No, I am writing about a true tragedy in Washington DC that occurred just days ago. Miriam Carey, with her 1 year old child in the car, was shot and killed by police as her actions were determined by authorities to be of a hostile enough nature to justify their actions.
We all saw the car chase, the officers cornering her with guns, her ability to avoid this ambush, and then lead the police cars in a circle then off again to her final destination. Her final destination.
I cannot speak for Miriam. I do not know what her intent was on that fatal day. The reports state that she was unarmed. She had no visible weapon. Oh, I'm sorry. The individuals responsible for determining her fate did describe the vehicle as the weapon as it rammed blockades and did injure a security guard in the process.
Yes - the vehicle was the weapon. I am not disputing that. But Miriam? What was Miriam armed with? How could she protect herself? She could not. Her fate was sealed. She was seen as a threat. And to be honest, when I watched the video played over and over again on every network and I was told that there was an infant was in the car, my first thoughts were not of a terrorist, not of an angered American that either party could use as an example of what Government shut down creates. I strongly believed that someone suffering from a mental illness was driving that car.
I am grieving over her death as if she were someone I knew. It seems so personal to me. And so many questions run through my mind. When you had her cornered and you saw the car (and unfortunately, Miriam) as a threat, why didn't you blow out her tires? Why didn't you want to block her forward progress with a road block and let the air bag deploy? If she were viewed as a terrorist, would you really shoot first? Would you want to question her? I mean every view of DC has these iron gates surrounding our monuments and all of our precious politicians can be sequestered to safety. Why shoot to kill?
Now we know that Miriam had delusions of Barack Obama. The messages she received from either the radio or TV are called Ideas of Reference. That is a fact we all know. Why she headed to DC is unknown but the first security officer she met with will have vital information to eventually unravel the mystery.
People are calling her Schizophrenic. Do you have access to her medical records? Do not use ignorance in judging this woman.
We do know that she suffered from Post Partum Depression after delivering her child last August. What can depression create if it becomes severe enough? Psychotic symptoms. People can develop paranoia and begin to hear voices. Is it treatable? Yes - with medication and counseling. Can it reoccur? Yes. Depression can reoccur when not monitored or when the individual stops treatment.
I am not able to pass judgement on anyone because I do not know the facts of the case. But if one lesson can learned, it is this.
If you or a loved one are feeling sad, have lost interest in things, express unusual guilt, are experiencing a decrease in energy, have changes in appetite or sleep patterns, have poor concentration, or have suicidal thoughts, please contact a mental health professional.
In addition, if you observe a change in someone, for example, their conversation or actions are a bit bizarre or grandiose, or they appear to be talking to themselves, you observe their eyes darting, or they are just preoccupied, this may be signs that psychotic symptoms are also present.
If this post today makes just one person aware of how depression and psychotic symptoms can change behavior and that medical treatment can possibly avert a fatal outcome, then Miriam's death will not be in vain.
