On a warm summer afternoon years ago, I was a young patrol officer dispatched to the area near Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene. Hospital staff had reported that a woman, distraught and threatening suicide, had fled the emergency department. I soon found her walking along the sidewalk. As I approached to offer help, I saw she was holding a straight razor in her hand and warning that if I came any closer, she would harm herself.
As we spoke, she suddenly swept her long hair back with one hand, exposed her neck and, without hesitation, drew the razor across it. The blade fell to the ground, and I immediately called for an ambulance. She was rushed back into the emergency room and quickly admitted. I expected she would be transferred to the Johnson Unit, the secure psychiatric ward, given how evident it was that she posed a danger to herself. To my surprise, however, she was released not long afterward.
That moment stayed with me. Not only because of the trauma she endured, but because of what it revealed about our behavioral health system. Even then, it was under strain…