From: "Russell Sasaoka" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> It's not just the police that has to worry, but the mental institutes that let these people >out because either there is no room for them or because there is not enough funding to >insure that those people are cured. I have never been in a mental institute and I will never be "cured". I will always have bipolar. Most of the time I act pretty "normal" (some people might argue that point with me) .But there may come a time that I will have a medical crisis and my mind will be telling my body to do things that are irrational. Then I will need help. Depending on how quickly the crisis comes on, when it comes on, etc., that determines whether medical, police, or whatever are involved. I don't know. It may never happen. It could happen tomorrow. > Just looking at an issue from one end doesn't mean that there is just one end, like a >spectrum, there are several ends. People need to look at all of ends of the problem >before taking a hardcore stand and placing the blame on one group of people. Keep in >mind that the Police's main function is to enforce the law and not be psychiatrists or >case workers... I am not placing the "blame" on the Police. I am asking why the Police chief and Mayor are not arming the Police correctly to deal with the mentally ill that they have to deal with everyday. They send the police out with bullet proof vests, guns, and limited knowledge. I think that stinks. The knowledge is out there. I'm not asking that every officer have a college degree in psychology. Puhleeze. I'm just asking that they at least get the same training that Melissa Schmidt had. And don't tell me that they "can't afford" to pay for the training. They can't afford to NOT pay for the training. They are losing officers. Dead. Start a fund. Call it the Mellisa Schmidt fund. Raise money for training. Get grants. Do whatever. But don't let any more officers or mentally ill people die because the police chief doesn't care how many people he loses or how many mentally ill people get taken out. All he's worried about is if he's staying in budget. Does somebody know how to motivate that man? The police are frustrated because they need more options on how to deal with the mentally ill. The public is frustrated because they need an educated police force. We're not stupid. We know there will still be casualties - on both sides- the public and law enforcement - even after we have a fully trained police force. But I'm hoping there would less of each. Just one less death each year would be nice. More would be fantastic. Renee Jenson WI [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
