Latest news with #mentalhealthcrisis
Associated Press
15-07-2025
- Associated Press
7 police officers put on leave after man's restraint death outside fish shop in Boston suburb
HAVERHILL, Mass. (AP) — Seven officers in the Boston suburb of Haverhill are on paid leave after a handcuffed 43-year-old man became unresponsive and died as police tried to restrain him outside a fish market. Officials are seeking video and photos from the public as they investigate the death Friday of Francis Gigliotti. who had been walking into traffic during what his fiancee called a mental health crisis. The officers were not wearing body cameras. Video captured by witnesses showed several officers holding Gigliotti face down as he cries out, although it was not clear how long he was restrained or when he became unresponsive. The U.S. Department of Justice has warned police officers since the mid-1990s to roll suspects off their stomachs as soon as they are handcuffed because of the danger of positional asphyxia. Putting someone on their stomach is not inherently life-threatening. But many policing experts agree that someone can stop breathing if pinned on their chest for too long or with too much weight because it can compress the lungs and put stress on the heart. Fiancee Michelle Rooney said he was unarmed. 'What happened to him was absolutely terrible, and my heart's broken,' she told Boston's NBC10. 'I heard Francis scream as I was running up the hill. But by the time I got there, he wasn't screaming anymore.' Other video the station obtained shows Gigliotti falling onto the sidewalk as he leaves a store, then hitting his head on a parked car and weaving into traffic. Authorities said he was nearly struck several times. In a statement posted Sunday, District Attorney Paul F. Tucker and Haverhill Police Chief Robert Pistone said responding police 'found Gigliotti behaving in an erratic and belligerent manner and called for an ambulance to assess his well-being.' Muriel Enos, Gigliotti's aunt, told WCVB that video of the police encounter horrified her. 'Seven police officers holding one (person) and watching my nephew beg for help,' she said. 'And then listening to his last cry.' Both Mayor Melinda E. Barrett and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey offered condolences to the family. Barrett promised a transparent investigation. According to Barrett, the city of Haverhill funds both a social worker who works with police on drug intervention and a behavioral health clinician who is embedded in the police department. The behavioral health unit responded to more than 800 calls last year, she said. 'As we mourn, we must also reflect on how we help those in crisis,' said Barrett, who said she hopes to build on these resources and invest in more training and equipment for police.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Yahoo
Woman killed in officer-involved shooting with Albuquerque police
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A woman was shot and killed Tuesday morning in an officer-involved shooting with the Albuquerque Police Department. Tuesday evening, APD identified the woman as Desiree Herrera. APD said the shooting happened at the Hotel Parq Central. APD Police Chief Harold Medina said around 4:30 a.m., a call came in from the hotel about a woman in a mental health crisis that they would like to be removed and trespassed from the hotel. Medina said the call was a priority two call, and placed in a cue while several other calls were holding. Chief Medina said around 5:15 a.m., the call was updated that Herrera had broken some items and armed herself with a piece of glass. Officers were sent to the hotel, and as they were en route, a security supervisor showed up at the hotel. Medina said Herrera was able to disarm the security guard and take the guard's gun. When officers arrived on scene, they observed that shots had already been fired into an SUV in the parking lot, and Herrera was waving the firearm and discharged it. Medina said officers gave Herrera commands to drop the firearm. At one point, a round was fired in the direction of officers and struck an SUV in front of them. Officers returned fire, and Herrera was killed on scene. No officers were injured. The Multi-Agency Task Force is investigating the shooting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
14-07-2025
- CBS News
Family of man fatally shot by Minneapolis police in 2022 sue city, officers involved
The family of a young man shot and killed by Minneapolis police during an hours-long standoff three years ago is suing the city and four officers involved. In the early morning hours of July 14, 2022, two police snipers, identified as Zach Seraphine and Aaron Pearson, fatally shot 20-year-old Andrew "Tekle" Sundberg, according to the lawsuit. The standoff began when police were called to his apartment around 9:30 p.m. after he fired multiple rounds inside the building. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office declined to pursue criminal charges in the shooting of Tekle Sundberg, saying the use of deadly force was justified. Tekle Sundberg's parents, Cindy and Mark, say he was having a mental health crisis when police were called on him that night. According to the lawsuit, Cindy Sundberg informed crisis negotiators that Tekle Sundberg, who was adopted from Ethiopia at age 4, had a 30-second processing delay between stimuli and responses, and he suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was 13 that exacerbated those issues. She also said he suffered from ADHD, PTSD and depression, and had a history of self-harm. The lawsuit alleges neighbors also reported to police that Tekle Sundberg had been "exhibiting bizarre behavior" leading up to the standoff. Despite this, the lawsuit says Minneapolis police did not employ a mental health crisis team or any mental health worker. Tekle Sundberg's parents told officers he did not trust police and would respond better to a Black officer, saying he "was afraid of being another Black man killed by the police," according to the lawsuit. That and a request for a Black negotiator were ignored. Multiple officers allegedly said to Tekle Sundberg's parents that they would not shoot him and "rubber bullets were the only projectiles they were going to use" on him, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit also claims one officer told Mark Sundberg he "didn't understand why people believe police would kill in situations like this one." During the standoff, Mark Sundberg says officers instructed him to text Tekle Sundberg video and audio messages and guided him on what to say, according to the lawsuit. He protested that the messages would be ineffective and only escalate him, based on his experience with his son. An officer involved estimated 250-300 phone calls, 15-30 voicemails and 50 texts were sent from crisis negotiators during the standoff, none of which Tekle Sundberg responded to, eventually sending the calls straight to voicemail. The lawsuit says, minutes before his death, Tekle Sundberg was "hanging out of his second floor apartment window speaking gibberish," as officers characterized it, and appeared to be on the phone. The lawsuit states sergeant Shawn Kelly, who was acting in a supervisory capacity during the standoff, reportedly transmitted over the