He's accused in 14 attacks, but still free

Diane Vonneedo remembers the "death stare" in Donald Cook's eyes just before his thick fist crashed into her left eye, shattering bone and threatening her eyesight.

Rachel Mentink never even made eye contact with Cook before he allegedly drilled his fist into her stomach. Though three years have passed, she still stashes a pocketknife in her purse and fears walking through the Loop.

Cook allegedly slugged Beth Weber in the neck two years ago at 200 N. Dearborn St. It was four months before she lost her fear of other pedestrians.

Since 1990, Cook, a stocky homeless man who has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, has been charged with attacking 14 people, racking up 29 arrests, mostly for battery, trespass and disorderly conduct.

While Cook has been convicted twice of misdemeanor battery, in 1998 and 2001, the legal system has done little to stop him, a Tribune review of court documents shows. The system is simply ill-equipped to deal with mentally ill offenders who do not get lasting psychiatric help, prosecutors and police say.
...
Heyrman, a professor specializing in mental health law at the University of Chicago, said services for outpatient treatment are lacking. And once the mentally ill hit the street, supervision is non-existent, he said........

"We can't force him to take his medication," {Sgt. Keith} Mayo said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0501020312jan02,1,2908578.story?coll=chi-news-hed

The mentally ill have been abandoned to the streets by Chicago. This is what happens.

I live in an urban setting and this scares me.

:toast:

Good to have you!

What was with your "Clinton Dead" post?

As long as we are using jails as clearing houses for the mentally ill, we are going to see more and more of this. It's probably just a matter of time before this man kills someone and when he does, it's our (read: American Society) own damn fault.

With health care for indigents being basically only ER care and continuing care beyond the reach of even the homeless that work as day laborers, and social services dependant on jumping through beaurocratic hoops, the cracks in the floor that people fall through are getting larger by the day.

We live in a land where making a profit is seen as the ultimate moral goal. These people represent a money hole and are treated as such.

This man needs instutionalization in a hospital that can actually treat him for more than a few days. Until then, every time they release him or place him in the general population of a correctional institute, they lay a loaded gun on the sidewalk or the yard.

We used to be above that sort of thing. I can't recall in history where a country has reversed its morality and compassion so quickly and obviously except for possiubly Hitler's Germany.

I vote for dems, whom I suppose would address this problem, repugs are more concerned about paying taxes. so what am I suppose to do while you and he repugs debate this problem.

Jailing the mentally ill only serves to exasperate the problem (IMHO). Get more Democrats in Congress, write letters... A lot of this can be addressed on the local levels with support for mental health facilities. I don't see any easy answers, I just know that the present situation isn't working.

It's a nasty problem and the present method of dealing with it is as effective as our "winning hearts and minds" in Iraq program.

and the county we live in has an excellent mental health program. My sister gets unbelievably good care and she is on medicaid. She has a social worker who checks on her daily, an activities center within walking distance of her apartment, a 24 hour crisis line she can call whenever she needs it and she has an active and full social life.

We also have no homeless street people here.

My community is proof that we CAN take good care of our mentally ill. It starts with people who care enough to insist on these kinds of programs.

people have to put their lives on line for this guy.

It explains why I am and always will be a die hard liberal -
A community is only as strong as its weakest member.

So who needs to get busy? Who cares? You know the repukes aren't going to do anything to solve this problem.

out on the streets for a while. maybe the stupid dems in congress should address the issue. but I guess that's like asking god to guide your sleigh down a hill at night, or maybe protect people who build there homes on the ocean front.

it happened on his watch, but the movement to close state run mental hospitals began long before Reagan was elected. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't stand Reagan, but this is one probelm I don't think we can blame on him.

If you must blame any one person, you can blame Geraldo Rivera. He did a series of stories as a reporter for a NYC TV station exposing the horrid conditions in mental hospitals in that state. I believe he won an emmy for that reporting. Anyway, that's when the ball started rolling to close these facilities nationwide. And since I can't stand Geraldo, I blame him for the problems we have today dealing with our mentally ill population.

