After the Minneapolis shot Abu Jelani 13 times and killed him lasUNMarch, focus intensified on how unequipped to deal with such crisis police are. The Friends of Barabara Schneider (another mentally ill person killed,IN HER OWN HOME,by police June 2000), worked with mental health professionals and advocates to create alternatives.They propised a mental heath crisis team that 911 would RE-ROUTE such calls to,AWAY from police. It was very well thought out & given to Mayor Rybak in April.
Nothing has been done with it. The irony is that hospital emergency room heathcare professionals and psychiatruc units managae to deal w/mentally ill people in crisis WITHOUT shooting them. Maybe,this shouldn't be a police matter at all. With Abu Jeilani,so many "mistakes" were made: officers refused translation help from Somali bystanders;they ESCALATED their aggression,further frightening Mr. Jelanit (when STEPPING BACK--giving Jeilani space--& lowering their voices could have eased Jeilani's agitation. It was 15 minutes from sighting Abu Jeilani to shooting him and I am convinced this death could have been AVOIDED. What's interesting is that when a ( white) guy in Colobia Heights went nuts w/a GUN,shot a police officer/neighbor, this guy was SHOT IN THE LEG & arrested--not killed. Interesting "contradiction",worth pondering. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
