The death of Miriam Carey, the woman who was shot dead outside the U.S. Capitol last Thursday, has been on my heart.  Somehow it touched my heart that this woman with a small baby was shot dead after her car was shot at in at least two separate incidents 22 times.  I am sensitive to people’s right to express themselves, and in this case, whatever her mental problems were, to live. 

Affidavits filed to get a search warrant to search her car explain that she did not ram into any barriers at the White House.  Rather, a bike rack was placed behind her car as an officer/s approached.  She knocked over that barrier, and that resulted in an officer being knocked down (not an officer knocked onto the hood of her car, as some news stories said).  Seven shots were fired at the circle on the west side of the Capitol, after officers had tried to stop her and open her car door and she sped away. Fifteen shots were fired after she was stopped by a barricade at Constitution Ave. NE and 2nd St. NE.

I want to know why, to my knowledge, none of the Secret Service or Capitol Police officers who fired on her and ultimately killed her, have been put on administrative leave pending an investigation of the killing?  For most all police departments, this is standard procedure, but apparently not for the Secret Service and Capitol Police. 

Although no investigation will bring Ms. Carey back from the dead, it would go a long way into easing the pain of her mother, sisters and other family members.  Watch this video of Ms. Carey's family members speaking out on Fox News:

I have learned in my work teaching youth the benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage, that public officials can be oppressive and can violate individual freedoms.  Heavy handed tactics in DC Public schools have resulted in students hearing how same sex marriage is fine, but the message of abstinence before marriage being stifled.  In this case we have the case of a woman who clearly had some issues receiving an unusually harsh "sentence" (without a trial, so to speak) of death.

The fact that Capitol Police cannot communicate by radio with the Secret Service (and other police forces?) is a problem that should be fixed ASAP.  Capitol Police apparently did not know what was going on until they heard the shots fired seven times by Secret Service agents who were trying to stop Carey at the circle just west of the Capitol.  This makes no sense at all.

Another important area of concern is the use of medication for many mental ailments in the US.  These medications have many side effects, including thoughts of suicide or delusional thinking.  Why are so many medications prescribed, when there are such serious side effects?  In the United States, 10 percent of men and a whopping 21 percent of adult women used antidepressants.  Is this always in the best interest of the patient being treated, or could there be a financial incentive to over prescribe these medications?

Secret Service, Capitol Police and their superiors, lets show respect for the rule of law and decency to the family members by putting on administrative leave any officers involved in the shooting until the investigation is completed, and by having impartial third parties investigate all the facts and determine whether this shooting spree was a justified response to the actions taken by Ms. Carey.  Also, let's think more carefully about how we deal with mental issues, and if it is best to emphasize the use of medications versus other treatment options.