Re: “With mental illness, police are in a no-win situation,” Jan. 8 letter to the editor.
The Denver Post ran an excellent article talking about the complexity of mental health holds and the lack of services, and in response a letter-writer blamed the ACLU, writing: “If [the police] detain someone for mental health issues, the ACLU will sue them and their cities.”
I volunteered at the ACLU for several years in the 1990s. With regard to mental health holds, the ACLU wants due process observed.
It is not illegal to be mentally ill. The government can’t just accept anyone’s word that someone else is mentally ill and lock them up. That may work fine for some governments to take care of political enemies, but we are supposed to be above that.
When is someone a danger to themselves or others? That is a tricky question that getting rid of the ACLU will not solve.
Peter Gross, Denver
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