Source: Jacob Wackerhausen / Getty
Police brutality against those experiencing mental health crisis has reached an infuriating and disturbing peak and something has to be done immediately to protect those who truly need help. These people aren’t criminals, they are suffering and history shows that police aren’t equipped with the skills or the empathy to provide aid.
Kenneth Knotts was one of those people in desperate need of help. Unfortunately, his family had to plan a funeral instead of a hospital visit. On November 29, 2022, Knotts pulled his car over to the side of the road in agitation after a tire blow out. According to Dallas News, he then grabbed his toddler child, stood atop the vehicle, and told responding police officers that the Austin Police Department was trying to kill him.
The medical examiner’s report says he was “reportedly acting erratically, combative and spitting” with Hutchins officers.
Upon being taken to UT Southwestern Medical Center for mental evaluation, Knotts was reportedly denied water numerous times and became further agitated. Recently released body camera footage shows what took place just moments before Kenneth Knotts died under the weight of several police officers and medical staff.
Warning: This video may be disturbing to watch.
Attorney Geoff Henley has filed a lawsuit against the University of Texas medical system on behalf of Knotts’ family for excessive and deadly force. He argues that UT officers had no legitimate reason to restrain Knotts and acted in a “willfully malicious” manner.
“He’s getting sandwiched on that bed,” Henley said as he showed the footage to The News in his Uptown law office. “You don’t have to end in death. It’s just tragic.”
We can only hope that this lawsuit hits the University’s pockets so hard that if affects real change in police protocol when dealing with mental health crisis patients.
