Almost every day across the United States, there is a news story about someone who has taken his or her life or the life of another. On many occasions, it is determined that the person had some form of mental illness. It also has been reported that half of all those killed during encounters with the police every year in the United States have mental illnesses.

In 2013, Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds’s son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and became delusional. Fearing that he would commit suicide, people contacted the police and an emergency custody order was issued. Because of the lack of open bed space in the region, Senator Deeds’s son was not placed in a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. Rather, he was sent home, where he later stabbed his father and then took his own life.