"The U.S. Supreme Court, as might be expected, has thus far continued to immunize police against charges of wrongdoing when it comes to use of force against those with a mental illness."
In late June, his family couldn t get him on the phone.
“After a while of constantly calling, then a family member went over to check on him, and that is when we were told he was missing and had been missing for at least two weeks,” Oreadea Treadwell said.
He’d last been seen June 18. His family was not contacted, but a supervisor at the home told them a police report was filed.
“I had to process it first, because the word ‘missing’ by itself is just a difficult word, and then attached to my brother s name is something I never dreamed could ever happen or would ever happen,” Oreadea Treadwell said.
John Whitehead s Commentary
Don’t Call the Cops. Especially if Your Loved Ones Are Old, Disabled or Have Special Needs
“Anyone who cares for someone with a developmental disability, as well as for disabled people themselves [lives] every day in fear that their behavior will be misconstrued as suspicious, intoxicated or hostile by law enforcement.” Steve Silberman,
The New York Times
They shot at him fourteen times.
Walter Wallace Jr. a troubled 27-year-old black man with a criminal history and mental health issues was no saint. Still, he didn’t deserve to die in a hail of bullets fired by two police officers who clearly had not been adequately trained in how to de-escalate encounters with special needs individuals.