Anthony Heffernan, a 27-year-old recovering from a drug addiction, was shot by police four times – including three shots to the head and neck – after officers were called to a Calgary motel on March 16, 2015.
“What we wanted out of this whole thing is for it not to be happening to other people. We were naive thinking this was something that rarely happened.” “If there was a larger core of clinical social workers, maybe a psychiatrist or two, that would help as well.” Acting Staff Sgt. Rick Semenuik said the service has added a second mental-health professional to pair with officers.“They had a relationship with the person and they talked to them and there was never any force used. It was done peacefully every time.”
“They’re frequently coming in contact with police officers because they’re falling through the cracks. They’re not getting the support they need further up the line.”
They claim to have a service with a nurse or social workers attends calls with the police …it seems to be imaginary ….I was told once when my daughter was in crisis these teams are only available certain hours of the day. And what hours would those be? Crises can only happen th
More police forces need to form police officer-mental health/addiction therapist teams. The non-police member of the team should come from the local health system, which would help in continuity when follow-on medical/mental health service is provided.