LLG Coast to Coast for NAACP - Day 4
The team put in a big day of miles on Saturday as we move from St. Louis to OKC, with another 582 miles. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our NAACP Legal Defense Funs fundraiser, we are almost at our goal! Will you help us get there today?
Here is our next story that we would like to share from Oklahoma City.
On February 1, 2010 Patrick Trevino, 23, was killed by the Oklahoma City police department by a gunshot wound to the head. Patrick was seeking treatment for drug addiction and other mental health problems when he mistook a physical therapy center for a hospital, and got into a fight inside that prompted authorities to be called. Once authorities arrived, an officer in training and a police recruit responded, and struggled with Patrick where he was eventually shot and killed on scene. Friends and family of Trevino stated that he wanted to get help and beat his addiction, and was looking to do so by admitting himself into a hospital.
Oklahoma City has some of the highest rates in the United States for police shootings, within a decade police had shot 78 people within city limits. In addition, the population of blacks in America are much less likely to receive treatment for mental health issues. The prevalence of mental illness is relatively similar in the black community as it is in relation to the United States as a whole, however only one in three African Americans who need medical assistance are able to receive it; and if the medical care needed is received it is shown that the persons of color in America are less likely to be offered medication or other forms of therapy. Other statistics show that African Americans in the United states with mental health issues are more likely to be incarcerated than the general population.
http://www.news9.com/story/5e350204e0c96e774b36b556/officer-shoots-kills-man-at-okc-medical-facility