Authorities aren't always sympathetic when someone suffers a mental breakdown, so it's heartening to see this compassion from the Marion County Prosecutor's Office:
An Indianapolis man who prompted a seven-hour standoff with police after he wouldn't come out of his downtown apartment will not be charged.
National Guard Sgt. Jason Carrera, 26, who served two tours in Iraq, was armed when he barricaded himself inside the Lockefield Gardens apartments near the Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis campus on the morning of Sept. 29, eventually surrendering peacefully that afternoon.
In addition to the two Iraq tours, Carrera is dealing with a divorce, the aftermath of a friend's suicide and getting carjacked, and investigators say he may be suffering from post-raumatic stress disorder. Ya think? It would have been much different if someone had been killed or even injured during the standoff, and police deserve credit for keeping their cool.
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Given SWAT is only paramilitary training versus an actual trained soldier with two tours of actual combat experience, I suspect a healthy dose of self-preservation also had something to do with "keeping their cool."
As for the prosecutor - a lack of any legitimate charges should be enough (though it often isn't) but in this case pressing them would be PR suicide.