Miriam Carey was an average mother 34 year old mother who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She was a dental hygienist raising her daughter, Erica. Her family labeled her as a very ambitious individual. She had aspirations to become a dentist or to write a book in the dental field. She obtained an associate’s degree from Hostos Community College in 2002. Then earned a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College that allowed her to pursue a license for dental hygiene. She started a placement agency for dental office personnel while working as a hygienist. “She was full of life, passionate about everything she did,” Jeannie Marra, a coworker of Miriam tells The Washington Post.
On October 3, 2013 Miriam would take the last drive of her life. According to NBC4 Washington, “She allegedly told officers who responded to her Stamford apartment prior to the Capitol Hill incident that President Barack Obama communicated with her and had set up cameras to record her life for national news outlets.” On an important note, Miriam was diagnosed with postpartum depression and psychosis. She reached the White House checkpoint and made a turn around, hitting a cop that was trying to block her path, then drove away. As she was attempting to drive away from the scene, she was stopped at the Garfield Circle. This did not stop her though; she backed the car into reverse and drove away. This is when officers opened fire at the car with the woman and her child in the backseat. The car soon crashed into some security barriers and stopped. Miriam was shot several times, but Erica was miraculously unharmed.
This case is similar to Deborah Danner because they both involve an argument about mental illness and whether or not the police handled the situation correctly. Death could have been avoided in both cases but many lawyers defending the officers mention how the police react on the public’s safety first. In this particular case the chairwoman of the Department of Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice Administrations, Maki Haberfeld argues that officers were right to shoot due to the fact that Miriam could have been a potential terrorist attack. “We live in times of heightened alert as far as terrorist activities are concerned. It’s a matter of a split second decision that the police officer needs to take before someone explodes himself. It’s all about the larger context. They just push the button, or it could be activated from a remote location.” She said in defense of the police. When she says things like “heightened alert” and “larger context” she makes a controversial statement by implying that one life is better to sacrifice than numerous lives when really all people can be spared. A matter of split seconds can be acted upon by thinking rationally before acting by impulse.
As I reflect back on the cases of Miriam Carey and Deborah Danner I feel as though they are trying to speak past gender or race and educate on something that affects everyone. Even with how advanced we have become as a society, mental health awareness and how to handle it still needs improvement. According to Sorsha Roberts who wrote an article for mental health concerns, she says “35-50% of people with severe mental health disorders in the Global North receive no treatment.” This information was stated in 2018. A generation where we have small portable computers in the palm of our hands but yet people struggle with mental health with no treatment. These kinds of police brutality situations are good indicators as to why mental health treatment and awareness needs to expand. I hope she gets justice and rest in peace.
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