Is there a better way for police to handle mental health calls?
Team 12's Michael Doudna stepped into a simulator to see how police train for these high-pressure situations.
Author: Michael Doudna
Updated: 10:24 PM MST May 21, 2021
GLENDALE, Arizona — It’s been almost 7 years since police arrived on the doorstep of Michelle Cusseaux’s apartment.
Her mother had called police to give her daughter, who suffered from multiple mental illnesses, some help.
Instead, Cusseaux was shot and killed by Phoenix police as they say she came at them with a hammer.
“A person with a mental illness," said Cusseaux's mother, Frances Garrett. "You know you kinda come prepared for that. You don’t come with guns drawn, guns at her door. They sent the help that ended her life."