Seriously, though, another factor is that many mental illnesses were NOT treated with drugs until the 1970s and early 1980s. So often the best choice in the case of seriously mentally ill persons was to institutionalize them. Then the drug makers started finding drugs that worked on many illnesses that were once thought to be untreatable. So life outside of an institution became a reachable goal for many of these patients.

The obvious problem today is how do you force these people to take medication. I have always heard that the vast majority can manage a certain amount of independent living as long as they take their meds. But convincing them to do that is another problem entirely.

penalties is that you take the meds. I feel for these people, but it's just crazy that you have to put your life in second place because this stupid society would rather build bombs then take care of it's people.

Building bombs is a federal issue, taking care of mentally ill people is a local issue. So maybe your community is building parks or roads rather than mental health centers.

My point is direct your feelings at your local politicians, this isn't the responsibility of the federal govt.

And I agree some must be forced to take meds. And I know they CAN do this. Many meds are in patch form nowadays or can be taken as monthly injections.

and have done research into her illness and the care of our mentally ill for a long time now. And it really wasn't Reagan's doing. There were a lot of things that happened, beginning in the 1960s that led to the closing of the state run hospitals. And you know what? You don't want us to go back to that hospital system. That is when we warehoused these people instead of treating them. And that is barbaric.

Get a gun and learn how to use it. Carry it if there are permits available in your area. Secure it properly when its not on your person. Pepper spray is not nearly as good as some people think, but is also viable in some circumstances. You can also carry an improvised weapon. This is easier for women than men. Metal rat tail comb makes a decent dagger in extreme circumstances.

Take self defense classes. Not just one, but a continuing series They are also great exercise and more fun than a health club. Get in one that does some sparring. All the forms in the world will do you no good if the first time you get your bell rung in on the streets.

This is not to say that I do not feel that the mentally ill are simply being discarded in this society. They are and its wrong. However, when an unstable person confronts you on the street, you need options to defend yourself. Not advocating killing, but there is nothing noble about being the victim of a violent crime, even if the perp is a mentally disturbed and should not be on the street. This approach may also pay off should you be assaulted by muggers or a random member of the RW.

Something about been there, done that, and have the scars to show for it

who hits you will land you in jail facing murder charges.

A 56-year-old man, angered by a stranger who slapped him in the head and knocked his glasses and hat off, fatally shot his assailant outside a downtown Portland department store early Thursday, police said.

<snip>

By late afternoon, Stemle was arrested on an allegation of murder, despite his claim to investigators that he fired in self-defense, court records show. Stemle did not have a concealed weapons permit.

http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1103893543271240.xml?oregonian?fpfp

But it if it goes to trial I would not count on a conviction. There is the reasonable fear thing. Easy bet that at least 1 person out of 12 will identify with the defendant and hang the jury. Most likely the shooter will plea to a lesser charge or may just be bankrupted by defense costs. Also the story came from the media, which I distrust to get any story straight. All that said, killing the homeless or the mentally ill is not the answer, funding treatment and support programs is a step in the right direction.

Having been mugged/assaulted and subsequently having defended myself a few times, I take a pretty hard line about my personal safety. Cops are always after the fact an no one will step while its in progress. In Maryland recently about a guy who intervened when a woman was getting beaten outside a bar and was in turned stomped to death. So much for Good Samaritans. You have to do what you think is necessary to save your life at the time and then sort it out later.

wait until your dead to defend me or my family.

who was "known to the police" and violently assaulting people, the libs in portland say shut up and take your asswhipping and pay your taxes. How dare you defend yourself against one of the sainted "homeless". This should be a wakeup call to all you oregonians to get a CHL. Where can I contribute to this guys defense fund.

Remember, "I was in fear for my life; I just wanted to stop him; I want my attorney."

