Sanford: Abusive behavior of Crisis Intervention Team belies intent
Otis Sanford
Otis Sanford is professor emeritus of Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Memphis and political commentator for WATN-TV ABC24 News. Contact him at o.sanford@memphis.edu.
Joseph DeWayne Robinson had been acting strangely for months.
Convinced someone was out to harm him, Robinson told his mother he expected to be killed any day.
At 27, Robinson was living with his mother, Reba Brownlee, his sister and her two children in what was then the LeMoyne Gardens public-housing complex in South Memphis. He had become a heavy cocaine user and his daily existence was spiraling out of control.
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