Despondent psychiatric nurse slain by Napa police

[Liberal_in_LA]

Comment after article: note to self: If I get despondent do not call the Napa police

Despondent psychiatric nurse slain by Napa police
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

San Francisco Chronicle November 29, 2010 08:52

(11-29) 08:52 PST NAPA -- A despondent Napa man was shot and killed by police during a confrontation outside his home Sunday, authorities said.

The man, whom neighbors identified as Richard Poccia, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot outside his home on the 1400 block of Meek Avenue at about 3:15 p.m.

Poccia was a psychiatric nurse who worked at hospitals throughout the Bay Area, including San Francisco General Hospital, said a neighbor and friend, Prentice Steffen, 50. Poccia had been on disability for several months after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, which resulted from job-related problems, Steffen said.

Poccia's wife called Steffen for help before the police confrontation because her husband was depressed. A family friend whose husband is a Napa police officer notified the department that Poccia might be suicidal.

Officers reached Poccia by phone and asked him to come outside his home, police said.

Poccia began talking with the officers, but a confrontation ensued during which officers shot him with a Taser shock weapon and a gun, authorities said.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/29/BA2C1GIUJF.DTL#ixzz16ho4NnMl

[Swamp Rat]

1. 21 Century America: Death by Taser

Innocence proven postmortem

[tblue37]

13. He was also shot with a bullet. I doubt the Taser shot was the one responsible for his death. nt

[patrice]

2. WWWTTTTTFFFFFF!!!!!!!

[get the red out]

3. Are they supposed to help suicidal people succeed?

I wouldn't think that would be the objective?

[kestrel91316]

4. Napa PD: "Despondent? Depressed? WE can help you with that."

[malaise]

14. We'll stop you being suicidal

We'll kill you. :cry:

[Raschel]

5. It seems these days that any sign of non-compliance is followed by taser or gun use.

We have a family member with a mental illness. We do not call police when they have a problem.

[1monster]

6. The family of the slain man did not call the police. A "friend of the family" whose

husband is a police officer called it in and said he might be suicidal.

The article also noted that the police officers called the victim on his phone and convinced him to come outside. (Same M.O. as the Boston professor who was then arrested for being in his own home.)

Moral of story: If asked by a police officer to come outside (of your own home, politely refuse. If they want to arrest you, tell them to get a warrant.

[EFerrari]

9. I'd say the moral is, do not call the police to deal with a depressed person. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. not in Los Angeles.

[EFerrari]

12. Out of the dozen or so "mental health calls" I was involved with

in San Francisco, one of them went well and involved a PD psychologist. So, not in San Francisco, either.

[1monster]

17. His wife and his family did NOT call the police. It was a "family friend" whose husband

is a police officer who called the police.

Some family friend.

Maybe the moral is don't have "family friends" who are related in any way to the police.

[EFerrari]

18. Right, the family didn't but someone did.

The PD aren't shrinks. They are the front line in the battle with mental illness in this country but most of them have zero training although inroads were slowly being made in this area. I still think, do not call the police to deal with mental health issues unless someone's life really is immediately at risk and you're willing to have someone shot.

I didn't mean to blame the family in any way. There but for the grace of god, seriously.

[Raschel]

10. Great points andt hanks. I didn't mean it as an indictment on the family.

I've read so many stories on the mentally ill being shot by police. Here in Minnesota they killed a juvenile in his home. (several years back).

(I should read the articles thoroughly and slowly)

:hi:

[enough]

7. Very sound policy, sadly. (nt)

[timtom]

8. Thank God the police rescued him from suicide

by murdering him.

Poccia will be in paradise today (because he didn't take his own life).

The cop(s) that murdered him?...not so much...

[tblue37]

15. Several years ago here in Lawrence, Kansas, a Native American man named

Greg Sevier was shot to death by police because his parents, fearing he might commit suicide, called the cops to help. Sevier was sitting on his bed with a knife, with his door closed. The cops kicked in his door and then shot him several times, because he had a knife!

Google "Greg Sevier" for the whole ugly story.

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. similar stuff happens in los angeles.

[political_Dem]

16. This succinctly demonstrates America's attitude towards mental illness in this country.

The suicidal nurse was treated like collateral damage to the cops. They were only there to "neutralize" a threat and they did so with sickening precision. No compassion or understanding for the nurse's dire straits was necessary.