Press Release – Dec. 28, 2011

Contact: Mind(ful) Liberation Project
Tel: (804) 888-1709 (Megan Osborn)*
Email: mindfulliberationproject@gmail.com

Mind(ful) Liberation Project
P.O. Box 7019
Richmond, VA 23222
https://mindfulliberation.wordpress.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MINDFUL LIBERATION PROJECT RELEASES RICHMOND POLICE DEPARTMENT 
DOCUMENTS TO PUBLIC

December 28, 2011 — Richmond, VA

To Whom It May Concern:

On Wednesday, December 28th, Mind(ful) Liberation Project publicly released documents received through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The documents include manuals, training materials, and protocols in how the Richmond Police Department deals with “Handling Mentally Ill Persons.”

Since it’s inception over a year ago, the Mind(ful) Liberation Project (MLP) has garnered interest from all walks of life, both locally and nationally, including social workers, current and former psychology students, mental health professionals, and mental health consumers alike. MLP is a non-hierarchical, independently-run initiative, and as such wishes to question the authority and misuse of power in hierarchical institutions regarding mental health.

Mind(ful) Liberation Project used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to request these documents from the Richmond Police Department. Our initial FOIA request was sent on June 24, 2011 where we requested entry-level training and refresher training courses in recognizing and handling persons suffering from mental illnesses that members of the Richmond Police Department receive. This training is overseen by the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority.

It is important for citizens to know when the police are breaking their own rules so they can be held accountable. With the public dissemination of these documents, lives can be saved and trauma can be minimized. One need only remember the death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man suffering from schizophrenia who was beaten to death by Fullerton Police earlier this year, to know the gravity of this issue.

Mind(ful) Liberation Project

IN SOLIDARIY WITH THE ICARUS PROJECT

# # #

* No one person has been elected to speak on behalf of the entire organization. The contact information provided is given only for verification and follow-up purposes.