Police Forced the Hand of Musical Director
Re “Mental Illness Plagued Church Musical Director,” Dec. 18:
In my opinion the police completely mishandled the situation by storming Johnnie Carl’s office, forcing him to seek the shelter of his bathroom, where he felt trapped and saw no way out other than to take his life.
As one who shares the battle against the black demon of depression, I know the pressure that Carl was feeling and how hopeless things looked. The police should have waited him out, regardless of how long it took.
Police Lt. William Handfield’s statement that “we really think that if we had waited, it would have been the same result” makes me sick.
We’ll never know now, will we, what the outcome would have been had the police not forced Carl’s hand.
It appalls me to no end that the SWAT team was called out to handle this situation when a mental health professional was necessary.
Allen P. Wilkinson
Whittier
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