Sadly, in America, too many people who need help get death instead. More than 1 in 5 people fatally shot by police have mental illnesses, according to a Washington Post database. Our jails are teeming with mentally ill people. But in the political realm, "mental illness" is utilized more as a dodge in the invariable gun debate that follows a mass shooting than a true commitment to address our national mental health crisis.
At Richmond City Council's public safety committee hearing Tuesday afternoon, the topic of how much law enforcement should be involved in those kinds of health emergencies will be front and center.