State College s 3/20 Coalition hosted Gabby Medina Falzone Monday night to speak at its Criminalization of Mental Health Crises event, which discussed the stigma behind mental illness and the misuse of force within the police department on those who are mentally ill.
The event was a part of 3/20 Coalition s 10 Days of Action series to commemorate the two year anniversary of the death of Osaze Osagie.
Osagie was a 29-year-old Black State College resident who had autism and a history of schizophrenia. He was shot and killed by State College Police officers on March 20, 2019.
When three officers arrived at Osagieâs apartment to serve a mental health warrant, Osagie allegedly ran at the officers with a knife. After an unsuccessful attempt to deploy a Taser on Osagie, he was allegedly shot by Officer M. Jordan Pieniazek.
Monday, March 15
4 p.m. â Mark Sentesy, an assistant professor of philosophy and classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, will host a lecture via Zoom on the ethics of climate change. The event is a part of Penn Stateâs spring 2021 Earth Talks series. The event is free to join and the link can be found here.
6 p.m. â 3/20 Coalition will hold âCriminalization of Mental Health Crisesâ as a part of a 10 day event leading up to the two-year anniversary of Osaze Osagieâs death.
Osagie was a 29-year-old Black State College resident who had autism and a history of schizophrenia. He was shot and killed by State College Police officers on March 20, 2019.
State College’s 3/20 Coalition, a local advocacy group, is hosting 10
“days of action” to honor the two-year anniversary of Osaze Osagie’s death. The event will take place beginning Friday, March 12 through Sunday, March 21.
The first event of the series is a peaceful “die-in” at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 12 at the State College Municipal Building. The purpose of the die-in is to demand the resignation of three borough officials, Mayor Ron Filippelli, Borough Manager Tom Fountaine, and Police Chief John Gardner.
“In the two years since Osaze’s murder, these three officials have used their positions of public trust to hide key information about the facts of the investigation, including the identity of the officers involved and details regarding their fitness for duty,” 3/20 Coalition said in a release. “Public demands for transparency and accountability have been met with either hostility or obstinate silence.”