Eric Adams orders involuntary hospitalization of mentally ill following string of horrific attacks, leftists fume

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is finally doing something about violent crime, at least as it relates to the homeless crisis, and left-wing activists aren’t happy about it.

On Tuesday, Adams announced a plan to involuntarily hospitalize homeless persons who live on the street or in subway stations who suffer from “untreated psychotic disorders who pose a risk of harm to themselves even if they are not an imminent threat to the public.”

To date, felonies committed in the New York City subway system have reportedly surged by 40 percent year over year.

The mayor also said that “if severe mental illness is causing someone to be unsheltered and a danger to themselves, we have a moral obligation to help them get the treatment and care they need.”

Administrative abuse is always possible, but any rational person already knew that a violence-prone, deranged, and/or drug-addicted vagrant — in New York City or any municipality — is at risk for self-harm, from being set upon by other wrongdoers, as well as someone who can menace the community.

Mayor Adams also insisted that “The common misunderstanding persists that we cannot provide involuntary assistance unless the person is violent. Going forward, we will make every effort to assist those who are suffering from mental illness.”

According to the New York Post, Adams decided to do something “following a string of horrifying subway attacks.”

Some liberals continue to view criminals or potential criminals as victims, and actual victims, or victims-to-be, as irrelevant. “The policy immediately raised questions about who, exactly, would be swept up in it, and some advocates for people with mental illness warned it could face legal challenges,” The New York Times explained.

For example, New York City Councilmember Tiffany Caban took to Twitter to denounce the Adams directive, describing it as “deeply problematic.”

Earlier this year, the Post called out Caban for apparent hypocrisy.

“When it was a question of Queens City Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán’s own safety, her office alerted the NYPD to the threatening calls — though Cabán’s been telling local businesses to avoid going to the cops,” the news organization’s editorial board claimed.

In a lengthy statement, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, who represents a lower Manhattan district, said she was “alarmed and disturbed” by the plan.

Advocacy group Housing Work deemed the Adams policy “inhumane and unacceptable.”

Donna Liberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, denounced the plan, according to Fox News. “The Mayor’s attempt to police away homelessness and sweep individuals out of sight is a page from the failed Giuliani playbook. With no real plan for housing, services, or supports, the administration is choosing handcuffs and coercion,” she said.

NYC was very safe, and experienced a renaissance, during the Giuliani administration, however.

“Lieberman contended that Adams’ proposal will ‘likely violate’ federal and state constitutions’ strict limitations on the government’s ability to detain people experiencing mental illness,” Fox News added.

“The Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, an advocacy group, said that involuntary hospitalization constituted ‘discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act,'” the Times noted.

Similar responses are rolling in.

The Post separately reported that the NYPD, the primary first-responding agency tasked with carrying out the directive to take transients into custody for psychiatric evaluations, was blindsided by Adams’ decision. One insider described the situation, which is requiring some form of immediate training, “as kind of a hot mess.”

Mayor Adams, 62, a former NYPD captain and Brooklyn Borough President, ran for the mayor’s office in part on a law-and-order platform, which largely explains his first-place finish in the July 2021 Democrat primary.

He easily defeated GOP standard-bearer Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and radio personality in the November 2021 general election.

Until recently, Adams seemed more interested in enjoying Gotham’s nightlife, lamenting the plight of illegal aliens, and otherwise mouthing woke platitudes than addressing rampant, violent lawbreaking, however.

In New York, so-called bail reform that results in catch and release even for violent, repeat offenders is a disaster.

According to the Times, Adams presumably does not want healthcare facilities to follow a similar model.

“Frequently, homeless people with severe mental illness are brought to hospitals, only to be discharged a few days later when their conditions improve slightly. Mr. Adams said the city would direct hospitals to keep those patients until they are stable and discharge them only when there is a workable plan in place to connect them to ongoing care. Hospitals often cite a shortage of psychiatric beds as the reason for discharging patients, but the mayor said that the city would make sure there were enough beds for people who were removed from the street.”

Watch a report on the Adams’ initiative aired by CBS New York:

“Existing state laws allow both the police and medical workers to take people involuntarily to a hospital when their behavior poses a threat of ‘serious harm’ to themselves or others…The city directive states that ‘unawareness or delusional misapprehension of surroundings’ or ‘delusional misapprehension of physical condition or health’ could be grounds for hospitalization.” the Times explained.

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