Investigations
A West Side Story: How to Traumatize a Community
For residents of Police Beat 1122 on Chicago’s West Side – and for all who watched on TV or social media – the killing of Dexter Reed last month after he was stopped for an alleged seatbelt violation was a vivid reminder: Such violence could happen to them at any time.
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Hidden Deaths in San Francisco: Overdoses Among Mayan Immigrants Highlight Urgent Need for Culturally Competent Services
For generations, indigenous Mayans from Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula have been immigrating to San Francisco. Although there has never been an official count, estimates suggest that as many as 70,000 live in the area. Since many speak indigenous Mayan languages, not Spanish, they may be unaware of services or the dangers of fentanyl.
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Michael Johnson Spent 3 Years in Solitary and Was About to Give Up on Life. Then He Got a Letter from his Daughter
He took his case, arguing that extended solitary confinement was cruel and unusual, all the way to the Supreme Court – and lost. Today he’s out of prison working to rebuild his life.
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VA Bureaucracy has Undermined the Vet Centers, Damaging a Peer Counseling Jewel, Investigation Finds
In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, veteran activists, dissatisfied by the services and stigma at Veterans Administration facilities, pushed for the creation of community-based programs. The result – the Vet Centers – have been enormously popular and successful. Now that success is under threat.
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In Puerto Rico, Calling 911 in a Mental Health Crisis Can Get You Tased
When police use force in the San Juan and Arecibo regions of Puerto Rico, about a quarter of the time they use it against people suffering a mental health crisis, according to an analysis by the Center for Investigative Journalism. In more than half of these cases, officers discharged their Tasers, which can cause serious harm.
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The Last Days of Little Eddie
The banging and groans from the cell above had been going on for days. Kory McClary didn’t know the name of the man, but his distress was unmistakable. McClary heard him banging on his toilet and his bunk for days with only small breaks in between. He heard him battling guards who entered the cell. He heard him screaming…
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California Prisons Fail to Uphold Transgender Rights Despite State Law
A 2020 California law aimed to make prison safer for transgender people. But for many trans women, abuse and harassment inside has continued to harm their mental health.
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911 Call-Takers Are Demoralized, Overwhelmed and Dealing With Their Own Mental Health Woes
Inadequate training on mental health crises, poor working conditions and a crazy quilt of dispatch codes from city to city puts both dispatchers and callers in crisis at risk.
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Deadly Consequences: When Police Response to Mental Health Calls in New Hampshire Proves Fatal
More than 60% of people shot and killed by New Hampshire police over the last decade had a mental illness, according to ‘Shots Fired,’ a Concord Monitor analysis published in 2021. Two years later, little has changed. Of the eight people shot and killed by police in New Hampshire since the analysis was published, five had a history of…
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