SPD respects the decision of the City Attorney’s Office to resolve the case at this juncture and defers any comment on that decision to that office. We too stand by the multiple layers of review [link] this case has undergone and hope that this resolution brings closure to all in our community affected by this incident, especially to Ms. Lyles’ children, extended family, and to the officers involved. As the Center for Policing Equity wrote in the New York Times just shortly after this incident, this incident highlights precisely the long line of complicated, often broken, systems far upstream of policing that too often land with police to resolve:
If we are to protect families in similar situations, we must extend the lens of our concern beyond police-community interactions – even in cases where the police pull the trigger. A reinvestment in public mental health resources – including hospitals and yes, better health care coverage for vulnerable Americans struggling with mental illness – are urgent necessities.
We hope that this tragic case continues to serve to drive momentum towards comprehensive, holistic reform of all systems that meet at the intersection of public health and public safety.