Robert Card wouldn’t come to the door.
Months before Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office deputies unsuccessfully attempted to perform a medical examination on the man who killed 18 people in Lewiston, Card Army Reserve commanders in New York faced the same problem — how to Could they get his help, which was clearly needed when he refused to let them into the room?
Their answer was to call the New York State Police. Enhanced body camera video released this week by three members provides new context to the July 16 visit to West Point where Card reported for annual training.
The footage, obtained by the Press Herald through a public records request, suggests Card’s erratic behavior had already isolated him from his family and caused concern among his colleagues in the Army Reserve. . and that both his commanding officer and the New York police officers were concerned that he would not accept assistance voluntarily, and that he might become violent if they tried to force the issue. It is clear that he was afraid of
The results of the New York State Troopers’ barracks visit have already been detailed in a report from the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office and early body camera footage released by New York State Police last week. Card eventually opened the door to police, and after a brief conversation in which he repeatedly claimed that people were calling him a pedophile behind his back everywhere he went, he agreed to be escorted to the hospital by a teammate for a psychiatric evaluation. did.
“He’s a strong man,” said one reservist, whose face and name are redacted in the video. “I’m worried about the nurses.”
bones and skin
Body camera recordings by three officers, each recording a nearly identical 70 minutes, show Card’s squad members explaining their concerns and the strategy they used to get the 40-year-old man to the hospital. The video shows him devising a plan.
One reservist said Card had been acting strange from the moment he arrived at his barracks the previous afternoon. That night, while on the run for pizza and beer, Card repeated his claims that people were insulting him behind his back, and he almost punched a friend who asked him what was wrong. I made a move. The soldiers told police that they had never been violent, but that they had repeatedly said, “I’ll figure this out,” in what police considered a threat.
Warning: This video contains profanity. Robert Card’s interview starts around the 55 minute mark.
Concerns about the cards are not new, multiple reservists told members. Friends in the unit had known him as a “great guy” for 10 years, but something changed in the six months before training. One member told police that Card had become estranged from his family after the intervention failed. He’s always been quiet, but Card looked different during a training weekend last month. It was like he was focused on catching people talking about him.
“I’ve lost a lot of weight over the past six months,” said one member. “His face is sunken. He’s just skin and bones.”
That schedule is consistent with what Card’s son and ex-wife told Sagadahoc lawmakers in May, according to a report released by the department after the Lewiston shooting. After his lieutenants reported these concerns to Army Reserve units, Card’s commanders promised to keep an eye on him and try to get him help.
It is unclear whether the force took any action regarding Card’s mental health before notifying New York State Police in July.
“I don’t know what he can do.”
On July 16, the soldiers spoke for nearly an hour with members of their unit outside their barracks. They repeatedly asked if drug or alcohol abuse might be contributing to Card’s erratic behavior, but multiple soldiers said they did not believe drugs were involved. I didn’t know if he started taking any new medications. Instead, they suggested that the voices Mr. Card said he was hearing could be related to his new hearing aids.
“This is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” said one reservist.
Both police and reservists agreed that Card’s actions were alarming and the assessment was justified. One soldier said he was reluctant to give Card a ride back to Maine because of his attitude. Another man mentioned a “gun card worth between $20,000 and $30,000” that was found in his home. They said it was dangerous for Card to be around cadets at the range that week.
“He just spent $140,000 on a scope,” said one soldier. “We don’t know what he’s capable of, and he’s not hinting at anything, but he’s just saying he has a ton of guns.”
However, the group had trouble coming up with a plan. As an active reservist, Card could be ordered to undergo an evaluation. However, commanders feared that they were not equipped to safely enter Card’s room if Card continued to refuse to open the door. The police agreed that Mr. Card needed to go to the hospital, but the police themselves could assess Mr. Card and determine if Mr. Card had said anything that would give them probable cause to threaten himself or others. He said that only those who have been arrested may be placed in protective custody. Same reason. Deputy Sagadahok later explained why he did not take Card into custody in September.
Card ended up letting police into his room, and although he stubbornly insisted that the voices he was hearing were real, he said he would follow orders from his superiors to go to the hospital.
Card was evaluated at Keller Army Regional Hospital and spent two weeks at Four Winds Psychiatric Hospital, according to documents released by the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office in October. It is unclear whether the admission was voluntary, but in a video released this week, a police officer said in a video released this week that a private hospital “would have just discharged him – I guarantee you that.”
Two months after New York police officers took him to the hospital, Mr. Card refused to open the door to his home for a deputy in Sagadahoc who was reported to have threatened to shoot up an army base. Deputies worked with Mr. Card’s brother to devise a plan to take away Mr. Card’s access to the gun, but the deputy did not confront Mr. Card directly. He told the commission investigating the shooting last month that the decision not to follow up was because Card, who had initially hid in his room in July, eventually calmed down and agreed to speak to police. He said it was based in part on facts.
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