Man with schizophrenia killed by Walnut Creek police was failed by many, experts say
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- Walnut Creek police confirm that a man was shot and killed by an officer early Thursday morning.
Police were called to the area near Alvarado and Buena Vista Avenues, which is just north of downtown Walnut Creek and west of I-680.
They were called on a report of a man looking into homes and parked cars with a flashlight. When officers arrived, they saw the man who appeared to have a gun, which was later determined to be a pellet gun.
After he refused to drop the weapon, he was shot by an officer and died at the scene.
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ABC7 Eyewitness News spoke to Annie, the mother of the man who was killed, identifying him as Anthony.
She says her son turned 46 in January and had been struggling with schizophrenia for years.
"My son probably was symptomatic in fifth grade," Annie said. "He was tentatively diagnosed when he was 17, when he had his first psychotic break and was hospitalized, but they wouldn't officially diagnose him until he turned 18."
Annie said she had to take out a restraining order against her son because of the issues he was facing, but it wasn't always like this.
She said for about 15 years, things were going well, and he was living a relatively normal life. But in January of last year, she started to suspect that he had stopped taking his medication.
"He would fight the medication time after time after time when he would go off it and become symptomatic," Annie said. "And by the time he got in the hospital and they forced him to take medications, he would clear up enough that he would say, 'My God, Mom, thank you for making me take the medications.'"
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Annie said authorities came to her door at around 5 a.m. Thursday morning to tell her the news.
She said she believes her son was on his way to her house as he often would when he was off of his medication.
"I'm having a heavy heart because I have spent so many years advocating to prevent something like this, and it happens to my own son," she said.
Her advocacy work included time on the Contra Costa County Mental Health Commission, advocating for people like her son.
She said she has long pushed for legislation that would have seen her son forced to take medication and local crisis teams that would respond to mental health calls.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's squarely on the shoulders of the administrators from Contra Costa County. I'm not blaming the Walnut Creek police," she said.
Lisa Hill is a professor of criminal justice at Cal State East Bay.
She says more early intervention is needed.
"We are starting to use jails as a depository for people with mental health issues," said Hill.
Hill says while most law enforcement have some form of training to deal with people suffering from mental illnesses, their primary job is to protect the community.
"When they come across a person that is presenting dangerously- ultimately they may find out this is a mental health issue, but that's after the fact," said Hill.
Many mental health specialists say both local and federal governments have failed in properly treating people with mental illness.
Gigi Crowder is the CEO of Contra Costa County's chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, who knows both Annie and her son.
She says county officials have failed to implement legislation like SB43 - which expands involuntary treatment and conservatorship options for families of those dealing with mental health issues.
"It allows for a person to be hospitalized when they're a danger to themselves, others or gravely disabled," said Crowder.
In 2019, Walnut Creek police fatally shot 23-year-old Miles Hall, who was experiencing a mental health crisis near his home.
According to authorities, one officer used a beanbag shotgun to subdue Hall, who was armed with a garden tool. Then Officers KC Hsiao and Melissa Murphy fired their weapons, killing him before a police mental health expert arrived in the quiet Walnut Creek neighborhood.
Ultimately, in 2021, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office concluded there was insufficient evidence to charge Officers Hsiao and Murphy for fatally shooting Hall.
At the time, Scott Alonso, spokesperson for the Contra Costa DA's office, said, "They had nonlethal options to use, they deployed that and ultimately they had to use lethal force because of the officers' self-defense and the danger to neighbors in the community."
The shooting prompted Walnut Creek to pay a $4 million settlement to the Hall family and establish a series of listening sessions to discuss policing and public safety, Walnut Creek's racial climate, and mental health issues.
Hall's mother spoke after the 2021 ruling, saying, "For us, it's tragic there are no consequences for these officers, but it's not surprising."
