Recent comments in /f/nottheonion

vulcan7200 t1_j9va6e6 wrote

That definitely does happen. My Dad was a police officer with the Capitol Police a long time ago. There was a homeless person who basically lived under the steps of the Capitol. In the Winter he would be arrested on particularly cold nights so he wouldn't freeze to death.

But yeah, I don't think this was the case here.

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bigsoftee84 t1_j9v7ff2 wrote

Then get the dude help, not arrest him. I don't understand why you're trying so hard to make this arr a st seem like it was justified, it's a waste of resources. There are a thousand better ways to get that individual help. You are doing him more harm by processing him on petty theft charges for dollars, single digits, of merchandise. Additional bullshit charges on his record isn't going to help him get a job or pass a background check. This isn't the police being altruistic, they would have just paid for his chips if they were.

Edit: a word

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[deleted] t1_j9v6t5z wrote

His mom would disagree. She says she keeps asking the police to get him psychiatric help and to get him assessed. Again, you don’t need to prosecute him, but picking him up and getting him help is a good thing. There are services for homeless and the mental ill to admit themselves. If they don’t do it on their own, sometimes police need to help usher them into better care. You can’t look at every arrest as a punishment and shaming. Sometimes it’s to get people off the street and get them support and assistance.

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