Thread by @tonyleys

I’m reading this @loganhill33 piece, thinking about a reader’s letter that has haunted me for years. wapo.st/floridaman

I was the Des Moines Register’s state editor in the 1990s, overseeing five bureaus and dozens of stringers. I was a huge fan of the “stupid criminal” genre of stories...

One day, we got a tip about a young man who came across an unlocked squad car parked in his small town....

The young man climbed in the car and got on the police radio. He announced his name, then said, “I’m sitting in a police car on such-and-such street, and I’m smoking pot! Come arrest me!”

The cops obliged...

I chortled, then assigned the story to a reporter, who got the police report and wrote it up as a joke for all of Iowa to laugh at.
The story included the young man’s name.
We thought it was hilarious....

A week or so later, a letter from a reader was delivered to my newsroom desk. The woman wrote that she saw the story and was glad we had our fun with it....

But she wanted to add some details: That young man was her brother. He had schizophrenia, and his struggles were their family’s endless heartbreak.
She thought we should know....

I hung my head that day. I recall that letter whenever I read a stupid-criminal, “Florida man” story. How many of those stories are actually about mental illness or addiction – about some family’s heartbreak? ...

I left editing years ago and became the Register’s health reporter. I often write about mental health issues, including how hard it can be to find help. I always try to include the perspective of people with mental illness and their families. ...

I often think about that young woman’s letter. I wish I would have saved it. I’d like to thank her for waking me up.