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Video: St. Louis woman steals, crashes patrol car during mental health emergency

As officers were attempting to speak with the woman, she jumped in the unlocked vehicle and placed the car in drive, while officers struggled to pry the door open

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Photo/YouTube via KMOV News

By Ashley Silver
Police1

ST. LOUIS — Recent police bodycam video from St. Louis shows how the theft of an officer’s patrol vehicle has prompted a larger conversation about mental health in the city.

Video shared by KMOV News shows police officer Tony Moutray speaking to a woman who authorities were told was experiencing a mental health emergency. At the beginning of the footage, officers can be seen waiting on the sidewalk for paramedics to arrive and assist.

“I think she was afraid of us so at first I tried to take control of the situation and then take a step back to calm her down, so we can figure out who she was, where she lived and then she still didn’t know,” Officer Mike Kortkamp told KMOV.

As officers were attempting to speak with her further, the woman began to run toward the patrol car, jumped in the unlocked vehicle and placed the car in drive as officers struggled to pry the door open.

After driving a few feet, the woman then placed the car in reverse, slamming into a nearby tree.

Officers said their training had a lot to do with the actions they took to control the situation without using force.

“She was not a threat. There’s no point for me to tase her. She wasn’t fighting with me, so I didn’t really need to take it to that level,” Kortkamp told the media outlet. “You can de-escalate yourself as long as they’re not a threat to others.”

North County Police told KMOV they will recommend mental health treatment instead of jail time and hope this video serves as a positive example for others in law enforcement when dealing with those who may be mentally distressed.

RELATED: How a mental health co-response term maintains community safety

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