[HPN] San Diego Shooting Death - NAMI press release of Feb 15, 2000 FWD

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http://news.excite.com/news/pr/000215/dc-nami-shootng-death?printstory=1
FWD  NAMI PRESS RELEASE - 1:43 PM EST February 15, 2000

     A SHOOTING DEATH IN SAN DIEGO

     Statement by Laurie Flynn, Executive Director,
     The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

VIRGINIA, Feb. 15, 2000 -- Laurie Flynn, Executive Director of The
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, issued the following statement today:

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is saddened and
concerned by the police shooting death last week of William Anthony Miller,
Jr., age 42, who suffered from mental illness.

News reports indicate that Miller required daily medication, but did not
always take it. He lived on the streets in San Diego. He struggled with
substance abuse. When five police officers answered a report about a man
assaulting people with a tree branch, Miller allegedly charged them. Three
officers opened fire. He was shot seven times.

On June 14-18, 2000 NAMI is scheduled to hold its national convention in
San Diego. Like others, our members-people with mental illnesses, their
families and friends-rely on local police. We understand the pressures placed
on them. Nonetheless, we hope this shooting will result in a comprehensive
review of the San Diego Police Department's policy on the use of deadly force;
crisis intervention teams; and training for police officers at the street
level in handling problems that involve people with mental illness.

Unfortunately, the shooting death in San Diego is not unique. During the
last year, similar deaths have occurred in Los Angles and New York and other
cities around the country. Because of the failures of America's mental
healthcare system, police today often must serve as our front-line psychiatric
workers. Many are inadequately trained. Treatment for people with
psychiatric conditions also is often severely lacking. In Mr. Miller's case,
outpatient commitment or assertive community treatment (ACT) might have
overcome his failure to take medication regularly. It also might have given
him support necessary for recovery. Integrated treatment of mental illness
and substance abuse-which too many healthcare bureaucracies still try in vain
to treat separately-might have enabled him to overcome both disabilities.

A shooting death in San Diego reflects in microcosm the broader crisis of
America's mental healthcare system. The challenge is to ask: "What are we
prepared to do about it?" It is a question that not only San Diego and
California must confront, but also other states and cities-and all candidates
for public office. As the March 7th "Super Tuesday" presidential primary
approaches, people especially should be asking the candidates what they intend
to do about it. It is a national crisis. It demands national solutions. San
Diego should not have to confront it alone.

*****

With more than 210,000 members, NAMI is the nation's leading grassroots
advocacy organization solely dedicated to improving the lives of persons with
severe mental illnesses including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic-
depressive illness), major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and
severe anxiety disorders.

Contact: Bob Carolla or Anne-Marie Chace, both of the National Alliance
for the Mentally Ill, 703-516-7963

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