DALLAS, TX (AP)-- Mental health advocates say a series of deadly encounters between police and the mentally ill show more must be done to offer care that prevents explosive moments of crisis.
The National Sheriffs' Association says at least half the people shot and killed by police each year have a mental health disorder.
The problem has been highlighted in recent confrontations, including two police shootings in Dallas and another in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that triggered large demonstrations.
Advocates say police crisis intervention efforts and diversion courts are helpful in stemming the violence, but more changes are needed, such as modifying state laws that prevent mandatory psychiatric care until a person poses a danger.
Others criticize a hodge-podge of state health systems allow too many people to fall through the cracks.