12-11-2020, 11:49 AM
First of all let me say that I agree with the idea that mental health professionals could be a big part of police reform. We have seen many examples of police using extreme force against people who are just "acting crazy". Often there are extreme health consequences or injuries sometimes even leading to death. In these cases mental health professionals could save lives.
But there are other situations where people are "acting crazy" while they are armed with deadly weapons. In these cases you can't just send unarmed mental health experts to deal with the problem. Mentally ill people can be extremely dangerous. It might help the situation to send a mental health expert out along with the armed officers. In situations were someone is just walking around with a knife and not on a rampage they could attempt to control the situation without extreme violence. But in many of these cases deadly force is justified to insure the safety of innocent citizens. If a person is "acting crazy" with a gun officers don't really have much of a choice.
But there are other situations where people are "acting crazy" while they are armed with deadly weapons. In these cases you can't just send unarmed mental health experts to deal with the problem. Mentally ill people can be extremely dangerous. It might help the situation to send a mental health expert out along with the armed officers. In situations were someone is just walking around with a knife and not on a rampage they could attempt to control the situation without extreme violence. But in many of these cases deadly force is justified to insure the safety of innocent citizens. If a person is "acting crazy" with a gun officers don't really have much of a choice.
