This week Burlington police officers shot and killed a mentally ill man standing in his shower in his apartment with knives in each hand.
The 76-year-old Ralph Grenon opened his door to officers called to the scene by concerned neighbors and mental health advocates with knives in his hands. The police, by all reports, tried very hard to negotiate with Grenon, about five hours in all.
They tried other methods before using deadly force; they tried a Taser, pepper spray bombs and tactical protective gear. When they went into the bathroom after the pepper spray bombs and pulled back the shower curtain again, they said that the slight 76-year-old man “advanced toward officers” and one pulled the trigger.
Leave aside the issue of the use of deadly force and the question of whether a half dozen armed law enforcement officers with shields and other protective gear could subdue one elderly man with knives and the question of whether the mentally ill man succeeded in committing suicide by police officer, and ask how we failed Mr. Grenon.
Mental illness is often treatable and while there were many good Vermont and Burlington organizations trying to get him the help he needed, it wasn’t enough.
In a written statement, Niki Grenon Carpenter, Grenon's daughter, wrote, "My father was not the sum total of his mental illness or tragic death.” Her father was a veteran.
Mental illness should not be a death sentence.
In November 2013, Burlington police shot and killed a mentally ill man wielding a shovel. In that instance, the man’s mother called the police because he was agitated and destroying property. Police arrived and within two minutes shot 29-year-old Wayne Brunette.
It was not the first time police had been to Brunette’s home. Police had been there twice before without any escalation to violence, including a time when Brunette came out with a baseball bat and refused to put it down even after an officer raised his gun. Brunette was subdued and admitted to a mental hospital. How did we fail Brunette in 2013 after getting it right twice before? What made the officer determine that deadly force was called for in this instance?
Our failure to provide adequate treatment for those suffering from mental illness is a public health failure and a crisis. As state and federal funds for mental health care are squeezed and budgets are cut, the squeaky wheel gets the grease while those unable to advocate for themselves don’t fare so well.
