If a family member or someone else is making you feel unsafe, never hesitate to contact authorities. That’s the message from the Gainesville Police Department’s Chief of Police Jay Parrish, who spoke on WDUN’s The Martha Zoller Show in light of the fatal July 4 Highland Park shooting in Illinois.
Parrish said the Gainesville Police Department has handled several mental-health related calls where the individual was a threat to themself or others. To safely manage these high-pressure situations with individuals, who are often armed, Parrish stressed the need for information about their mental health conditions.
“We get family members calling [and] saying, ‘This person is depressed, they're down, they have access to these weapons, they've actually threatened suicide…,” Parrish said. “And so we have those. In those situations, I worry about, obviously, them committing suicide or even forcing suicide by cop and putting our officers in those situations.”
It can be difficult to call the police on a friend or family member, but Parrish said it is always the right thing to do. An anonymous phone call can ensure the individual’s, the family’s and ultimately the public’s safety.
“Get involved, don't be scared to call us,” Parrish said. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of pain. We have mental health clinicians that can help get involved, we have federal resources.”
He emphasized that Gainesville Police Department does not execute search warrants for mental-health related calls, but if the department can notify its federal partners if the individual is deemed a threat.
These federal partners can prevent the individual in question from obtaining a weapon of mass destruction.
Parrish suggested families call the Gainesville Police Department’s non-emergency line (770-534-5251) if they are concerned about a family member.
Changes in behavior are often an indication that something may be wrong. Pre-indicators can be potentially lifesaving, and Parrish used the Highland Park shooting as an example.
“As we saw in Illinois, we've seen a lot of these, there were pre indicators that were missed or underreported,” Parrish said. “And we just got to figure out how to close the loops in those in that system.”
Listen to the full interview by clicking the Soundcloud link above.
