John Palameda | Red Phoenix guest contributor | Illinois–

A woman, who was reportedly suicidal, was shot and killed by a police officer at a home in the 1100 block of Ashbrook Drive in Mundelein on May 11. (Nick Rusin/Lake & McHenry County Scanner)

On May 11, 2026, at around 6:00 pm in Mundelein, IL, a northern suburb of Chicago, a relative called the police and stated that Mary Alice Love, 37, was suicidal and had said she wanted police to kill her. Police arrived shortly thereafter and murdered Mary, stating that she had been wielding “two large knives” while on the patio (according to a statement by the “major crimes task force” of Lake County) and had “aggressively opened the screen door” before officers shot her four times inside the home. She was dead before they even got her in the ambulance, which had arrived with police, who noted a “full (cardiac) arrest” to the ambulance outside.

The public response from local authorities has been predictable. The police and city government have stated that the incident was “a tragedy,” and have turned off comments on city and police department social media. Such is the fate of people killed by the police from the perspective of local governments. Their murder was a tragic “accident,” created by sad circumstances outside of our control as a society. The public response is also what you would expect: some anger, others defending the police, and the incessant, useless litany of “thoughts and prayers” for all involved.

I do know what it is like to talk to someone in crisis. I am a mental health crisis worker. I have sat next to people who were holding weapons. I have looked into the eyes of people in crisis who I was not completely sure would not harm me. Yet, in these countless situations, I have never hurt anyone or been hurt myself. I was never even armed with any kind of weapon or restraint. As a crisis worker, I was expected to use crisis deescalation, body language, and pragmatic problem solving to prevent the worst.

What’s the difference? I have actual training for this work (that I care about and implement, unlike most cops) and do not see a person who is suicidal as a threat. A suicidal woman should never be shot four times and killed instantly by a group of armed men. A group of armed men, no less, called by a genuinely-concerned relative who wanted to help. Now, that relative must live with the fact that they called Mary’s killers.

As with so many other police killings, despair is a natural reaction. How many more must die before anything is done? But in this case, direct solutions are available. First and foremost, the police officers involved must be charged for their crimes, which should always be the first priority. We should avail ourselves of what little justice is available to us. Beyond this, on a country-wide level, armed police must stop responding to mental health crises. In many large cities and larger, better-funded states, there are already CIT (Crisis-Intervention Team) officers who are often unarmed and trained in crisis intervention. Mundelein has no such officers, and this is true of most suburban and rural towns. As with most things, there are two Americas, and where you live determines a great deal.

Beyond this, we must continue our fight for community control of the police and universal healthcare. The police will never be accountable if they police themselves. They will always blame the vulnerable and those in mental health crisis. Being suicidal is not a crime, but the police will always use “mental illness” as their excuse for murder. Millions of Americans additionally cannot afford mental healthcare and millions more will lose access in 2027 due to cuts to Medicaid. From the local to the federal and to the world, all of our issues from the gas pump to the smoking gun of the unaccountable police are linked to the things the people of the world are forced to endure under this violent capitalist regime. As Malcolm X said, “we must stop it ourselves!”

Justice for Mary Alice Love! No free killer cops!
Cops out of mental healthcare!
Mental illness is not a crime!
Safe and non-judgmental healthcare for all!

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