Gary Strobridge-1st Entry
Regarding the Death of Gary Strobridge (Becca Forsyth’s Speech to the Elmira City Council, 9/3/19)
This represents the first in a series of statements made by the Elmira and NYS Poor People’s Campaign in relation to the death of Gary Strobridge in Elmira. He was a man who had a very bad day…and paid the ultimate price for it. This series will follow the members of the Elmira Poor People’s Campaign as they speak out at the city council and county legislature meetings to advocate for accountability, transparency, and change in how the police respond to mental health emergencies in Elmira and around the state.
Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak before you tonight. I am here representing the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. We are building unity among the 140 million poor and low wealth people who live in the United States. We are working to mobilize, organize, register, and educate the 9.9 million poor and low wealth residents in New York State. It is our firm belief that EVERYBODY HAS A RIGHT TO LIVE!
But tonight, we come to you as the friends, family members, and neighbors of Gary Strobridge. You may have heard about the heart-breaking incident Gary encountered recently with the Elmira Police Department. The police responded to a call after an anonymous source reported that Gary was having a mental health crisis. When the authorities arrived, he was on the roof making statements that raised concern and exhibited some erratic behavior. The details of what happened next are under investigation by the State Attorney General but the one thing that is for certain, Gary isn’t here to tell us what happened.
This incident has raised fear and pain in our community. When one of us calls out for help, it is our expectation that we won’t be killed for it. This has made my own anxiety soar…my husband has suffered for the last 10 years with a brain injury that was the result of a mosquito bite. This bite caused problems with both cognitive functioning and emotional regulation. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had my hand on the phone, wondering if this would be the time that I’d have to call crisis myself. This incident has guaranteed that I will hesitate more than before out of fear of what would happen to him if I did.
We aren’t alone. Out of the 88,681 residents who live in Chemung County, almost a quarter of us report having more bad mental health days than good ones. There are a lot of reasons for that. Maybe it’s the fact that more than 30% of us have housing insecurity, almost 15% have a disability, a third of us live in a food desert, a quarter of us have experienced food insecurity this year, and almost half of us don’t even have a high school diploma. Life expectancy in the 14901 is dismal and more than 10% of the folks who visit the emergency room have a behavioral health diagnoses with almost 15% of them being readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge.
When we look at these numbers, we realize that any of us could have been Gary. We are grateful for the investigation but remind you that we are watching! We demand transparency and real change. It seems ridiculous to us that with prevalence rates as high as what I just quoted, that a force trained in combat is sent to respond to a mental health crisis. This is what we call the militarization of our community. When we send police to a mental health crisis, we criminalize illness and demonize the person suffering. Why weren’t trained professionals on hand who understand mental illness? There are rumors (as of yet unsubstantiated) that Gary was on drugs. I don’t know if I believe that yet but…this is also not uncommon in our community. Does that mean that drug users deserve to die? Do the police have the authority to execute people suffering from addiction?
I understand that the climate in our community makes policing a difficult and dangerous job. With such high prevalence rates of both mental illness and substance abuse disorders, there are threats out there. I don’t want the families of the officers responding to calls like this to have to worry any more than the families of the afflicted. It has to be scary, particularly with the media laying the gun violence problem at the feet of those with mental illness…further stigmatizing and dehumanizing a large group of people.
But there are trainings available and professionals who know how to respond to such problems without resorting to use of excessive force. We say that this city needs to step up and protect the vulnerable…help the help-seeking. We need the city to dedicate the resources necessary to ensure that this never happens again! When people cry for help, we don’t beat them, we find ways to treat them. This is a problem the local Poor People’s Campaign chapter has been talking with city officials about for over a year now. While it’s heart breaking that we have found our way to this place, we demand that this is the time! The time for change is NOW!!
We want to see a change in how mental health calls are handled, with a focus on evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment instead of handcuffing and arresting those with mental health problems. Either invest in the training needed to ensure that every responding officer has the necessary tools to do their job effectively and humanely or send professionals already trained instead of a combat force. Don’t make us bury another friend because the police responded to a call they weren’t trained or ready to handle. Follow through on this investigation, hold those responsible accountable for their actions and make sure this is transparent and openly communicated to the public. Fight poverty…not the poor!
