Newton Police shot & killed a young Newton resident today in his home during what seems likely to have been a mental health crisis – which was physically containable. Police did not need to use deadly force, and they were not the appropriate people to resolve this incident. This tragedy was avoidable.

Other countries prove you do not need to bring a gun into a situation like this to resolve it safely. We cannot keep doing this. The FY22 Newton budget ought to reallocate significant resources from armed police to unarmed mental health, social work, & code enforcement teams.