Tuesday, January 28, 2014

"Mental health patient shot dead by South Carolina probation agent" Tyra Harris, 5th period

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/28/us-usa-southcarolina-shooting-mentalilln-idUSBREA0R01V20140128

Summary: A mentally ill patient of Tri-County Community Mental Health Center in South Carolina was killed by a state agent. The clinic claims that the patient became "loud and argumentative" in a psychiatrist room  and the state agent went inside. The state agent then fatally shot the patient.  The state's Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services didn't explain how the argument led to the shooting. The psychiatrist says he was physically assaulted by the patient, but not seriously injured.
 
Analysis: I'm sure there could have been other means to handle the situation than with a deadly weapon. People who work with the mentally ill should expect to deal with certain behaviors of patients. It's a shame that the issue was resolved with a gun. The patient was unarmed and didn't deserve to lose his life.

6 comments:

  1. Emily Gray - 5th periodJanuary 28, 2014 at 6:13 PM

    I agree, people should learn how the mentally ill function before shooting them.

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  2. I think that officers and other security personal should go through special training if they are going to work in health centers like this one. It's inexcusable that the agent shot the patient since he wasn't armed and had a special mental health circumstance.

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  3. I agree that people who are around the mentally ill should know what to expect of the dangerous behaviors they might have. Even though the patient might have been harmful, it was very wrong to shoot him for it...it's not his fault.

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  4. I also think people who work with mentally ill people should get some extra training... They really need to be able to handle situations like these without killing the patient when they feel threatened. It's irresponsible and inhumane.

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  5. They clearly dont understand the needs of the mentally ill. They are unstable, so of course they wont be able to solve situations like a non mentally ill person would.

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  6. Shooting the patient was definitely not the way to handle the situation. If this particular patient had a history of becoming violent, then the officer needed to be warned ahead of time. If there was an especially violent patient, then it would be better to place them in some type of restraints, because they could get themselves hurt as well as hurting others.

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