20180614 Mit gezogenen Waffen zum "Wellness Check"

"Wellness Check" with deadly consequences

Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower and now U.S. Senate candidate was not at home when police broke into her home with their weapons drawn as if conducting a raid. They made a “wellness” or “welfare check” on a person experiencing a mental health crisis because they had misunderstood tweets by Manning.

The video captured by a security camera, shows an officer with the Montgomery County Police Department in Bethesda, Maryland, knocking on Manning’s door. When no one responds, the officer pops the lock, and three officers enter the home with their guns drawn, while a fourth points a Taser.

“This is what a police state looks like,” Manning said. “Guns drawn during a ‘wellness’ check.”

Mental health experts say, that police should not be the ones to check on suicidal people in the first place. In 2017, mental illness played a role in a quarter of 987 police killings, according to a tally by the Washington Post. In 2018 alone, police have shot and killed at least 64 people who were suicidal or had other mental health issues, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Some examples:

This January, Alejandro Valdez was suicidal and threatening to kill himself. The police shot and killed him.

In February, Orbel Nazarians was suicidal and threatening himself with a knife. The police shot and killed him.

In March, Jihad Merrick was suicidal and pointing a gun at his head. The police shot and killed him.

In April, Benjamin Evans was making suicidal comments. Police shot and killed him.”

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