Leader of Pittsburgh Public Safety calls for meeting to overhaul mental health system

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Leaders in Pittsburgh have taken the first step toward preventing the random Downtown attacks the city has seen on innocent people.

In a KDKA Investigates special report on Monday , Andy Sheehan found many of the alleged attackers have been people experiencing homelessness suffering from addiction, mental illness, or both. They've been arrested time and again, only to be released without jail time or without getting the help they need.

Now, Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt is calling for a meeting of all stakeholders to overhaul the system.

"What I see that needs to happen is everyone comes together to figure out these problems," Schmidt said. "We all need to come to the table and take ownership of what portions we're responsible for and what we can do better."

KDKA Investigates found each of the alleged attackers exhibited signs of addiction or mental illness but were repeatedly arrested and released.

Jameel Hall, who has been arrested and released nine times in the past five years, is accused of attacking a 73-year-old man. He told police that he believed the victim to be a pedophile because "his mind told him so."

Shurontaya Festa, a woman arrested and released a half-dozen times, is accused of randomly attacking an 18-year-old young woman she said she believed was stalking her.

Arnez Johnson, who has been arrested 13 times for crimes ranging from theft to exposing himself, was eventually put in jail on charges of indecent assault.

Schmidt said the system has failed to identify these people as needing help. In each case, Schmidt says the system failed to intercede before they committed the assaults.

"So many of the people we see, we do see over and over again," Schmidt said. "When they're committing these lower-level incidents, we have the opportunity to get them the help they need."

Schmidt says currently the system is failing to keep citizens safe by failing to get these at-risk individuals the help or treatment they need. He believes getting all the stakeholders in the same room will lead to better coordination and use of available resources.

"I'm not saying one time we convene as a committee and we're done," he said. "I'm saying this should be an ongoing check-in all the time."

The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, which currently has a mental health court to adjudicate cases involving people with mental health or behavioral problems, issued KDKA-TV a statement saying it's onboard.

"The issues surrounding the availability of mental health services and their interaction with the justice system are important concerns. The court is always interested in collaborating with others to discuss these issues."

"My hope is we all come together and take ownership of where our own processes are failing and how we can make them better, even if it is one step at a time," Schmidt said.

Schmidt says time is of the essence. He wants to convene this summit before month's end and begin implementing changes to identify at-risk homeless people and protect the public.