SAN ANTONIO – The recent commitment of accused cop killer Joshua Lopez to the state hospital for the criminally insane points to the need for more mental health intervention in the criminal justice system, said veteran state District Judge Sid Harle.
On Monday, Lopez pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting death of Elmendorf Police Chief Michael Pimentel, who was shot during a traffic stop in summer 2014.
Lopez's lawyer, Joel Perez, said that countless red flags in his client's case were ignored.
"The easiest solution is to put them in jail instead of having a system where you commit them and they get help," Perez said.
Harle agreed that there should be a better way.
"There probably should be some sort of task force on intervention crisis that can go in there, and if there's not enough to commit, then at least talk to them," Harle said.
Harle, who is a member of the Judicial Commission on Mental Health, said doing that would cost money.
"You've got to hire more case workers to go in there and provide services. We have to have residential facilities, and we have to have money to buy meds," he said.
The operative word in the situation and the solution is money, Harle said. And that puts the problem in the hands of state lawmakers.
"Hopefully, we'll have some legislative proposal with some good alternatives and that's what I'll be looking for," he said. "It's going to require funding."
Harle said that, in view of mass shootings around the country, addressing the problem now is critical.
"With the mass shootings and all of the tragedies we've had, this is something we should be focusing on," he said.