'ER' actress Vanessa Marquez killed in California police shooting

[Peter1469]

My brother was a police officer in New Orleans. He responded to a domestic dispute call and a guy he knew from prior calls rolled into the street in a wheel chair (he was at that point paralyzed from the waist down- and mentally ill). As my brother rolled up in his squad car, the guy pulled out a tech 9 and riddled his car with bullets. My brother never wears a seat belt and was able to duck just in time. A bullet when straight into his head rest.

A shoot out ensued and the guy became totally paralyzed. He died when Katrina hit New Orleans. I always chided my brother that if he shot better the mentally ill guy wouldn't have had to live as a totally paralyzed person for years.

[Dr. Who]

As Peter mentioned, not a realistic option for a lot of police forces. I would guess that in a big city, the police respond to dozens if not hundreds of calls every night that involve someone exhibiting signs of mental illness or impairment. Hard to imagine that there could ever be enough mental health professionals on call to get involved in those situations in anything like a timely manner.

I grant you that South Pasadena isn't a huge community, but even a retired psychiatric nurse could be on-call (paid by the job). They need only be within 20 minutes of the community. It is possible to have the appropriate expertise, without having them on an ongoing payroll. People retire with a lot of skills and often don't mind making a little money during their retirement.

[Dr. Who]

I imagine some large departments have that reach-back capability. But it is not realistic for most police forces. One approach- if other citizens are not in danger is to pull back and let the person do whatever they wanted.

I agree. If the person is not a threat, there is no need to treat them like one and perhaps enhance their anxiety.