Mental health exam protocols could stand tightening

Two days after a Rochester man alleged to have assaulted several men in the Hannaford parking lot was released on personal recognizance, he was charged with stealing a truck and leading Candia (NH) police on a dangerous nighttime pursuit, turning his lights off during the chase.
The man is an Iraq War veteran and family members have explained he suffers from PTSD as a result of his sacrifice for his country.
On the eve of Veterans Day there is no more fitting time to examine what may have gone wrong here and do everything possible to see it doesn’t happen again.
A day after the Hannaford parking lot incident, bail was set at $10,000 cash, with the understanding that bail could be converted to personal recognizance upon acceptance by Strafford County Community Corrections pending a mental health evaluation.
The man was accepted into the program, but two days later, found himself back on the wrong side of the law, this time in Candia.
An interview with a SCCC staffer earlier this week indicated sometimes applicants accepted into the program are set up with counseling referrals and not actually examined prior to their release.
A day later, the director of SCCC, Carrie Lover, sought to clarify what had taken place, insisting that anytime a mental health evaluation is ordered by the court, it does take place prior to release without exception. She noted, however, that sometimes, that evaluation may be administered by a mental health or substance abuse counselor, or even a registered nurse, and not by the agency’s psychiatrist, who works on a per diem basis, normally visiting the center once a week to provide patient services.
We are not interested in casting blame or seeking to vilify an individual or the system.
What we would suggest is that anytime someone is arrested for a violent felony-level crime, they deserve, and the public deserves, to have a mental health professional of the highest order – a clinical psychiatrist – administer the exam.
We shudder to think what could have happened in Candia last month. We think the mental health providers at SCCC are probably sighing with relief as well.
The suspect, who is also a PTSD victim in this case, who suffered greatly and still suffers greatly for his service to this country, deserves better, too.

- HT