(July 8, 2015) Deaths at the hands of police have dominated the media spotlight for the past year, but less attention has been paid to the fact that nearly one-quarter of the victims have a mental illness (“Changes occur in police response to mental illness,” Immortal News, July 7).
Keith Vidal was a victim with severe mental illness.
In early January 2014, Vidal, an 18-year old diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, was in the midst of a psychotic episode.
Vidal had armed himself with a screwdriver and threatened his mother, Mary Wilsey. Mary and her husband called 911 for help calming their son down.
But when North Carolina law enforcement arrived at the scene an altercation ensued and Vidal was shot and killed.
A month later, the officer responsible for Vidal’s death was indicted by a grand jury for voluntary manslaughter.
Stories like Keith’s are prompting police departments across the country to implement crisis intervention training (CIT) for police officers.
But that isn’t enough - Five states still remain without an AOT law, and the majority of states are in need of significant improvements to the laws they already have.
The cost of not treating severe mental illness – to the individuals suffering from it, their families, communities and taxpayers – is incalculable. The failure of most states to enact and or use common-sense laws that would reduce these impacts should be recognized as the national disgrace it is.
Read the Treatment Advocacy Center report “Considerations for Demonstrating the Cost Effectives of AOT Services” to learn more.
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