SPEAK OUT AGAINST DEFAMATORY MEDIA COVERAGE AND PROPOSALS TO EXPAND FORCED OUTPATIENT TREATMENT!
Over the years, NYC tabloids have capitalized on rare, violent tragedies involving people with psychiatric diagnoses and NYC policemen with sensationalized stories meant to sell papers that are filled with defamatory language about ‘dangerous wackos’, ‘violent deranged’ and ‘we never should have let them out of the hospitals.’
In recent weeks, several such tragedies have occurred:
- On April 3rd, 4 NYPD officers “crisis response” resulted in their physically restraining a troubled Queens woman, Sheresse Francis, who subsequently died of an apparent heart attack. The police report said that she died on arrival to the hospital but emergency room officials found that she had been dead for 90 minutes, leading Sheresse’s family to sue NYPD to release their records about what transpired that tragic day.
- On April 8th, Bennedy Abreu of the Bronx stabbed NYPD officer William Fair in the jaw, nose and lip.
- On April 17th, “deranged muscle-bound menace” Terrence Hale stabbed Office Eden Loor in the skull.
These are terrible tragedies that demand strong and smart action including improved outreach services and specialized trained police CIT units, not more defamatory language and calls for more forced treatment, as has been called for in the Daily News.
But advocates for expanding the reach of Kendra’s Law’s forced outpatient treatment program are piling on the pressure on Assembly Mental Health Committee Chairman Felix Ortiz to push through a twice-rejected proposal through his committee and house. Ortiz has resisted such pressure in the past, wisely preferring to back new strong state proposals to boost outreach and engagement measures and close the cracks in our system.
Please show Assemblyman Ortiz your gratitude and support and urge him to ‘stay strong’ and resist the pressure to bow to sensationalism, discrimination and unproven false alternatives to true system fixes!
Please call Felix today at either his District Office at 718-492-6334 or his Albany Office at 518-455-3821
and leave the following message:
“I’m a registered voter from (your locality) calling to support Assemblyman’s Ortiz’ courage in resisting calls to expand Kendra’s Law and to instead look for true system fixes”
THANK YOU!