John is a disability pensioner from Melbourne who has mental illness. His psychologist was worried about his deteriorating mental health and asked to check on him in September 2017. What happened next, in my opinion, was disturbing, sad, disgraceful and an indictment on the police force. Nothing short of appalling.
John was brutally attacked by officers. He was taunted, humiliated and seriously injured, all under the auspices of the Mental Health Act. Police are empowered by this legislation to use force to take to hospital a person who appears to have a mental illness in order to keep them or others safe.
I watched what actually happened to John on the news this morning and it left me shocked and horrified. What if that was my daughter needing help, needing care, needing support and that was her lying on the ground? I cried. I had to work hard to shake off the numbness I felt.
Now I'm angry and moved to action. I'll be writing to my local MPs today. But I know it's not enough. Does anybody know how we support the "John's" of this world? Is John's story unusual? Has anything like this ever happened to someone you love? Or is it just unusual that his assault was all caught on film and has now been picked up by the media? Does anyone else feel as powerless and sad as I do?
