Excerpt from: The Vancouver Sun (click for full article)
“I think the process was followed where the individual was arrested for failing to identify himself, or obstruction. Certainly on the surface, our officers aren’t in a position to make an assessment whether they are dealing with someone with a mental illness in the first instance. Then through that process, as a result of coming before the courts, it then became clear as to what may be impacting his behaviour, thus the next steps were taken for an assessment to be done, which is the way the process should work.”
Immediate help can be offered to people when they are arrested by police under the Mental Health Act, “but that wasn’t the case here,” Thiessen said.
“If we had initiated an arrest under the Mental Health Act, then different mechanisms would come into play,” he added.
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