(Feb. 22, 2016) In another strike against mental illness, St. Paul police were justified in the fatal shooting of a man diagnosed with schizophrenia in the midst of a psychotic break last September, said a Ramsey County grand jury last week (“Grand jury clears St. Paul cops in fatal September shooting,” MPR, Feb. 18).
The officer who shot Philip Quinn will not face criminal charges, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced at a news conference last Thursday, a day after the grand jury reached its conclusions.
"This was a tragic event” for Quinn's family and for the officers involved,” said Police Chief Tom Smith. "There are times when we have to defend ourselves and others. [The] officer was put in a terrible situation. He did everything he was trained to do, and still had no other choice in this situation."
Smith said police had received several concerning calls throughout the day of September 24, 2015 from Quinn's family. Quinn's girlfriend had called 911 saying Quinn was acting "bizarre, psychotic," and Quinn’s mother said he had stabbed himself numerous times with a screwdriver and believed that he had died and come back to life.
Once police arrived on the scene, Quinn ran out of the garage directly at an officer in a "very aggressive manner" wielding a screwdriver.
In the dashcam video released last week, an officer can be heard shouting at Quinn to drop the object. But, police say Quinn ignored the officer’s commands and charged at him until he was forced to fire.
Quinn's family said they called 911 that day hoping police would come and help their loved one in crisis. They believe officers should have and could have taken a different approach because they knew Quinn was mentally ill.
Smith agreed with the Quinn family that he had clearly needed help with his mental illness.
"If Philip Quinn would have had the opportunity to have an open bed and to get some help, this tragedy probably would not have occurred," Smith said.
Tragedies like this are remarkably common. A recent report on the role of mental illness in fatal law enforcement encounters found that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter than other civilians approached or stopped by law enforcement.
We must collectively recognize this as wholly unacceptable and restore the mental health system so that individuals with severe mental illness are not left to deteriorate until their actions provoke a police response.
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