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 Official and unofficial accounts of the hundreds of Americans killed
yearly in encounters with police show that at least a quarter of
those slain are severely mentally ill, the report by the nonprofit
Treatment Advocacy Center said.
"At this rate, the risk of being killed during a police incident is
16 times greater for individuals with untreated mental illness than
for other civilians approached or stopped by officers," it said.
The study estimated that just under 4 percent of American adults
were severely mentally ill but generated 10 percent of calls for
police service. They occupy at least one in five prison and jail
beds, it said.
The study comes during a U.S. debate on the use of deadly force by
police, fueled by the deaths of unarmed men in New York, Missouri,
South Carolina and elsewhere.
The Treatment Advocacy Center based its estimate on data gathered by
media organizations, nonprofits and bloggers. It said the data
pointed to an annual average of about 1,000 people a year killed in
officer-related shootings.
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A Washington Post database reports that 917 people have been fatally
shot by police this year.
There are no reliable U.S. government numbers on officer-related
killings. In response to criticism over the lack of information, the
FBI is setting up a database on police killings.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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