St. Louis police officers shot and killed a black man who was likely suffering from mental illness. A video recently emerged of the encounter between police and Kajieme Powell.
Throughout the video, Powell’s actions are strange. He steals donuts and drinks from a store and he later places the items on the ground. He paces back and forth and continues to speak irrationally. When police arrive, he becomes louder and urges the police to shoot him. They proceed to execute him without properly evaluating the situation.
It’s apparent that Powell had mental issues. However, the St. Louis police officers, and other law enforcers around the country, aren’t equipped to handle mentally ill patients. They aren’t trained on how to spot and subdue someone who isn’t capable of making proper decisions. Instead, with guns, they are allowed to become judge, jury and executioner. The execution often occurs in black and low-income communities.
Throughout the entire Michael Brown and Powell situations, it has become evident that many local police across the nation have very few social skills on how to deal with possible suspects and citizens.
