General Resources / Legal Resources / Medical Resources / Briefing Papers / State Activity    
Hospital Closures / Preventable Tragedies / Press Room / Search Our Site / Home

Mt. Olive Chronicle

April 6, 2005

Reprinted with permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Proposal would protect patients

By Phil Garber

Support is growing for a state law that could avoid situations similar to the one when a mentally ill Mount Olive Township man was shot and killed by police after he attacked an officer last fall.

The law would allow judges to order psychiatric patients to regularly take their medication or face involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital.

A total of 42 other states have similar laws and last week, acting Gov. Richard Codey gave his support to the proposal along with a pledge to commit millions of dollars more to improve mental health care around the state.

The proposal was included in a 263-page report from a task force studying mental health systems in New Jersey.

It was unclear if Codey would support existing proposed legislation, S1640, or if a new bill would be recommended. S1640 is sponsored by Sen. Gerald Cardinale, D-Bergen and has 35 co-sponsors, including Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, Sen. Thomas Kean, R-Morris, and Sen. Robert Little, R-Morris, among others.

The Mount Olive incident involved Gregory Alli, 34 of the Budd Lake section of the township. Alli was described as a schizophrenic who had not been taking his regular medication when he attacked his father on the night of Oct. 11. Police were called and Officer Joseph Abrusci arrived at the home when Alli allegedly lunged at the officer with a knife. Abrusci shot and killed Alli and the incident was later ruled by the Morris County Prosecutor as a justified shooting.

Assisted Outpatient Treatment

Codey threw his support behind a bill that would allow for so-called “assisted outpatient treatment.” The bill would authorize judges to order a person hospitalized if he refused to take medication and was in danger of decompensating. Currently, a court can only order hospitalization if a person is deemed to be an imminent threat to himself or others.

Mount Olive Township Police Chief Edward Katona said that by the time a person can be involuntarily committed, it can be tragically too late for the person and for authorities.

“Police come into contact with people who fail to take their medication and act out,” said Katona. “It can range from odd behavior to a full blown schizophrenic incident. We would like to take action before it gets to that kind of situation.”

The New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police and the N.J. Psychiatric Association both came out in support of an assisted outpatient treatment law.

The police resolution said that nationally, people with severe mental illnesses are nearly four times more likely to be killed in altercations with police. The resolution referred to the Alli shooting and said often the incidents unfold because people stopped taking their medication.

The resolution said that in New Jersey in 2004, law enforcement responded to three cases where mentally ill individuals falsely claimed to have bombs, In both cases, police were held at bay for several hours before the individuals were arrested.

The resolution said evidence from studies and from other states shows that assisted outpatient treatment “is effective in reducing incidents of hospitalization, homelessness, arrests and incarcerations, victimization and violent episodes among people with severe mental illnesses who otherwise refuse treatment.”

Mary Zadanowicz is director of the Treatment Advocacy Center in Arlington, Va., a group that lobbies for laws and treatment nationwide to help mentally ill people.

Zadanowicz has been pressing for the New Jersey legislation and said the issue is “to get treatment for people who need it.”

“These programs help individuals who otherwise lead terribly, destructive lives,” she said. “The law would effect a small group of people who would otherwise be abandoned by the system.”

Zadanowicz said similar laws elsewhere have proven successful incentives to keep people from abandoning their medications.

“Nobody wants to be hospitalized,” she said.

The most vocal opposition to an assisted outpatient treatment law is the Mental Health Association of New Jersey. Carolyn Beauchamp, the association director, said the bill should be referred to as the “involuntary outpatient commitment” bill.

Beauchamp said it would be wrong to hospitalize people against their wills when they have not met the legal criteria of involuntary commitment of being an imminent danger to themselves or others.

“This (proposed law) is taking legal action against people who have done nothing illegal,” said Beauchamp. “In our system, we don’t force people to take medication or join programs. This would set a whole new standard that would be very dangerous.”

Instead of such a law, the state needs to bolster community mental health services, she said.

“If we had the right services and enough staff, there would be fewer people wandering around by themselves,” she said. “We should be able to have all kinds of outreach services to help deal with adult children who are sick.”

Beauchamp applauded Codey’s recommendation to add $40 million in mental health services.

“It’s a big beginning,” said Beauchamp. “It’s a much more positive, service-rich way to go about things.”

The state task force report said assisted outpatient treatment is an important part of the overall mental health program.

“The Task Force concluded that any comprehensive reform of a mental health system requires that the needs of the people with the most severe and persistent mental illnesses be addressed,” said Task Force Chair Bob Davison. “Our careful deliberations and extensive research led us to conclude that for those who are too ill to access mental health services, (assisted outpatient treatment) strikes the appropriate balance of individual’s well being and their constitutional liberties.”

Valerie Fox, a Parsippany woman who suffers from schizophrenia, testified before the task force in favor of assisted outpatient treatment.

“I wish when I had been homeless and severely mentally ill that someone had mandated to me I either take medication in the community or I would have to go to a hospital,” Fox is quoted in the task force report. “I believe I would have taken the medication and not endured the great dangers of being vulnerable and exposed on the streets.”