William Greene, a Harlem man with a history of mental disease — in this case, schizophrenia — was arrested for gun possession after relatives reported him to police. The NYPD says they found a small arms, including an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle.
William Greene is another mentally ill person who was potentially a deadly weapon. His family should be commended for reporting him to authorities. But law enforcement, judicial system, and correctional institutions are inappropriate treatment settings for the mentally ill.
I urge Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr and the criminal court to go beyond a mental health assessment and invoke Kendra’s Law so they may involuntarily commit Mr. Greene to long term inpatient mental health treatment.
The Daily News reported:
A former Wall Street analyst threatened to go on a killing spree in Harlem, but was busted with an arsenal of weapons after a family member called cops, sources said.
William Greene, 35, could have done a lot of damage with the collection of guns he kept inside the stately brownstone at 137th Street where he lived — including an AR-15 assault rifle, which is the same gun used in last July’s Colorado theater shooting.
Cops went to the home at 6:45 p.m. Friday after the tip from Greene’s kin. He soon admitted to having the guns and ammo in his possession.
It was a sad turn of events for the fallen financial guru, who suffers from schizophrenia, a relative said.
“He’s been going downhill. Family members were planning to intervene, but it just didn’t happen in time,” said a relative. “It’s a very sad situation. He was a brilliant, lost soul.”
Read more: Cops bust man with weapons cache in Harlem – NYPOST.com.
If you also believe DA Vance should invoke Kendra’s Law, please contact his office at 212-335-9000.
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Thanks for the gift of the link to Kendra’s Law. I do not sit in that court now but I conceivably could be assigned there b/c Kendra Law matters are heard by sitting District Court Judges (Acting County Court). In any event, any insight into the numerous possible areas of dispositions is where I now live professionally.
In the misdemeanor matters that come before me there are often drug or alcohol related charges and often a plea results in probation which requires treatment with drug and alcohol conditions. The probationers who violate and are no longer candidates for community based supervision are often offered the facility we have in Suffolk that gives credit for sentence time but is a rehabilitation center where they remain in custody and, hopefully, get treatment that will keep them off of the thing(s) that got them there.
No guarantee but better than the general population for the ones who are willing to work at recovery. I have been blessed to know some who have been greatly helped and disappointed by some who relapsed immediately. Thanks, again.
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