Right, I understand that the father had no legal control over his 37 year old son. I did note this comment in another (more dispassionate) article:
“Ron Thomas said his son, who was supposed to be taking medication, had likely not been taking his medication “for a long time” and didn’t understood officer’s commands.”
( http://www.ocregister.com/news/thomas-309917-police-son.html )
It seems to me that someone who really cared about his son, and knew that he wasn’t up to date on his medications to the point where he couldn’t understand what people said to him, would report the man to the mental health authorities before he got involved in an altercation. It seems to me that Dad had some previous knowledge and experience that his son had gotten out of control in the past while off his meds. I believe Dad holds some responsibility for what happened, simply because he didn’t tell the authorities that his son was dangerous and needed to be taken off the streets.
Of course I don’t know any more than anyone else, but that one quote rang the alarm bells for me.
The streets are filled with homeless who are mentally ill. Take him off the streets to where? Why? No one is even alleging that he committed any crime. Someone just thought that he was behaving suspiciously. Cops handle this situation all the time without killing the person they are supposed to be questioning. If every time a cop in LA went to question an erratically behaving homeless person it resulted in that persons death the city would grind to a halt under the weight of lawsuits. Suburban police forces in upper class cities with low crime rates are notorious for this type of overreaction.
We had a fellow here in Albuquerque that went off his meds and spun out of control very quickly, and killed 5 people, including 2 police officers that were performing a “mental health check” on him at the request of his doctor after the doctor spoke to the man’s brother. The brother was very torn up over the situation, and had tried to get more help for his brother, but there was only so much he could do. Sometimes it just happens, as in this case where calls a couple hours earlier would have made the difference.
would report the man to the mental health authorities before he got involved in an altercation. It seems to me that Dad had some previous knowledge and experience that his son had gotten out of control in the past while off his meds. I believe Dad holds some responsibility for what happened, simply because he didn’t tell the authorities that his son was dangerous and needed to be taken off the streets
What you dont understand is that there is NOTHING that anyone can do UNLESS he is a danger to himself, danger to others or in imminent risk of death because of his poor judgement in caring for himself.
There are no MENTAL HEALTH authorities. There is nothing except the police. And the police wont touch them unless they meet the above criteria, for fear of lawsuit brought about by your local leftist attorney. Crazy doesnt get you committed unless there is a distinct reason. Hundreds of thousands of family memebers go through this every year.
would report the man to the mental health authorities before he got involved in an altercation. It seems to me that Dad had some previous knowledge and experience that his son had gotten out of control in the past while off his meds. I believe Dad holds some responsibility for what happened, simply because he didn’t tell the authorities that his son was dangerous and needed to be taken off the streets
What you dont understand is that there is NOTHING that anyone can do UNLESS he is a danger to himself, danger to others or in imminent risk of death because of his poor judgement in caring for himself.
There are no MENTAL HEALTH authorities. There is nothing except the police. And the police wont touch them unless they meet the above criteria, for fear of lawsuit brought about by your local leftist attorney. Crazy doesnt get you committed unless there is a distinct reason. Hundreds of thousands of family memebers go through this every year.
I have a family member who has schizophrenia and has been for decades. You need to really walk a mile in this dad's shoes. There comes a point where your life cannot be completely consumed by spending every single minute of every day watching after your "relative" to make sure they are OK and on the straight and narrow. It is almost impossible to do. It grinds your life down to a nub, Remember they are mentally ill and everyday is an adventure into the surreal
As for informing the "mental health authorities" I really have to LOL, please inform yourself a tad. It is virtual impossible to put a mentally disturbed person in lock up. They have "advocacy" groups galore to make sure their "rights" are not infringed upon
We have been trying for literally decades to put this family member of ours into a institution but until she actually harms herself or someone else it's impossible