A friend of a popular community member who died in a county jail last month called on the Norman City Council on Tuesday to fix what they called a “broken” mental health system.
Shannon Hanshett died in the Cleveland County Jail on December 8. It came about two weeks after he was arrested on suspicion of falsely calling 911 and obstructing a police officer.
Ms. Hanshett called 911 multiple times to check on the child welfare of her two sons, but after checking on her sons, officials said her concerns were unfounded, according to an official report. That’s it. Body camera footage showed that she not only refused to obey the officers’ orders, but also made contradictory and contradictory statements.
Many claim that Hanshet died without the mental health support she needed.
Mental health advocates and friends of Hanshet said Tuesday that it’s time for the city to fund its own Mental Health Crisis Unit program.
My friend Kate Biermann, a former city council member, said if the city council could buy military vehicles, it could raise money for a “compassionate” mental health response.
“I want this to continue in the budget process,” Biermann said. “If he can find $300,000 to buy a BearCat, he’ll have dozens of them himself to fund compassionate responses that don’t need jail time to get the mental health treatment they need.” Because you can find a million dollars.”
Christina Owen says it’s not fair to demand both a police officer and a psychiatrist at the same time.
“We would expect this officer to have local law enforcement skills and be on a SWAT team, but he could also survive a mental health crisis without a degree in psychology or counseling. I look forward to it,” Owen said.
Ashley Robbie, who said she worked with Hanshett, told the council that she has a great deal of respect for police officers, but the policy is not perfect.
“No system is inherently perfect,” says Roby. “I think it’s okay to take a step back and look at the system.”
Some took aim at police station protocols that provoke mental health responses.
Despite police reports that she appeared to have mental health problems, the Norman Police Department told the transcript that her behavior did not meet the criteria for a mental health crisis, according to state law. .
Matt Coleman said that if police followed their protocol, “it’s clear that protocol needs to change.”
The Council did not address the crowd as the comments were made during the Other Comments portion of the meeting.
