Timothy Stahl, age 36, stands before Judge Michael Mulcahy
While the Amherst Police Department is winning the war on youthful rowdy behavior with noise/nuisance tickets down dramatically from last year, one area of peace keeping is not so successful: dealing with the homeless, or drug/alcohol impaired individuals with mental health problems ("62 issues" in police code).
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APD Chief Livingstone told the Finance Committee last week that one of the two new officers will be assigned to downtown patrol at the urging of the Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement District.
And his department has put in for a behavioral mental health grant to try to get these frequent offenders off the streets and into treatment.
Currently individuals like Mr. Stahl are arrested (tying up an officer or two), transported to the Northampton House of Correction, then transported to Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, then released by a Judge with a token fine.
Only to end up back on the streets of Amherst.
8 comments:
Shinn and Gillespie (1994) argued that although substance abuse and mental illness contribute to homelessness, the primary cause is the lack of low-income housing.
Having a "wet" shelter contributes to the rise in these issues for our town. Glad to hear there will finally be more assistance to help them end the cycle.
He probably wasn't really "upset", he just switched to plan B: "No beds here, 11:30 at night, nowhere else to go and it's cold...make just enough of a disturbance to get arrested. Probably get my own cell & a hot meal in the AM."
It's a grand system we have, isn't it?
This guy is very psychotic and needs help. I've personally seen him in violent and threatening states. I don't scare easily and he is very scary
"...nowhere else to go and it's cold...make just enough of a disturbance to get arrested...."
What do you think people did before there were homeless shelters?
One would find an officer walking a beat and then put a rock through the nearest plate glass window. As the officer saw this happen, he had no choice but to arrest the person who would then get a few months in jail for the offense -- or a "hot & cot" for the winter.
I've got "62 issues" but sanity ain't one.
Wow, I see the guy in town all the time and of all the homeless people he is by far the most gentle of them all. He is never load and never appears to be high/drunk. I guess when it's midnight and your cold things happen.
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