After his adult son struck him in the face, leaving him bloodied and shaken, Sameer Nagwekar faced an agonizing decision. His son’s schizophrenia was spiraling out of control, but with no access to emergency psychiatric care, police suggested a restraining order. Today, his son lives alone—an arrangement Nagwekar says protects his family, but is only further harming his son’s condition.
“We were left with no choice,” Nagwekar said.
Families across Fremont are urgently demanding increased access to 72-hour psychiatric holds, known as 5150 holds, to ensure their loved ones with mental illnesses receive immediate direct care. In November, representatives from National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) testified before the city council hoping to get these concerns on the agenda for future meetings.
Under California Welfare and Institutions Code 5150, an individual can be involuntarily detained in a locked psychiatric facility for up to 72 hours for evaluation if they pose a danger to themselves, others, or are “gravely disabled,” meaning unable to meet basic needs like food, clothing or shelter. This hold can be initiated by peace officers or authorized county personnel.
Police are generally granted qualified immunity when protecting the public from a mentally ill person, but their immunity is limited in private settings. Officers can detain someone acting erratically in public under laws like a 5150 hold, but if the individual is at home and not a public threat, officers may face lawsuits for excessive force or unlawful entry, per the Fourth Amendment. This creates a difficult situation for families calling police for help; without access to a 5150 hold, they must choose between enduring the danger or seeking a restraining order.
“We’re walking away from more of those cases,” said FPD Police Captain Eric Tang when talking about mental crisis calls from private residences. Tang explained that the police department’s Mobile Evaluation Team (MET) typically follows up with families a few days after a call, assuming tensions will have eased by then. However, this approach has not been satisfactory for many families, as they are often seeking immediate help.
In their fight for 5150 holds, families of loved ones with mental illnesses not only contend with existing laws but also face opposition from disability advocacy groups. Katy Polony, whose son has schizophrenia, explained that activists argue involuntary hospitalization violates human rights. However, Polony believes the situation is different for those with schizophrenia, who often suffer from anosognosia—a condition where they are unaware of their illness. She also stresses that 5150 holds should be used only as a last resort.
“My son tried to kill himself with a butcher knife and then tried to kill me,” Polony recalled. “We need help, and sometimes that means getting your loved ones in a freaking hospital.”
Lee Mason, a mother of a daughter with schizophrenia, recalled a terrifying incident when her daughter’s erratic behavior led her to call Fremont Police for help. FPD refused to implement a 5150 hold, instead offering a restraining order, which Mason eventually obtained. Now, her daughter is living on the street, and Mason mourns the loss of their relationship.
“I really believe if she had been 5150’d a door could have been opened for her and she would have begun to get the kind of help that she so desperately needs,” Mason said.
NAMI Alameda County President Peggy Rahman reiterated the profound challenges faced by families of individuals with severe mental illness. She said that when a person experiences a psychotic break, it causes lasting brain damage, and with each episode, the individual deteriorates further. Family members, she said, live in constant grief, witnessing their loved ones’ decline. To support these families, NAMI will offer family-to-family support classes in the spring. Rahman’s hope is that the growing publicity will pressure the city council to address their concerns.
“Our precious daughter lost her life to her illness,” Rahman said. “We don’t want that to happen to anyone else.”
