It is an all too familiar factual pattern. It starts with a plea for help. A 911 call is placed to the police department seeking assistance for an individual suffering from mental illness. The caller is typically a relative or friend of the mentally ill individual who may be threatening to harm himself, or someone else, or is acting erratically. The caller feels helpless with no place else to turn, so she reaches out to the police. At least at the outset everyone seems to mean well, trying to help; the 911 caller, the police dispatcher, and the officers dispatched to the scene.