Current:Home > BackMaine shooting exposes gaps in mental health treatment and communication practices-LoTradeCoin
Maine shooting exposes gaps in mental health treatment and communication practices
View Date:2025-01-11 09:28:18
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An Army health expert told a panel investigating a mass shooting by a reservist who was experiencing a psychiatric breakdown that there are limitations in health care coverage for reservists compared to full-time soldiers.
There are no Army hospitals in New England and reservists generally don’t qualify for care through Veterans Administration hospitals, so they’re likely to utilize private health care — but such providers are barred from sharing information with the Army command structure, said Col. Mark Ochoa, command surgeon from the U.S. Army Reserve Command, which oversees the Psychological Health Program.
Gaps in communication could leave the commander who bears ultimate responsibility for the safety and well-being of soldiers without a full picture of their overall health, his testimony suggested.
Ochoa couldn’t speak to the specifics of the 40-year-old gunman, Robert Card, who killed 18 people and injured 13 others in October in Lewiston, but he gave an overview of services available to soldiers and their families in a crisis.
While there are extensive services available, the Psychological Health Program cannot mandate that a reservist get treatment — only a commander can do that — and Ochoa noted that there can be communication breakdowns. He also acknowledged that soldiers are sometimes reluctant to seek treatment for fear that a record of mental health treatment will hurt their careers.
“Hopefully we’ve demonstrated to the public and to ourselves that this is a complicated and complex process,” Daniel Wathen, the commission’s chair and a former chief justice for the state, said when the session concluded.
The independent commission established by the governor is investigating facts surrounding the shooting at a bowling alley and at a bar and grill. Card’s body was found two days after the shooting. An autopsy concluded he died by suicide.
The gunman’s family and fellow Army reservists told police Card was suffering from growing paranoia in the months leading up to the shooting. He was hospitalized during a psychiatric breakdown at a military training last summer in upstate New York. One reservist, Sean Hodgson, told superiors in September, a few weeks before the attacks: “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting.”
In the aftermath, the state Legislature passed new gun laws that bolstered Maine’s “yellow flag” law, which criminalized the transfer of guns to people prohibited from ownership, and expanded funding for mental health crisis care.
The commission intends to release its final report this summer.
In a preliminary report, the panel was critical of the police handling of removal of Card’s weapons. It faulted police for giving Card’s family the responsibility to take away his weapons — concluding police should have handled the matter — and said police had authority under the yellow flag law to take him into protective custody.
Mental health experts have said most people with mental illness are not violent, they are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators, and access to firearms is a big part of the problem.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- 'Gladiator 2' review: Yes, we are entertained again by outrageous sequel
- Thousands of Starbucks workers go on a one-day strike on one of chain's busiest days
- Nevada to pay $340,000 in settlement over prison firefighting conditions
- NFL Week 11 picks: Eagles or Chiefs in Super Bowl 57 rematch?
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul press conference highlights: 'Problem Child' goads 'Iron Mike'
- New York judge lifts gag order that barred Donald Trump from maligning court staff in fraud trial
- California authorities arrest man in death of Jewish demonstrator
- Dog who survived 72 days in mountains after owner’s death is regaining weight and back on hiking trails
- A pair of Trump officials have defended family separation and ramped-up deportations
- Mauricio Umansky Slams BS Speculation About Where He and Kyle Richards Stand Amid Separation
Ranking
- Bowl projections: SEC teams joins College Football Playoff field
- Kaitlin Armstrong found guilty in shooting death of pro cyclist Anna Mo Wilson
- 2 environmentalists who were targeted by a hacking network say the public is the real victim
- Why is the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix so late? That and all your burning questions, explained
- Opinion: Chris Wallace leaves CNN to go 'where the action' is. Why it matters
- Texas man arrested in killings of aunt and her mother, sexual assault of his cousin, authorities say
- California family sues sheriff’s office after deputy kidnapped girl, killed her mother, grandparents
- AP PHOTOS: Beef’s more than a way of life in Texas. It drives the economy and brings people together
Recommendation
-
QTM Community Introduce
-
Why Mariah Carey Doesn’t Have a Driver’s License
-
Leonid meteor showers peak this week. Here's where they'll be visible and how to see them.
-
California family sues sheriff’s office after deputy kidnapped girl, killed her mother, grandparents
-
Joan says 'Yes!' to 'Golden Bachelorette' finale fantasy beach proposal. Who did she pick?
-
Boston public transit says $24.5 billion needed for repairs
-
'Pivotal milestone': Astronomers find clouds made of sand on distant planet
-
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Daughter Zahara Joins Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at Spelman College