Then why do they insinuate themselves into nearly every aspect of our lives down to the food we eat or deciding whether we can smoke or not?
Maybe it is time to bring back prohibition.
"Her long struggle ends in death; Plagued by mental illness, 33-year-old is shot after slashing 3 police officers" by Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff | July 24, 2010
SOMERVILLE — The woman who was shot and killed by police after she allegedly slashed three officers in her home yesterday morning had a history of mental illness, yet attempts to provide her treatment had failed, right up until the hours before the shooting, according to police, court records, and interviews with friends and neighbors.
No taser?
Carol Lynn Kingsley, a 33-year-old mother who lost custody of her only child nearly four years ago, had been brought by emergency responders to Cambridge Hospital for a mental health evaluation at 3 a.m. yesterday, less than four hours before the shooting. A neighbor had called police complaining that she was fighting with her boyfriend.
But she was released from the hospital, and by 6:30 a.m. her neighbors’ and friends’ worst fears for her safety had materialized: Police were called to her Sycamore Terrace home again after Kingsley allegedly hit her boyfriend and tried to set fire to his clothes. She allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife, barricaded herself inside her bathroom, and started slashing and stabbing at the officers, according to authorities.
If she barricaded herself in the bathroom how did the cops get in?
At one point, one of the officers fired a shot, killing Kingsley.
“She had her problems, but I never saw anything like this coming,’’ said Peter Cusick of Belmont, who had a six-year romantic relationship with Kingsley, but who stopped communicating with her in recent weeks because of her problems with alcohol.
Chris Willett, her boyfriend of recent months, told reporters that he did not see the final confrontation with police. “It’s painful,’’ he said.
Officials said yesterday that the shooting remains under investigation.
One officer suffered stab sounds to his back, shoulder, and arm, and another was stabbed in his back and arm. The third officer suffered wounds to his hand....
Those who knew Kingsley said that even though they long feared her substance abuse and mental illnesses would endanger her, they never thought it would lead to a violent death at the hands of police....
Kingsley had soured her relationship with her neighbors, for blasting her music and television, screaming obscenities, causing fights, and attracting the attention of police at all hours of the day, they said. She piled trash on the porch, and one time tried to jump from a balcony, neighbors said.
One wonders if some neighbors are not saying good riddance.
But they realized she suffered from problems, too.
Look, we ALL have PROBLEMS and I am SICK of the GLOBE MAKING EXCUSES for SOME and NOT OTHERS!!!
She drank at all times, and confined herself to her apartment, the neighbors said. One neighbor complained that she would scream in the middle of the night, “I will kill you,’’ or “Kill God, kill the devil.’’
Cusick said yesterday that Kingsley had drinking problems when they first met, but not to the extent of recent years. For a while, she enjoyed going to
Related: Boston Globe's Broken Bat
Now I know why the Globe is front-paging this in the Metro section.
Look, the woman did not deserve to be shot; however, I didn't see the Globe taking up this man's cause, did you?
She had a daughter, who is about 8 years old now, but lost custody of her several years ago because of her problems.
It was then that Kingsley quickly eroded: She was kicked out of an apartment in Watertown for causing disturbances, and was being evicted from her home in Somerville for the same reason, according to Cusick and court records....
And here is another thing: why is the paper giving the impression that she is the criminal?
Kingsley’s substance abuse coincides with a history of violence, including attacks against police, according to court records.
The two seem to go hand-in-hand.
A decade ago, she was charged with attacking a woman for no reason at a bus stop in Somerville. The case was continued without a finding after she served probation for six months.
Last year, she allegedly broke into a woman’s house in Somerville at random, accused the woman of stealing her bag and attacking her. She then allegedly attacked the police officers who arrested her and spat at them.
She was charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime and putting a person in fear, assault and battery on a police officer, and destruction of property. The case was slated to go to trial in September.
Kingsley was also taken into police custody in June for allegedly acting disorderly and assaulting police officers. While in custody, she allegedly threatened to blow up the police station.
That's terrorism.
She was never charged, however, Police instead brought her to Cambridge Hospital to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, according to a law enforcement official who is not authorized to speak publicly about the case. The official said that Somerville police planned to seek criminal charges against Kingsley on Monday. The outcome of the hospital visit was not clear yesterday.
