From Vassar (my college days in the 1980s) to Vassell (learning of a recent tragic passing 4-4-18 in Brooklyn NY)

Sharing to have a time of remembrance and reflection on the life of Saheed Vassell, who died yesterday in Brooklyn NY.

May his life journey now be one of peace and spiritual balance as that may play out for anyone crossing over. Many say holding positive thoughts of the person for three days can assist that spirit in their journey. May we all feel more aware and connected to all who have walked the earth as we learn of their journeys, challenges, personalities and circles of friends, even if seemingly isolated or in a time of struggle in life or near the time of their passing.

Saheed Vassell was a father in touch with his 15-year-old son. Saheed's father said Saheed had untreated bipolar as in not on medications for years but was generally functional. 

Many in the neighborhood knew he had a mental health condition and was often alone and a bit quirky but mainly 'harmless' and often friendly and upbeat in his own way. My feeling is that since Saheed Vassell was in his early 30s there were likely people who could have been monitoring him more closely for his own safety and the well-being of the community. Of reasonable interest would be to determine if he had prior episodes of 'acting out towards others' verbally or with an object. Also at what time of day did he obtain this pipe object and how long he had bothered people before it happened to get reported.

Did it starte indoors or from a sitting position outdoors and stay in a small area or did he move up and down the block. How might more of a 'neighborhood watch' mindset help deter people from acting out who can 'help it' and which business owners and such could have a helpful response system to quell concerns with other contact people nearby, like security guards at least to monitor areas even if not armed.

Places like Prime Time House in Torrington CT for instance, based on a club house model in NYC (Fountain House) promote having a place people with a diagnosis can go for meals and other support. While everyone needs to be compliant with terms, the model for doing more mental health outreach could likely curb the downward spiral that can result in the short-term or over time when people are in need of basic services.

More support can be fournd across the country through services like calling 2-1-1 or  in NYC 3-1-1 or looking online at 211.org. More public libraries, faith groups and towns could promote awareness through large ads and commercials about such bridging services for support and information.

The family members of someone with mental health challenge could get online support or possibly phone support and other services through programs like www.nami.org.

Ideally more citizens could take community police trainings to understand the kinds of responses police are likely to give depending on their state and local area, the laws and various alternatives. There are many unstable individuals often bothering or even harassing others while walking down a street, riding on a subway or any number of situations.

The basic tactic for most people (that I witnessed over two years) was to ignore the person as much as possible and not report.

Even victims were 'left on their own' much of the time with no one trying to 'get involved' or ask if they needed support. I know of a few cases where someone was offered help who was being targeted by harassment and generally the person(s) were very appreciative.

One of the most public times of upset I saw was in the Times Square subway station when a wild looking hippie fellow (happened to be white) took to dancing in front of a group doing a tribute to The Beatles as a tribute to John Lennon on the anniversary of his passing on December 8, 1980 due to being shot by a stranger in New York City.

 Back in the early 1980s, I was at Vassar College and sensitive to such crimes but had few answers. Likely the media could have done more inquiry but the overall national stance seemed to be focused on violence and blaming the victim rather than considering the role of laws and local social factors.

With reverence I share that in additon to John Lennon's death that moved the country, another strange sudden passing happened in this area in NYC back in the summer of 1981 when Gerard Coury, 26, was chased into a subway station by a mob, after being robbed a day or more before his final minutes on e and mistreated, included stripped naked by a crowd of tormentors and chased through the streets and into the subway.

The authorities did not let him travel back to New Haven CT by train since he did not have tee shirt or shoes after being robbed of his belongings according to a few reports. Only a day or possibly a week before he had left CT on public transportation to go  live in DC, stopping in NY. His parting words to his older brother was "It's great to be a human being." With a lengthy article in the New York Magazine he was painted as troubled youth  and as a wild naked man running  into the subway station. He died on the tracks when he jumped on them in a state of distress.It was not clear if he suffered a heart attack and reached for the third rail by accident or had intended in some way to end his life and struggle.

The whole story is still not clear and none in the mob were held accountable even though they were in a contained setting but had not 'pushed or forced him' onto the tracks other than through intimidation. There was no victim compensation done on any public level, few insightful reviews done even though the person was from Torrington CT and had been a stellar student and athlete. The time to 'make amends' is not too late and one I have wanted to consider now that there can be more public caring discussions and recommendations...but for now, back to the more current subway band situation from 2017.

