New Hazelton RCMP Struggle With Suicidal Male
By 250 News
New Hazelton, B.C. - RCMP officers from New Hazelton facilitated a joint meeting with authorities from Northern Health and Northern Mental Health yesterday to determine a proper community contingency plan to assist a 28-year-old man in that community, after a weekend that involved several police encounters with the suicidal individual.
Police officers had three seperate encounters with the distraught man between Friday, July 16th and Monday, July 19th.
In the first incident, RCMP were called to the Hagwilet Bridge near New Hazelton to find the male threatening suicide. In a news release, Sergeant Hector Lee says officers engaged the man in conversation for several hours, after which he agreed to be accompanied by a local mental health worker to Wrinch Memorial Hospital for assessment.
Lee says the man was released from the hospital's care following a medical assessment.
The following evening, officers found the same man on the bridge, once again distraught and threatening to jump. RCMP say the bridge was closed for approximately five hours until negotiators from the local community, family members and police were able to convince the man to go to the hospital for a second evaluation.
Sergeant Lee says police became aware of the man's release from care on Monday when officers were called to a domestic disturbance in New Hazelton. The same male from the previous incidents was arrested for breaching an undertaking to have no contact with a female in the residence.
Police say the man threatened to harm himself while being transported in police custody and was immediately taken to Wrinch Memorial Hospital for a mental health assesment.
The male was cleared and released by medical staff and police custody by way of a promise to appear in Smithers Provincial Court on September 17th. Following yesterday's joint meeting, a community plan is in place to deal with the individual.
The New Hazelton RCMP are thanking several community groups that assisted during "these stressful incidents", including: the Hagwilet, New Hazelton and Gitanmaax Fire Departments, Search and Rescue, the Gitanmaax Chief and Council, F.A.S.T., Gitsxan Health, Smithers and Terrace RCMP and other community members who supplied water and support during the second incident on July 17th.
For those looking for more information on mental health services available in our region, Northern Health's Mental Health and Addiction's webpage provides a number of links. Also, the Here to Help website is operated by BC Partners, a partnership of a number of Mental Health Societies in B.C..
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Posted by: Chester on July 21 2010 7:08 PM
Shame on the assessment people at the hospital for doing absolutely nothing to help him. There is absolutely no reason why they should have released him the second time. I think some one in the system needs to get suspended with no pay.
What would happen if on the second time he was released with in 48 hrs went postal.
The man obviously wanted help when he agreed to go into the hospital. What did the mental health do, absolutely nothing just wanted to push him through and out the door.