@pintohoo; I've a nephew with a life-threatening bipolar condition who has nightmares of being shot dead by Police when he experiences one of his manic episodes.
To his credit he's made himself and his situation very well known to local police but when push comes to shove he still cops very rough justice via a court system that's close to clueless - stripping him of the driver's licence he needed for his work after convicting him of dangerous bike riding at 3:00am.
His parents have stood closely by him and fund the best medical care available - he stays in a psychiatric unit for up to three months at a time.
He's now able to sense an oncoming episode and rings me, another brother and his parents while locking his doors and hiding his keys until we tunr up.
I'd love to think that everyone suffering mental illnesses has access to support, professional help and police trained to manage them without resort to fatal interventions. That's not what's reported via our evening news services.