There was a police officer nearby who a few people asked to intervene, but he didn't feel he had grounds to do so until the person became more of a problem. Over the course of half hour, there was quite a bit of back and forth with some male band members asking the older fellow to move it to the side, etc.

Yours truly also asked this of the fellow but with mixed results --sometimes he'd lighten up and even dance with yours truly (who had been dancing and helping the band a bit which they appreciated before the fellow got involved and even after a few episodes with the disturbance.)

One band member took it upon himself to get up in the older man's face and tell him to 'bug off' and so on. Within a few seconds the band member pushed the older fellow who had been claiming his rights and the older man fell either due to the push.

Then the band member was escorted away, possibly in cuffs. It was a few months back now, but basically it seemed there could have been a way to have the police officer get closer to the whole scene to monitor things, or to review with the band members to allow him to do his things (and give the older dancin' dude some parameters as well if indicated.)

The whole time about fifty people would be gathered watching the band and tuning into the other story unfolding. Looking back, it likely would have been in the public's best interest to thank the band and just close up shop as they'd already been playing for at least an hour.

Even the public could have been informed that for their own safety it may be best to move along and not get involved even though the band and the dancing man who was being rude to the band at times but mainly had hoped to attract more of a crowd (what a strange set of players in this particular conflict.)

The Danger to Anyone as we can consider now with more recent headlines about police responding is that Police Have Guns Legally and Can Fire Them Legally if they feel threatened or if someone's safety is in peril. Even though everyone else was unarmed, the band member acting sporadically and pushing the man who I believe fell, could have become more violent..either choking the older man when he was down or resisting the officer etc.

Then if any gun(s) came into play, who knows where the bullets would have landed--- passers by, band or other direction.By the way I studied social psychology and have taken a lot of trainings in mental health and conflict resolution...and much more, mediation, drug and alcohol basics, effects of prescribed drugs, understanding more about domestic abuse laws nationally and in various states.

Upon hearing that Saheed Vassell had been arrested 17 times mainly for domestic abuse issues is important since that likely would have been the area to have him assessed and monitored in an ongoing manner.What we can learn from each case can help prevent future 'predictable' problems. It's not ever a guarantee who things will play out or if interventions will work, but it may improve the odds a great deal.

That said, many have likely taken time to reflect on the dynamics in a community or city and consider the internal dynamics and outplaying of social interactions and reality of reporting 'suspected gun use versus an unstable person.'

Even a group of police being informed of someone's verbal outbursts of a violent nature may choose to 'walk on by' the person, so there is no set response or effort made to track people who are 'well known to be volatile' and inform more of the neighborhood of safety protocol and ways to report effectively.

I would offer the ideas to inform people of one's errands and such and have a buddy as much as possible for walking or going out with children or others who need more attention (elderly and anyone who is unstable or fragile emotionally or prone to upsets or other socially challenging situations.)

See more on www.livfully.org and all the best for living more safely and securely on many levels even as situations like this may arise whether in homes or social groups or out in public. May Saheed Vassell be a meaningful part of out ongoing discussions about handling sporadic concerns, mental health challenges and finding ways to heal in a community on many levels when things go wrong. Condolences to all involved and especially his family and friends at this time of his transition.

See more online about Five Things You Need to Know About Saheed Vassell. The basic points include that Saheed Vassell had a metal pipe about the size of a gun that three different 911 calls reported as likely a gun or as being fired at passersby. Plain clothes police officers and one or more in uniformed fired at him without initially telling him to 'Stop and put your hands up, drop your weapon." They did not consider him to be a mentally unstable person (possibly known in the area as benign.)

Likely someone like that could have voluntarily been identified to police or other agencies to have someone help him not pose a risk to others or himself. More non-lethal measures to subdue someone such as tasing or clearing an area with a public warning system (whistles and such) may make sense to help people become more vigilant at monitoring others and their surroundings. Perhaps other people had clues he was not acting in his usual 'strange but benign' manner, and could have alerted family or other community members. That would need to be done voluntarily or within legal parameters to help more citizens be team players with safey in mind..