up to the death of Jason Harrison, 38, who was shot and killed by Dallas police last year while suffering a psychotic break caused by untreated schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (“Shocking video of police shooting shows why we need to talk about how cops deal with the mentally ill,” Fusion, Mar. 17).
Harrison’s mother Shirley called the police last June to have her son admitted to a psychiatric hospital. But when officers arrived, an unstable Harrison pulled out a screwdriver and was fatally shot when he did not comply with instructions to drop the weapon.
“I just don’t want to believe it’s acceptable . . . that [this is] how we treat mentally ill people in this town,” said Harrison’s brother, David, at a press conference following the video’s release.
We agree. The way we treat – or fail to treat – people with serious mental illness is unacceptable.
Incidents like this are far too common. As a consequence of the failed mental illness treatment system, an increasing number of individuals with untreated serious mental illness are encountering law enforcement officers, sometimes with tragic results.
“At least half of the people shot and killed by police each year in this country have mental health problems,” according to a recent joint report from the Treatment Advocacy Center and National Sheriffs’ Association.
More widespread use must be made of mental health diversion practices (i.e., crisis-intervention teams (CIT) and mental health courts) and assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) in order to prevent devastating situations like Harrison’s from happening.
Read the Treatment Advocacy Center’s joint report on justifiable homicides to learn more.
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