This guy is a violent criminal who should be locked up at the least. What the hell do all the taxes we pay go for. (And don't say "defense spending") the pentagon budget is only a fraction of the total budget. And like has been said before dealing with criminal is a local problem (or should be)

Hopefully this gentleman will meet up with an armed victim nextime.

I'll save my sympathies for his victims until then.

How do you force him to be institutionalized for an extended peiod of time? How is that constitutional? This has nothing to do with "profits" or Wal-mart-type-corporations. It is a difficult problem with few easy answers. I am sure there would be thousands of "profit-seekers" looking to get into the institution-business if there were government funds available...the problem is a constitutional one.

to themselves or others (as determined by a physician/psychiatrist), there is often good reason, in my opinion.

Treatment takes time, and some people are not capable of recieving treatment without constant supervision.

Just my opinion, I'm not a MH professional, but have seen the results of untreated mental illness.

...brought by keeping all your "hard-earned dollars"

When one person's liberty, mentally ill or not, threatens the life of another, why is there any question? This poor man should be, involuntarily if necessary, institutionalized so that more people do not become victims.

Only there aren't many of those "institutions" left anymore, after the mass closings of public mental hospitals -- Our new "for profit" prisons are now the biggest "pyschiatric hospitals" in the nation.

I swear, I think Americans (and our corporate government) have lost their collective minds.

I'll tell you why: because so many Americans have become greedy, selfish, and self-abosrbed regarding their taxes going to help the least of us, those who need help, as well as those who need to be sequestered for sake of public safety. Funny though, how they never seem to scream much about their tax dollars going for planes, tanks, and bombs...

Well folks, this is the flip side of your republican disgust for programs that assist the most unfortunate in our society.

You get what you (don't) pay for, too.

and welcome to the DU!!

In Germany during the Weimar Republic (1918-1930), Germany had the most liberal and progressive treatment of the "unfit" in the world. They were overwhelmingly enlightened and compassionate. During this time, the eugenics seeds were planted in the U.S. and spread to Hitler and Germany via American eugenicists. One of the first things Hitler did when he gained power was incarcerate gays and sterilize the mentally "unfit." We know where that led.

Stay tuned to the America channel for the next episode. Posts like this thread are only the teaser.

Their destructive paths have unleased focus on competition and profits,...allowing the rest of humanity "loose" and behind.

It's terribly disappointing how certain human beings choose the predatory course rather than the "God-granted" potential course. Worse,...those predators have, once-again, fooled and somewhat diseased the human spirit. Of course, they can never possess the human spirit,...history proves that in the long-term they always lose.

I wonder when they will be discovered,...as human evil?

I wonder.

governors' mansions and the White House. Maybe then it would get some attention if these mentally ill people were attacking those "in charge." Maybe they could live a halfway normal life if they had the meds they needed and were supervised in taking them.

put them in a room where they can practice their freedom to not take a damn pill. if they can't agree to take it, leave them in the room. if they have proven themselves to be a danger, and DO agree, put a homing bracelet on them so they can be kept track of.

be real, here. put countless people in danger because someone doesn't want to take a pill?

that occasionally happens here in nyc. mentally unstable people pushing people in front of subway trains, or attacking people with bricks.

wouldn't want to infringe on their "civil liberties", would we?

and yes, it IS drugging someone. but, you know, life is not perfect for any of us. the simple act of taking a pill to keep from KILLING someone else is not to much to ask of anyone.

:grr:

And to think I was agreeing with you.

Shame on me.

to justify closing the state hospitals.

the project was to do observations of patients then transfer them to group homes and repeat the observations to see if it "Helped" them. but in 1970 the vast majority of mental patients were the last of the institutionalized Cerebral syphilitics, wet brain alcoholics , and schizophrenics.. plus a few old people with mild dementia that got dumped there by the family.

what resulted was predictable, the Syphilitics weren't going anywhere {somewhat Mobile catatonics}.. but the schizophrenics disappeared like smoke the first day..