A spokesman for Cambridge Health Alliance, which operates Cambridge Hospital, said yesterday that he could not comment on Kingsley’s visits because of privacy rules. She had been seeing a doctor at Cambridge Health Alliance for more than eight years, according to court records filed in her landlord’s attempts to evict her from her Somerville home. She had not been paying rent, the court records said.
Willett, who had called police about Kingsley before, told reporters that he was still trying to determine the sequence of the events. “I think she just felt very strongly about something and she decided to act on those feelings and, unfortunately, police dealt with it,’’ he said....
--more--"And the D.A. is going to deal with them:
"DA investigates police shooting of woman; Had attacked officers with knife" by Patricia Wen, Globe Staff | July 25, 2010
The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office yesterday continued to investigate how an emotionally troubled, knife-wielding woman was fatally shot Friday by Somerville police during a chaotic scene involving three officers inside her home.
The death of 33-year-old Carolyn Lynn Kingsley came several hours after she was released from Cambridge Hospital, where she had been taken by emergency responders after a 911 call from neighbors complaining of bitter fighting between her and her boyfriend.
Kingsley, who had a history of alcoholism, depression, and violent outbursts, died after being shot once by an officer. Police have not indicated where the bullet hit her. The three officers, all of whom were treated for multiple puncture wounds, were the only witnesses to the shooting that happened about 6:30 a.m. inside her Sycamore Terrace home....
Friends of Kingsley have asked how a 5-foot-3-inch, 125-pound woman — even one brandishing a knife — could not be controlled by three male officers without resorting to gunfire.
That is a GOOD QUESTION!
Kingsley’s former longtime boyfriend, Peter Cusick, 50, said he did not understand why the situation escalated to the point that three officers couldn’t control one relatively small woman. “Why didn’t they just shoot her in the leg?’’ he asked in a phone interview yesterday.
Another GOOD QUESTION!
However, others familiar with such investigations point out that the knife wounds suffered by the officers suggest that they did not resort to the use of guns immediately and may have had valid reason to feel their lives were in jeopardy.
They couldn't have kicked her legs out and knocked her down?
Kingsley had a history of police run-ins, including one in which she spit at and kicked officers.
“It’s way too early to say if this is excessive use of police force,’’ said defense attorney Randy Gioia. “She did apparently injure the police with a knife, and a knife is a deadly weapon.’’
Somerville Police Chief Michael Cabral said yesterday that he supports the introduction of
He said his department has two stun guns and the city is debating the purchase of additional devices for broader use within the police force.
His officers have pepper spray and expandable batons, but Cabral declined to comment on whether these items were used before Kingsley died, or any other aspect of the investigation.
(Blog editor raises palms to ceiling and shrugs shoulders)
Until more details of this shooting are known, Cabral said, he and others cannot say what factors may have made a difference in an officer’s “split-second decision’’ to pull out a gun.
One Boston defense attorney said that the preliminary facts of this case show numerous missed chances to avert the crisis, including a failed opportunity to detain her overnight — if not longer — at Cambridge Hospital just hours before the police confrontation.
“The system clearly let her down,’’ said Jeffrey Denner, who is not involved in the case. “She shouldn’t have been released from the hospital. Someone made a bad call.’’
****************Soon after Kingsley was released from the hospital, police were called to the Sycamore Terrace home again about 6:30 a.m. after she allegedly hit her boyfriend and tried to set fire to his clothes.
Cusick said Kingsley suffered for years because of excessive drinking and relied on antidepressants.
Oh, NOW we get the REAL TRUTH!!
She was on the POISON PILLS of the PHARMACEUTICALS!
He said her mental state deteriorated after she lost custody of her daughter, then a preschooler, about four years ago. He said when he met her six years ago, Kingsley was a quiet, passive woman with a passion for the
Cusick said one day in 2006, a day-care teacher called the state’s child protection agency, saying Kingsley’s daughter had reported that her mother had struck her with a hammer.
Also see: Hey, Neighbor!
The allegation sparked an investigation; the child was placed in a foster home and was ultimately adopted.
While Kingsley was allowed to visit her daughter, the removal of the girl from her care was traumatic, Cusick said.
From that point on, he said, she developed a far more volatile, angry side and she routinely consumed six beers nightly.
“It was like Jekyll and Hyde,’’ he said.
More Hyde than Jekyll.
Also see: Somerville speeds repairs to flood-damaged public safety building
Somerville mayor seeks US funds for flood victims
Boston Globe Bottle of Water
