Brother Of DPD Shooter Says He Tried To Get Him Help
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Andrew Boulware says he tried for years to get help for his brother James, but he says the alleged gunman in the attack on Dallas Police Headquarters wouldn't agree to it, and that left the family with few options.
Andrew Boulware offers advice for those with a family member who suffers from mental illness.
"Don't ever let them out of your site. I mean don't... you need to make sure that they get the help that they need. Don't ever gloss over it," he said.
Boulware's family hardly glossed over his problems.
"Me and my wife both would talk to him and try to get down to the issues, and he just had this real seething anger, and I think he was mad at the world for it not being ideal," Andrew Boulware said.
When relatives urged James to seek treatment, they were not successful.
"He was not open to it at all. He thought that everybody else was crazy," Andrew Boulware said.
After police arrested James for assaulting his mother, Andrew says he even filled out an affidavit warning authorities about the family's fears.
"This was to be used to try to get a 72-hour hold to get him possibly committed. Because some of the rants and everything else that he was going on, it was definitely worthy of being committed," Andrew Boulware said.
But when he tried to get that 72-hour hold, James was living in Paris, Texas far from most of his relatives who could not easily appear in person to ask authorities for help. Andrew says a judge wanted that extra testimony because he had had minimal contact with his brother for a couple of years - so his word wasn't enough.
Andrew says he agrees that one voice shouldn't be enough to commit someone, and he doesn't have a perfect solution, but he believes the process should be streamlined to get a temporary hold on someone in need.
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