Problem solved.. no need to build a new hospital, and there were rich republicans that could use the money wasted on those who chose to be the way they were..

one of the many reasons I hated that prick, and one of reasons I am confused about the reverence shown towards him.

These people were being taken care of before Reagan turned them loose.

If the governors and other authorities had to live with the real threat of unmedicated schizophrenics in their proximity, they'd change their tune and either get them the funds needed for medication and monitoring, or have them institionalized if they are a danger to society.

(My earlier comment about jobs was to put them in the vicinity of the decision-makers. Sorry I didn't make myself clearer on that. I suppose that is why you made the nasty nanny comment?)

in their communities for nearly 25 years now. They see them every time they see a homeless person on the street.

The only way any authorities are going to deal with this is if they are bombarded with letters from constituents, demanding they deal with it.

So start writing letters.

I live in Chicago and our homeless schizophrenics disappear for awhile, get treatment, get stabilized, then get dumped back on the streets. There's nowhere for them to go. But this guy is a public threat and needs to be locked up. Period.

Program manager for years. It's not a great system at all. My clients ranged from Downs Syndrome to mentally retarded Paranoid Schizophrenics. I had some clients that were in there 40's-50's and had spent their lives in an institution (two of my clients had been in since there were 5-7 years old) Our jobs were to teach these people to "live in society". Most of my clients were the sweetest people, some were potentially dangerous. The system is very reactive, not proactive. I had a client that really needed some, let's say, sex ed classes. Mainly to prevent him from becoming an offender. The state & county would not provide classes unless this person did commit a crime. (don't know whatever happened to him). Anyway, I quit working in the system 5 years ago, I was transferred to working with some (fairly hardcore) sex offenders. Lots of sex offenders are now put in group homes and halfway houses. I quit because I could no longer in good conscious preform my job duties of upholding, defending and protecting some of my clients rights (people who classify and live in group homes have a few additional rights, which were originally intended to protect the MR/DD population). All I can say, is that from my personal experience with the system there are some people who really do belong in an institutional setting, not only for there on safety, but for the safety of others.

redirected funds to the local level and expected communities to take care of the mentally ill. Some did. Others continued to ignore the problem or expected the feds to take care of it.

Other than research into causes and treatments, I don't want the federal govt involved in mental health care. It should be a local control issue.

I was thinking exactly the same thing when I read that article. This is the direct result of the policies of the Reagan administration. Sick stuff.

"We can't force him to take his medication"

Right now, Democrats and Republicans alike are angry at Bush's madatory "mental health" screening of their kids - so here's a heartwarming story about some violent homeless bum who we helpfully try to medicate, but our hands are tied, since the pesky Constitution gives Americans the right to NOT take drugs. So, we just need to "tweak" the rules to let the government force pharmaceuticals on people.

Perhaps I'm just being cynical?

at least, not any more than me...

besides, honestly, if this guy has attacked 14 people, and been arrested 29 times, why is he still on the streets? if he wasn't "mentally ill", this guy would be in prison like THAT...

paid for by block grants. Most of these people lived in the community but had a case worker who made sure they got their meds and their therapy. If they didn't show up for the appointment, the clinic would send someone to check on them and bring them in. It was a working system that got scratched for privatization. Private insureance companies are supposed to cover these medicare (disability) patients, but if they don't show, there is no follow up. Many of the big news stories of people who are mentally ill and then go commit big newsworthy crimes include a paragraph of how the person was once a patient at some community mental health clinic that is now closed.

My county has a great program. It is funded mainly by local tax dollars. When the feds cut their share, we raised taxes to make up the loss.

This really is a problem that can be solved. It depends on the priorities of your local community.

And while you generally can't force people to take meds that changed once crime was involved.

