Poor care for mentally ill Freddy Centeno caused police shooting

Well it’s finally happened and who cares? Freddy Centeno was shot by Fresno Police Department and neither are to be blamed. Why? Because it’s the fault of government. I blame the Republicans and most of all Ronald Reagan.

Remember when Gov. Reagan closed the state mental hospitals, and left the problem to the counties and they left it to the cities? Gov. Reagan said, “They don’t vote, so we don’t need to help them!” Then a law was passed that people cannot be helped unless they request it.

The police officer’s job is hard enough dealing with criminals but then to deal with a mentally ill person just isn’t fair. They are not equipped to handle that situation. When the Centeno family asked for help, that should have been the “red flag,” but due to not enough support, this tragedy took place.

Unless you have to deal with mental illness on a daily basis, you ignore it or pretend it doesn’t exist. It does exist and it needs to be addressed. Take this matter to the courts, not for the monies that will surely come from this matter, but for the care of the mentally ill.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 6:54 AM with the headline "Poor care for mentally ill Freddy Centeno caused police shooting."