12 WINGED POST
22 • ISSUE 5 MARCH 31, 2021 OPINION VOLUME
Press and police fail mental health
this I believe...
Between sunset and dusk alena suleiman Sometimes, when a rare gust of cold wind ripples through my sweat-drenched hair as I am biking with my sister on a hot summer day, or when I am standing next to my lao lao (grandma) meticulously folding sticky rice cake around circular blobs of red bean to make mochi, I want to hit pause on the song of life and live in that singular, euphoric moment forever. Since I was little, my lao yé and lao lao (grandparents) have taken care of me while my immigrant parents struggled tirelessly to support the family. Every night, while we waited for my parents to finish work and come home for dinner, my grandpa and I would walk to the highest point in the neighborhood to watch the sunset. Arriving thirty minutes before dusk, we eased ourselves into the small patch of grass at the top of the hilly road, watching the cloudless blue slowly blend itself with warmer hues. I remember staring at the sky with such wonder and amazement, thinking God was the greatest artist in the universe, as he painted strokes of vivid oranges, crimsons, and purples across his vast canvas, the sky. “Look, so pretty,” said lao yé in his broken English. Sighing with content, I grasped lao yé’s hand tightly. I want this moment to last forever, I thought. Yet soon, the brilliant sun became enveloped by dark clouds and the colorful swirls melted away into nothingness. The most magical, breathtaking part of the sunset was over, and the once golden-tinted landscape that reflected the orange sky took on the look of an old black-and-white photograph, signaling that it was dusk already. I then realized that I, an insignificant 7-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Silicon Valley, could not do anything to stop the divine powers and way of the universe. The song of life would not pause for me just because I wanted it to, nor would it replay, and the best I could do was to live in the moment and appreciate the people I spend time with. In February of last year, lao yé passed away after being diagnosed with dementia for almost five years already, during which his memories had slowly blurred and faded with every visit, to a point where he could not even remember my name. That day, I remember rushing to the hospital with my family and blankly staring at the flat, green line displayed on the heart rate monitor. Yet beneath the sorrow and pain, I felt a sort of peace because I knew in my heart that in every second, every hour, and every day we spent together, I embraced with joy. Even now, I sometimes walk along the same path, reminiscing about evening walks I shared with lao yé and recalling fond memories. And every time I watch the sun sink into the horizon and the color drain away from the sky, I am reminded of the little time we have with those we love and to live in the present. This piece earned a National Gold Medal and the New York Life Award in the 2021 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
Two days before New Year’s Day, 19-year-old Christian Hall stood on a highway overpass in Pennsylvania. He had contacted the police, hoping that they could offer him assistance in the middle of a mental health crisis. However, “objective reasonableness,” a subjective standard that allowed the police to determine whether he posed enough of a threat to justify deadly violence, won over. Pennsylvania State Police decided he did, even releasing a statement claiming that “Hall pointed [a] firearm in the Troopers direction. As a result, Troopers fired striking Hall.” In the footage of his shooting released in early February, he crumpled with his hands in the air. Hall’s parents filed a lawsuit against state police, though his death was not the only fatal encounter with police that week. Two days before Christmas, Angelo Quinto, a Navy veteran who suffered from depression, was experiencing a mental health crisis when his sister called the police for assistance. When his mother began filming the situation (police officers switched off their body cameras), Quinto is lying face down on the floor. “What happened,” his mother asks, “What happened?” No one responds. Quinto died three days later, 65 miles northeast of the upper school campus. His family reported that officers knelt on his back for five minutes, similar to the killing of George Floyd last summer. A statement from the Antioch Police Department promised “to provide the public with more information” “once some additional portions of the investigation are completed,” although the department waited a month to confirm his death, and only responded after requests from the East Bay Times. Weeks of chilling silence passed before the deaths of these two men were acknowledged. In Quinto’s case, his killing was only acknowledged due to the family filing a claim against the Antioch Police Department. Their stories should be known as deadly examples of why officers must end unreasonable uses of force as intervention. The lack of coverage and extreme delay in reporting on their deaths expose the gaps in proper police responses to
People with untreated mental illness are
$%
times more likely to be killed by law enforcement
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of people fatally shot by police in 2018 had mental illness mental health. News articles about Hall quickly end before even two pages of search results, and all but one waited until footage of his shooting was released in February to report on his death. While the police immediately responded with a fatal show of force, the press barely murmured.
Minimizing police intervention in response to mental illness both reduces requirements for officers and lowers the chance of fatal usage of force Their deaths came as a result of the failure to follow protocol and de-escalate the mental health episode. According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, individuals with untreated mental illness are 16 times more susceptible to being killed by law enforcment. In 2018, 25% of the approximately 1,000 people fatally shot by police in the U.S. had mental illness. The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), a structure in law enforcement designed to minimize accounts of injury or death in encounters between police and people with mental illness, failed to reduce the use of force. Providing additional training in the CIT program merely checks a box without solving systemic responses. In 2015, American law enforcement agencies traveled to Scotland to investi-
ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY NICOLE TIAN
A project documenting the values that matter the most. For more essays, visit harkeraquila.com.
ALYSA SULEIMAN
nicole tian
NICOLE TIAN
Christian Hall and Angelo Quinto were killed in December, but many news outlets ignored their deaths until February
CHRISTIAN HALL
(! $)
days until most publications report on Hall’s death
year old Chinese American
Represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump
ANGELO QUINTO
"% &'
days until most publications report on Quinto’s death
year old Filipino American
U.S. Navy veteran
gate how the country’s officers respond to confrontations, through methods of crisis intervention rather than immediate force. Bringing in specially trained mental health response teams, requiring body cameras to be open at all times, and eliminating knee to neck restraints would center humanity at the forefront of law enforcement. Establishing partnerships with mental health providers can inform law enforcement on the best practices for responding to mental illness. In 2016, 7.7 million people in the U.S. aged 6 to 17 experienced a mental health disorder, negatively affecting academic performance and overall well-being. However, nearly 80% did not receive proper services, and the pandemic has only increased feelings of loneliness and anxiety. Such instances require responses from trained counselors and not armed officers. Alternatives to requiring police officers to become trained experts on mental health curricula include diverting 911 police calls to crisis telephone lines staffed with medical professionals who provide guidance to the individual in crisis. Emergency Medical Services can also send Emergency Medical Technicians, counselors, and physicians to bring individuals to specialized facilities for mental health treatment. Building alternate programs to minimize police intervention in response to mental illness reduces requirements for officers and lowers the chance of fatal usage of force, better achieving what should be the goal of policing: safety and security.
MENTAL HEALTH HOTLINES If you or someone you know is looking to speak with a mental health professional:
• Connect with a trained crisis counselor by texting
HOME to 741741 • Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at
1-800-273-8255 • Call SAMHSA’S National Helpline at
1-800-662-4357 DESIGN BY NICOLE TIAN