Even if they were found not guilty due to mental illness or 'guilty but mentally ill' they weren't just released. After whatever in-patient treatment (there are still hospitals here, including locked ones for the violently mentally ill) when they are stable and released it is under an order of various lengths. None of my clients had been violent so I am not sure of maximum length of this order. But I did have a couple who had committed other crimes and theirs were 5 years.

During this 5 years they had to do exactly what the order spelled out in terms of treatment and that would include housing, therapy and medication. They can be made to take their meds in the form of shots or have to take pills in front of the worker and/or get blood levels of the drug monitored. As soon as they broke any part of it they could be pulled in AND the order would begin anew.

Of course this all depends on funding for the outreach programs, the dedication of the workers and so many other variables. Even in the 90's when I left the field they were seriously under-funded.

I'm not saying we have good systems of care for the mentally ill or defending the closing of hospitals. But here in Michigan the ones who sadly fell between the cracks in care were the ones that didn't cause trouble. I don't know the laws in that area...but I am saying there should be NO excuse for a person like that to be on the street.

and we monitor her meds very closely. We as her family see ourselves as the primary line of responsibility for her. And we know what we could be dealing with if we hadn't assumed responsibility when she first got sick. These stories like the one posted here just make me ill.

We deal with her as a parent would deal with a teenager. If she appears erratic, we take her car keys away. If she doesn't clean her apartment, we threaten to come over there (and invade her privacy!) to help her clean it.

We also persuade her to sign a paper every year giving us access to her medical records and rights to talk to her social workers and doctors whenever we choose.

She has been sick nearly 30 years so we have seen drastic changes in her legal rights in that time. But we also have always realized that we can't depend on the govt to take care of her. She is OUR responsibility. Sure, she can be hard to deal with at times but we are her family. We see it as a duty.

"bless you!", not meaning to sound right wing though.

Involved family makes all the difference because it is those who know people well who can tell when things are starting to go wrong and a little more help is needed. Thank goodness you can get her to sign that release to keep you in the loop since you really are a key to good care.

I know it's hard and as odd as it sounds, I just want to thank you.

You are very welcome.

We were very lucky. When she got sick, my folks had great health insurance and it paid for her to be diagnosed and treated for many years at one of the best mental hospitals in the country. Part of her treatment was family education. They made sure we understood what her illness was, how she probably got it, the risk of any of the rest of us getting it, etc. And they taught us how to handle her. We got involved in family support groups and read every book they recommended.

Then my dad - on his death bed - made us all promise we would always take care of her. He was scared to death she would end up on the streets. So we then got her on medicaid and SSI and hooked her up with the county program. We were scared but financially had no other choice. And the care she is getting from the county is every bit as good as the care she received 25+ years ago at the hospital. So I know it CAN be done. And I would NEVER disappoint my dad by abandoning her. No way. (That's what gets me through those days when I just want to shake her.)

if they are shown to be a danger to themselves or others. At least the mentally ill are supposed to be given treatment in a hospital or institution. This is one area where drugs might be needed as part of a court order. The alternative is to give them the "choice" of being locked away after they've killed someone.

against their will for like 24 or 48 hours.

The secret is to convince them they need the help and talk them into committing themselves.

the hospital has to get a court order, or it is an unlawful detainment. The subject is given representation from an attorney if they don't have one of their own.

My sister-in-law has brain damage from two strokes that affect her judgment. She is disabled, nonviolent, but still gets herself into some nasty jams legally.

We are lucky that my sister has only had to be hospitalized a few times, but we always talk her into signing herself in rather than us forcing her.

go, once she left in a hospital gown and nothing else(except ehr smokes). They didn't bother to call us to go pick her up, either, so she strolled around the hospital area half-naked until her parents found her smoking near a culvert (she bummed a light off someone).

If he is committing violent assaults, in my state, this is a crime and he could be prosecuted and jailed.

It makes you wonder if the story is true. Almost putting out an eye is not a mere misdemeanor battery.

