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Street roots
13
Nov. 9, 2012
Incarceration is not health care; police are not physicians
BY GU STAV CAPPAERT
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
n May 2010, someone called the
Portland police to report a man talking
to himself and spitting on cars in Old
Town. When a police officer arrived, he
found the man unwilling
to be handcuffed. The
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officer hit the man with
pepper spray and four
Taser blasts. The man
had schizophrenia.
The officer was not
reprimanded for his
response, and is now a
co-defendant in a trial
for a separate case of police brutality. His is
not an isolated offense; the Portland area
has seen at least 160 police involved deaths.
In September 2012, the U.S. Department of
Justice confirmed what most in the mental
health community already knew when they
“exposed” a longstanding pattern of
excessive force by the Portland Police
Bureau (PPB). In October, the city and the
federal government reached an agreement.
Under this plan, the city will add two Mobile
Crisis Units — in which a mental health
worker is paired with a police officer —
revise its use-of-force policies; hire internal
investigators; and create the Community
Oversight Advisory Board which will meet
twice a year.
The city has attempted to address
excessive force before. This time, their
effort is well-funded — new staff and training
is projected to cost $5 million annually.
What’s more, the federal government is
holding the city accountable to implement
the plan. Time will tell whether these
I
SAFETY and
Gustav Cappaert is
with the Partnership
for Safety and Justice.
PSJ is a statewide,
non-profit advocacy
organization
dedicated to making
Oregon’s approach to
crime and public
safety more effective
and just.
reforms meaningfully change the
relationship between the police and the
community.
What PPB policies will not change are the
problems at the root of how our society
deals with mental health. Of course the
police should be well-prepared to handle
mental health crises, but they should not be
the first interaction for a person in need of
treatment. When law enforcement is the
first response, courts, jails and prisons
follow.
When people with mental illness end up
in prison or jail, they are unlikely to receive
adequate treatment, if any at all.
Additionally, when they are released, people
are issued a 30-day supply of prescription
medication with little additional help. Often
unable to navigate health care
bureaucracies, and without an advocate,
people with mental illness are likely to end
up in the public safety system once again.
The Justice Department is actually
conducting another investigation of
Oregon’s treatment of individuals with
mental illness. The early conclusions of that
report are that the state is failing to provide
adequate community-based services,
supportive housing, and early intervention.
“Many individuals,” the report finds,
“receive services through only an
emergency room or a jail.” The National
Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) agrees.
In its 2009 mental health report card,
Oregon received a C, due to its lack of
public hospital beds and reports of abuse at
Oregon State Hospital. A 2010 Oregon
Health and Science University study found a
severe shortage of psychiatric beds in
Oregon’s public hospitals, with most beds
reserved for emergency holds for people
awaiting criminal trial. The report states: “It
is extremely important to note that there is,
in essence, no room for the voluntary
patients in either state or community
hospital beds.”
Oregon has been penny-wise and pound-
foolish when it comes to dealing with
mental health. More than that, state policies
have set up a situation where law
enforcement, courts, prisons, and jails are
often the first response to individuals with
mental illness. Lives could be saved by
diverting people with mental illness to
community treatment and mental health
courts. Tragedies and crimes could be
prevented by adequately funding community-
based treatment for people with mental
illness and employing people to conduct
early intervention.
We are set to add over 2,000 people to
the Oregon prison population in the next
ten years, at a cost to taxpayers of $600
million. To a large degree, future prison
growth is the result of failing to fund smart,
up-stream investments in building healthy
communities. Connect the dots: early
intervention and treatment won’t just save
lives, it will mean our limited resources will
be spent on more impactful community
infrastructure than growing our prison
system.
It should not take another condemnation
by the Department of Justice to force
Portland to get its act together, and the
state legislature should take notice what is
happening in Portland. It is time to direct
more funding to mental health programs
outside of the criminal justice system so
that fewer people end up inside it.
Star Wars as imagined by
Disney
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(excerpt)
By Darren Alexander
It was the most horrid news I had heard and seen.
I had only gotten online yesterday when I learned of the news
Disney-yes, Disney-that empire of evil mice, ducks and
Plastic Barbie doll-like princesses
Bought LucasFilm and is pretty much taking over the Star Wars empire.
“ARRGH!” I screamed. “Why? Why? Why?!” I wailed.
My favorite sci-fi movie series going to the dogs.
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So it was last night when I had the dreaded dream of Mickey
Dressed as Luke Skywalker.
And Goofy dancing like JarJar Binks - who was,
Well goofy to begin with.
That lovely Star Wars theme - iconic, as John Williams could compose
It had sprinklings of “It’s a Small World After All” in it.
Then the scene with the Death Star appeared -
Only the Death Star had mouse ears as antennae
“Get me out of here!” I yelled out.
Luke, who sounded like that Mickey rodent started singing
“When you wish upon a star,” just as an X-Fighter
Blasted a hole into our Tie fighter
A ball of fire filled the ship before we were blasted into Purgatory
Strangely, I woke up a moment or two later and Yoda hovered over me.
“Master Darren. Wounded and hurt you are.” He mourned.
“Really?” I said. “Never noticed.”
As salve was being applied to my gashes, I asked, “What happened here?”
“Not same Star Wars,” Yoda sighed sadly.
“Ever since idiot rodent took over, I had to endure
Horrible singing from Cinderella and Snow White.
American Idol winners they are not.”
“Don’t tell me this is the seventh Star Wars film, Master.”
“Yes.” Yoda took out a handkerchief and began weeping.
“Oh why, George, why?”
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