ST. MARTINVILLE, La. – The killing of a mentally ill man in his south Louisiana home during a struggle with sheriff’s deputies last month appears to fit a troubling, tragic pattern.
Michael Noel, 32, struggled for years to get treatment for his paranoid schizophrenia. The deputies who confronted Noel last month were carrying out a protective custody order so he could be involuntarily hospitalized. Experts see evidence suggesting the problem of deadly confrontations between law enforcement officers and people with mental illness has worsened as governments dismantle networks of health care services.