A Minor Disturbance (Warning -- No mention of Katie Couric in this post!)

[MiaCulpa]

I thought this was an important story that isn't getting nearly enough attention with all the fuss over ABC's bs movie today.

We don't often hear the story behind media reports of a disturbance at an airport,or even on a plane. One of the most memorable reports that did come to light was in December of 2005, when a man who lived with bi-polar disorder was shot by federal air marshalls on a boarding bridge at the Miami airport when they claim the man told passengers he had a bomb in his packpack. There was no bomb, and other accounts recalled his wife -- travelling with him -- screaming from behind to agents that he was ill and needed medication as he was shot dead.

With approximately 57.7 million Americans living with some form of mental illness -- including 5.7 million with bi-polar disorder alone, one would think public service workers would become well adept at handling crisis situations with that large group of people. But, not yet:

Hour after hour, Christina Eilman threw herself at the bars of her cell, shrieking threats one moment and begging for help the next.

Even the women in adjoining cells, many of whom were used to the chaos of lockup, called out to guards on Eilman's behalf.


"I heard that girl screaming for her life, 'Take me to the hospital! Call my parents!' " Tamalika Harris, 26, said in an interview. "The way she was screaming and kicking on the bars, I knew something was wrong."


Continue reading: http://miaculpa.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_miaculpa_archive.html#115746218250694460

[rpannier]

1. It's tragic

I would think it would serve society if airports, train stations, airlines etc provided some sort of comprehensive training for their employees to help prevent these kinds of tragedies.
In fairness to the marshalls, the media fueled paranoia surrounding travel makes their job difficult. If they don't shoot they're crucified by sub-terranian dwelling troglodytes like fauxs john gibson. If they do shoot, their motives, competacy and humanity are questioned.