Sheriff can't get help for PTSD shooter because the VA said NO

Here we go again! We tell law enforcement to get their act together so they treat veterans with PTSD as if they are troubled and need help. This Sheriff listened. He paid attention. He didn't kill this veteran. He took him into custody and tried to get him help. What happened? Nothing! The VA said they would't help!

Sheriff can't get help for PTSD shooter
VA denied mental treatment, lawman says
Updated: Thursday, 26 Jul 2012
Ian Schwartz

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A heavily armed veteran who caused quite a scare Wednesday remains jailed on Thursday.

Torrance County Sheriff Heath White told KRQE News 13 the man needs mental help, so he turned to the agency he thought would be most likely to provide it but came up empty.

White said, Morris Haviland, the ex-soldier, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, after being badly wounded during peacekeeping duty in Bosnia.

On Wednesday he fired a dozen shots inside his house in Mountainair, and after surrendering, claimed it was booby trapped with explosives.

"He started deteriorating throughout the week," White said. "He started reliving his experience through the military while he was overseas."

White said during his PTSD episode Haviland, 54, started firing his AK-47 inside his home getting the attention of a lot cops and then the bomb squad.

"He definitely needed some type of mental health assistance, whether it be medication, counseling," White said.

After deputies took Haviland into custody, White called the Veterans Administration hospital in Albuquerque.

He wanted to get Haviland immediate mental help for his PTSD, help he could not get in jail.
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