Recent incidents here in Mesa have grabbed headlines all over the country and now all over the world.
It is unfortunate to say the least in a city wanting to create a new image when the message that is getting out appears to show a trigger-happy police force.
Readers can access the webpage for the police department on the City of Mesa website by going to this link for media relations >> http://www.mesaaz.gov/residents/police/departments-divisions/media-relations/news-releases
The MPD also publishes a blog >> mesapd.blogspot.com
There was a report on the blog from Tue 19 Jan 2016
Media Release - Officer Involved Shooting
On January 18, 2016 at approximately 9:20 p.m., Mesa Police Officers responded to 6530 E. Superstition Springs Blvd., the La Quinta Inn, for a report of a subject pointing a rifle out of an upstairs room window.
The most recent about a transgender individaul hit the news feeds and alerts yesterday:
Viral Apserger’s Sufferer Shot and Killed by Police in Arizona
Jack Phillips, Epoch Times | Last Updated: February 6, 2016 1:34 pm
The Epoch Times is part of Epoch Media Group, http://www.epochmediagroup.com/ , the world's fastest growing media group, whose CEO believes There comes a time in one’s life when one can sense something greater than oneself happening. It takes hold of you, sends a shiver up your spine, and provides the moment of greatest clarity. It brings a comforting blanket of warmth and sense of purpose, and yet is so electrifying that one can hardly think to sit down, even if a thousand hours have passed.
In that moment you realize that everything has changed and nothing will be the same moving forward.
A YouTube video of the person that was killed went viral after getting included on The Huffington Post [LINK to the heart-wrenching video farther below]. Dear readers, please read the entire article reproduced below that corrects a claim made by the Mesa Police Department that "they didn't know . . . "
(YouTube/screenshot)
Danielle Jacobs, a 24-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome, was fatally shot by police in Arizona, according to reports
Mesa police went to the home of Jacobs, who appeared in a viral video last year. In the video, Jacobs—who was known to friends as Kayden Clarke—is seen crying before a dog comes in.
Police said that Jacobs charged at authorities with a knife, and they didn’t know Jacobs had Asperger’s, a high-functioning variant of autism, CNN reported.
Jacobs’ mother Stacia told the New York Daily News that officers knew.
“Before the police arrived she wasn’t posing a threat to the community at all,” Stacia said. “And the police came into her own place. They shot and killed a 24-year-old autistic, mentally ill individual whom they had been familiar with and aware of her special needs.”
“I talked to her last night and the night before and she seemed fine,” Stacia said, describing Jacobs as a “caring young woman.”
Detective Estaban Flores said officers went to Jacobs’ home after getting reports of an individual was threatening suicide. He said two officers talked to Jacobs through an open door in the hallway before Jacobs came out and lunged at them with a kitchen knife.
“At that point they felt their lives were threatened,” Flores said, adding that both officers opened fire.
In the viral video, Jacobs is seen sobbing as a Rottweiler, named Samson, attempts to calm Jacobs down. “When I have a meltdown, I often have self-injurious behavior and I often self-harm,” Jacobs told the Huffington Post after the video went viral.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to Danielle’s family and friends,” Julian Maha, the founder and CEO of the autism nonprofit, Kulture City, told The Mighty.
“This tragedy highlights the increased need for first responder training to teach first responders to effectively interact with autistic and special needs individuals. The training will give them much needed tools to effectively communicate with autistic individuals, help keep both parties safe and hopefully prevent tragedies like these.”
Here's the video
Mesa police went to the home of Jacobs, who appeared in a viral video last year. In the video, Jacobs—who was known to friends as Kayden Clarke—is seen crying before a dog comes in.
Police said that Jacobs charged at authorities with a knife, and they didn’t know Jacobs had Asperger’s, a high-functioning variant of autism, CNN reported.
Jacobs’ mother Stacia told the New York Daily News that officers knew.
“Before the police arrived she wasn’t posing a threat to the community at all,” Stacia said. “And the police came into her own place. They shot and killed a 24-year-old autistic, mentally ill individual whom they had been familiar with and aware of her special needs.”
“I talked to her last night and the night before and she seemed fine,” Stacia said, describing Jacobs as a “caring young woman.”
Detective Estaban Flores said officers went to Jacobs’ home after getting reports of an individual was threatening suicide. He said two officers talked to Jacobs through an open door in the hallway before Jacobs came out and lunged at them with a kitchen knife.
“At that point they felt their lives were threatened,” Flores said, adding that both officers opened fire.
In the viral video, Jacobs is seen sobbing as a Rottweiler, named Samson, attempts to calm Jacobs down. “When I have a meltdown, I often have self-injurious behavior and I often self-harm,” Jacobs told the Huffington Post after the video went viral.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to Danielle’s family and friends,” Julian Maha, the founder and CEO of the autism nonprofit, Kulture City, told The Mighty.
“This tragedy highlights the increased need for first responder training to teach first responders to effectively interact with autistic and special needs individuals. The training will give them much needed tools to effectively communicate with autistic individuals, help keep both parties safe and hopefully prevent tragedies like these.”
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