For at least the third time since Labor Day, police in Pennsylvania have shot people of color who were in the midst of a mental health crisis.
On Sept 13, a police officer in Lancaster shot and killed Ricardo Muñoz, a Latinx man in crisis. And police in Reading shot and wounded Roxanne Moore, a Black transgender woman.
On Monday, police in Philadelphia shot and killed Walter Wallace, Jr., a Black man in crisis.
On Monday, police in Philadelphia shot and killed Walter Wallace, Jr., a Black man in crisis.
In Lancaster and Philadelphia, family members of the victim were on the scene attempting to de-escalate their loved ones. Rather than solving the problem, police made it far, far worse, which led to tragedies.
The fair, just response to people with mental health disabilities is not the violent arm of law enforcement. When police are first responders to people in mental health crises, people die.
No amount of police training can solve this problem. In State College in 2018, police officers shot and killed Osaze Osagie, a Black man who was having a mental health crisis. One of the officers on the scene was a crisis intervention team leader.
They killed Osaze anyway.
They killed Osaze anyway.
This is why it is time to divest in police and invest in programs that support people in our communities, including better mental health services. The first responder to a person in crisis should be a person with the skills to de-escalate.
That kind of change will save lives.
That kind of change will save lives.
Police are not mental health professionals, nor should we expect them to be. Walter Wallace would likely be alive today if we prioritized mental health care as public health.
#BlackLivesMatter. #BlackDisabledLivesMatter. Say his name: Walter Wallace, Jr.
#BlackLivesMatter. #BlackDisabledLivesMatter. Say his name: Walter Wallace, Jr.
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