Why don't these women insist that the D.A. prosecute this person?
It is too bad that he is ill, but other ill people are prosecuted and jailed for the crimes they commit every day.

treatment is what helps. And treatment and supervision has been what was cut.

As a small woman, I'm afraid my sympathy is with the victim who nearly lost her sight and had her face messed up, as well as the victims of the other 13 attacks.

I have known several schizophrenics, some homeless. None of them thought it was acceptable to go about smashing women's faces in.

Don't see why it is quite fair to the rest of us to let this man roam free when he is guilty of multiple violent crimes.

The presumption that treatment could cure schizophrenia, or that the schizophrenia is what is causing him to try to knock someone's eye out, seems unwarranted to me. Admittedly I am far from a medical expert. I agree he should receive treatment, and it would be terrific if medication worked (it doesn't always), but he should also be tried and sentenced for his crimes, not given a pass.

My question remains: Why don't the victims demand some action from the District Attorney? I would pretty upset if I was nearly blinded and the only arrest was for misdeamonor charges. Being blinded can ruin your whole day!

They’re waiting for the big one. With prison overcrowding and mental health facilities on the decline, they’re just waiting for the sacrificial lamb to come along where their hand is then forced. It’s the same old “what’s in it for me” shit that is inherent in politics. Only a death gets one moving (via public outcry) and the damage is minimal (immediate family). So, why spend money on programs that provide for a few and provide even fewer political kickbacks. Only the media has the power to force their hand early, but sadly, most wait until a death has resulted, suck it dry and then let it fade….


Hmmm….now that I think about it, that’s not cynical….it’s realistic…

some more so than others..and one of the characteristics of mental illness..long range illnesses, it not having the mental capacity to care for ones self on ones own...so when the mentally ill were "freed" in the 1980s, they took to the streets and did what they could to survive. One of the survival techniques, is to do something that will put you back into a place that will take care of you...and in the northern states, it was most common to see many returning to the mental hospital because of some episode..we used to call it "wintering at the mental hosp". In the 90s, hospitals were told to not admit repeaters of this coping technique..survival technique is more like it...not just mental hospitals, but emergency rooms as well...to treat, but not admit. Starting some where in the mid 90s, this survival technique of doing something to get sent back to the hospital no longer worked, so then it changed to do something sever enough to get put in jail...where it is warm and u get fed and get medical attention, etc....and that is exactly what this man is doing.

And that right should end where his right not to take his meds begins. If they don't take meds and get into to trouble, the should be re-hospitalized--one strike and you're IN!!!

:headbang:
rocknation

Absolute lunatic. The whole "dead eyes" thing and everything. There is no picture online (but picture is one the cover of the print edition), but anyone who spends any time in the Loop would do well to stay far away from him.

about bad news in Iraq on page 5.

I find the whole thing very Willie Horton. Both the Trib and the Sun Times are trying to get Daley. This is not front page news. We have a system that holds people innocent until proven guilty. Not that people can't protect themselves or anything but this is not front page news.

TO those who don't get the Tribune

Half the front page. Picture of menacing dishoveled Black man. Below GIANT pictures of two White women with terrified looks and statements below about their daily terror. Then another big picture of a female cop, whose "keeping an eye on him". Its classic Klan propaganda.

WHat about the story of The Washington Post where the Bush admin is gonna keep guys in Guantanimo for life without charges cause they 'cant win in court' Now there's a real headline. This is Willie Horton.

besides, this is a local issue. If you guys in Chicago want to take care of this problem, convince your local politicians to beef up mental health programs in your community. It really isn't a federal problem.

would have made it front page news (I did not read the entire story-so this is speculation). But the point is that many, if not most communites are strapped for cash for follow up care in the best of time for these individuals. They are the social outcasts of our society and even in good times, the menatlly ill are at the bottom of the food chain.

...since he has atleast that many women accusing him of groping, molesting, assaulting, etc. in the work place.

My mistake. Different asshole...