police radio that Tekle Sundberg was threatening to shoot officers, a statement the Sundbergs' legal team claims is false. One of the snipers, Pearson, who was about 75 years away, announced "gun" and shot Tekle Sundberg. Seraphine, the other sniper, allegedly heard the gunshot and fired his rifle, striking Tekle Sundberg in the upper chest. He died a short time later at the hospital. The lawsuit says he fired without knowing who had fired the initial shot. Pearson and Serpaphine's actions were not those of "a reasonable officer," the lawsuit argues. "A reasonable police officer in the place of Officers Seraphine and Pearson would be aware that the likelihood of Andrew Sundberg being able to see and shoot a target while blinded by spotlights, at ranges in excess of 50 yards, one-handed, while hanging out of a window, was vanishingly small," the lawsuit states. Officers Seraphine and Pearson are being sued for violating Tekle Sundberg's Fourth Amendment rights and for wrongful death. Kelly is also being sued for Fourth Amendment violation. The City of Minneapolis, Kelly, Seraphine, Pearson, and Lt. Thomas Campbell are all being sued for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. A spokesperson for the City of Minneapolis said they do not comment on open litigation. The lawsuit cites an investigation from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights that found the City of Minneapolis and its police department engaged in a pattern of race-based discrimination. The city later agreed to a plan with the department to reform policing. The lawsuit also references a two-year Department of Justice investigation that concluded the City of Minneapolis and its police department engaged in practices that deprived residents, specifically Black and Native American residents, of their rights. Both investigations were sparked by the 2020 murder of George Floyd. In May, a federal judge ruled to dismiss a consent decree that federally mandated reforms brought on by the DOJ's investigation. However, Mayor Jacob Frey issued an executive order instructing the city to fully implement all reforms anyway. The video above originally aired on July 16, 2022.
CBS News
02-07-2025
- CBS News
Case dismissed against former Colorado law enforcement officer in death of Christian Glass
A judge has dismissed the case against the former Georgetown police marshal in the death of Christian Glass, the 22-year-old who was shot and killed by a Clear County Sheriff's Deputy after his car got stuck in Colorado's high country in 2022. Former Georgetown Marshal Randolph "Randy" Williams, who resigned last year, had faced charges of failing to intervene and third-degree assault. Williams was among eight officers charged after Glass, who was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time, was killed by former Clear Creek Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Buen. Tuesday's hearing for Williams' case was brief -- approximately 60 seconds -- and both he and his attorney attended the hearing virtually. Williams was seen on another officer's body-worn camera breaking Glass's rear driver's side window before Buen shoots Glass. Georgetown Marshal Randolph "Randy" Williams, center, is seen approaching Christian Glass's car the night Clear Creek Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Buen, left, shot and killed Glass in 2022. Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office Williams served as the marshal of Georgetown's police department, the department's top position. The department has since been dissolved, and law enforcement duties in Georgetown became absorbed by the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office in December 2024. Five other law enforcement officers who were at the scene -- two local officers and a state trooper and two state game officers, respectively -- previously had their cases dismissed. No reason was given for the dismissal against Williams and those records are now sealed, but 5th Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum and Glass's parents' attorney said after the last case was dismissed in May that the community and Glass's parents wanted to avoid another trial after Buen was convicted and sentenced. Buen, the deputy who fired his weapon, was sentenced in April to three years in prison and two years of probation after that. Former Clear Creek Sheriff's Sgt. Kyle Gould, Buen's supervisor that night, who watched the events play out remotely through a live feed of body-worn camera footage, pleaded guilty in 2023 to charges of failure to report use of force and failure to intervene. He was given a $1,000 fine and two years of unsupervised probation. A civil lawsuit filed by Glass's parents has already reached its conclusion after a $19 million settlement was reached with various municipalities and Glass's family.
CBS News
27-06-2025
- CBS News
Man dies after being restrained by Baltimore police, prompting AG investigation
A man died while in police custody in West Baltimore, prompting an investigation by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. Investigators said the man appeared to be suffering from a mental health crisis at the intersection of West Franklin Street and North Franklintown Road on Tuesday, June 24, when an officer attempted to restrain him. While in restraints and waiting for medical assistance, the AG's Office said the man became unresponsive and was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Wednesday. The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General is investigating. AG: The man went unconscious while handcuffed Investigators said the man approached a Baltimore police officer, who was stopped at a traffic light in a marked patrol vehicle. The man walked into the middle of the roadway a couple of times as the officer was speaking with him, according to the AG's Office. Investigators said the officer attempted to restrain the man for his safety, and when other officers arrived, he was placed in handcuffs and leg restraints. Moments later, at around 10:30 p.m., the man was responsive, investigators said. The Attorney General's Office said the officers were wearing body cameras and recorded the incident. Woman shot by police in West Baltimore On Wednesday, June 25, officers in West Baltimore shot and killed a 70-year-old woman who attacked them with a knife, according to Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley. The woman allegedly lunged at the officers with the knife before she was shot twice. She was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Worley said officers responded to the home on Mosher Street for a mental health crisis. He said officers attempted to take her into custody for her safety, but when she didn't comply with orders, she was tased and then shot. Worley said there have been more than 20 calls to the home this year, including for behavioral health crises. "I think this is a nationwide crisis with behavioral health crisis. Unfortunately, too many of them end up with the use of force," Worley said. "We've done an excellent job with training our officers, getting them to de-escalate these situations. Unfortunately, this one, they weren't able to de-escalate, and it ended in tragedy." Maryland's Attorney General's Office is investigating, which is the protocol for police shootings.
