A recent study on gun violence by Johns Hopkins University found that nearly 1,800 people were shot and killed by law enforcement each year from 2015 to 2020, more than half of whom were fatally shot. People with untreated mental illnesses are especially vulnerable to such harm.
Sonya Massey’s latest body camera footage shows her interacting with police 16 hours before she was fatally shot on July 6th.
The day before the fatal accident at their home, Massey’s mother, Donna, called 911 to report that her daughter was suffering from mental illness.
In the video, the doctor asks Massey, “When was the last time you took your medication?” “It was written down last night,” Massey replied.
During the phone call, Donna Massey begged police not to hurt her daughter.
The next day, Sonya Massey called 911 to report a wanderer. Officer Sean Grayson and his partner responded to the call.
After searching the outside, officers entered the home and the situation escalated further. That’s when Grayson shot Massey in the head, killing him. Grayson is facing multiple charges, including murder, and could be sentenced to 45 years to life in prison if convicted.
Massey’s death evoked painful memories and fear among some in the black community.
“A lot of people say, ‘I feel safe when I’m around the police, or I’m okay with the police being here.’ But for us, it’s like we have no idea if we’re actually safe. I can feel it,” said Regent University student Drew Thomas.
Trauma therapist Dr. Anita Phillips explained that the feeling is collective trauma and can increase distrust of police.
“I had the opportunity to support a young black woman who was battling bipolar disorder. She was suffering from severe depression and was struggling with suicidal thoughts because of it,” Phillips said in an interview with CBN News. spoke. “I was texting on the phone trying to support her and suggested that maybe it was bad enough that she needed to call 911, and her response was: ‘ I’m having suicidal thoughts right now, but it’s probably safer.’I don’t.’
Lisa Daly leads the Treatment Advocacy Center, a nonprofit organization that supports people with severe mental illness. She points out that there has been an increase in people calling 988, the suicide and crisis hotline, since the launch of the new number in 2022.
“There are about 10.8 million contacts with that system, which is a huge amount and is increasing over time,” Daly told CBN News.
According to Daly, police responses to such callers are often negative.
“A person experiencing a mental health crisis is less likely to be involved in a fatal law enforcement encounter than someone who was not involved in a mental health crisis at the time of the law enforcement encounter.” 16 times higher. That’s a pretty surprising statistic,” Daly explained.
The Treatment Advocacy Center also points out that many people who turn to police during a mental health crisis may be experiencing something called anosognosia, also known as a lack of insight. This is a biological condition that prevents a person from recognizing that they have a mental illness.
“Somewhere between about 40% and 50% of people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have this disorder,” Daly said. “And the important thing to keep in mind in the context of a crisis call is that someone who doesn’t believe they’re sick is going to respond differently to law enforcement. This particular People are extremely vulnerable when they find themselves in an emergency situation” Interacting with law enforcement. ”
To better understand the issue, Daly’s organization has created a special database to track what she calls preventable tragedies.
“The many really negative outcomes we see on a daily basis for people with severe mental illness are everything from violence, increased suicide rates, victimization, homelessness, It has a direct impact, and it comes down to the fact that people don’t really have access to care,” Daly said.
Research also shows significant racial disparities in calls to police and mental health calls.
“There’s no question that really any type of law enforcement encounter has a heightened impact on communities of color,” Daley said. “The problem is that affected communities may have difficulty receiving needed interventions in a timely manner.” As a result, they can remain in the community for long periods of time without access to treatment and find themselves in situations that escalate to a crisis, and once that crisis point is reached, they are likely to have very negative outcomes. . result. “
Add to this the national mental health crisis, and more cities are hiring skilled health professionals to support police officers in the field. One example is the “Support Team Assistance Response” program, also known as STAR, underway in Denver, Colorado.
Rather than automatically dispatching a police officer for every 911 call, EMTs and certified behavioral health clinicians will be dispatched for requests related to mental health distress, but experts will According to , this could have meant a different outcome for Sonya Massey.
“Once dispatched, they can go to the scene and provide trauma-informed care, medical evaluation or triage, crisis intervention, de-escalation, transportation if needed, and connection to a variety of resources and follow-up care. ,” STAR Specialist Evan Tompkins told CBN News.
Last year, the program answered more than 7,000 calls, even though staffing issues meant only half of the calls could be answered.
“I think the police department is pretty happy with STAR’s involvement and it allows them to focus on what’s actually needed,” Tompkins said.
Mr Daly believes it is important to increase resources to respond to calls regarding the mental health of frontline police officers.
“It may actually just create a fine line between the person’s medical symptoms necessitating medical intervention and why law enforcement needs to be there for their safety. ”Daly said.
Daly and others believe the insights and results are worth expanding across the country.
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