Another Pathetic Situation For A Mentally Ill Person.

A social worker contacted the police about a “gravely disabled” mentally ill woman he wanted transported to a mental health facility. The woman reacted violently when police entered her home. She grabbed a knife, threatened to kill the officers and told them she did not want to go to a mental health facility. Officers shot her five or six times, and she survived to bring a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The federal trial court granted summary judgment. The Ninth Circuit, finding the officers were initially justified in entering the woman’s home, concluded there were questions of fact regarding reasonableness and excessive force, vacated summary judgment and remanded. (Sheehan v. City and County of San Francisco (Ninth Cir.; February 21, 2014) 743 F.3d 1211.)