Short Memories

A number of readers took issue with our take yesterday, that the NYC efforts to sent "mental health" people to certain calls instead of the police was a bad idea.

They seem to have forgotten this incident from earlier this year:

• A 28-year-old man was charged in connection with a shooting at an Evanston hospital on Thursday that left a security guard wounded. Christian J. Haywood, of Evanston, was charged with first-degree attempted murder, aggravated battery, and two misdemeanor counts of unlawful gun possession, according to the Evanston Police Department.

  After appearing to be experiencing a medical emergency at a Taco Bell on Sherman Avenue, Haywood was taken by paramedics to Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital on Thursday evening.

  Once inside the emergency room, police said the suspect became agitated, causing hospital security to get involved. He then allegedly lunged toward his belongings, retrieved a gun, and fired at least three rounds inside the ER shortly before 8 p.m.

  A 33-year-old female security officer was hit and had non-life-threatening injuries, police said. A 47-year-old security officer also had bite-related injuries while taking the suspect into custody, police said.

Unarmed mental health workers responded to the initial call and determined the subject needed treatment and summoned an ambulance for transport - police were not notified and (supposedly) weren't on scene. 

No one searched the subject or his bag - because why would mental health "experts" do that? 

After he got frisky at the hospital, medical personnel summoned....unarmed security guards! One of whom got shot, another of whom got bit.

Then the actual police were called, and a second gun was located in the offender's bag. 

But hey, untrained and situationally unaware mental health "experts" are the wave of the future! Maybe they can call them "observers" like those CTA rape observers.