The shooting of Raul de la Cruz in the Bronx has renewed the debate over whether police officers are equipped to respond to people in emotional distress.
Raul de la Cruz faced another round of surgery at St. Barnabas Hospital on Tuesday, two days after police shot the knife-wielding man outside his parents’ home in Kingsbridge. The shooting involved officers from the 52nd Precinct, which is not included in a NYPD initiative to improve police responses to peoples’ mental health emergencies.