"Killed in crisis: How North Texas cities have failed people in mental distress "

INVESTIGATIVE CATEGORY

Fort Worth Star-Telegram
11/21/2021

In the wake of several police shootings in Dallas-Fort Worth reporter Nichole Manna decided to put together a database of officers’ use of deadly force.

She soon noticed that a large number of people killed by police were in mental distress at the time of their encounter with officers.

So she filed 80 record requests with North Texas police departments, seeking the 911 call sheets and incident reports for police killings since 2014. She also requested records from the Attorney General’s Office for its data on police shootings in the 11 Dallas-Fort Worth counties.

In all, Nichole reviewed 1,661 pages of police reports and viewed more than three hours of police body camera video received through 105 records requests.

In 150 police killings, Nichole found at least one in three cases in which mental health was a factor.

Her work pursuing and compiling this data exposed a shortcoming in DFW police departments: That police are being used as front-line emergency mental health providers even though they lack specialized training — oftentimes with deadly results.

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Submitted by Tom Johanningmeier.