Another common trend among the police shootings of women were those involving mental health. According to The Washington Post, more than 30% of the women who were shot and killed by police since 2015 had a reported mental health issue.

The newspaper highlighted the case of DeCynthia Clements, a Black woman who was killed by police in Elgin, Illinois, on March 12, 2018, during a schizophrenia or bipolar episode, according to the Chicago Tribune.

According to Clements' family, the 34-year-old suffered from both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and had had frequent interactions with police who they said were familiar with her mental illnesses.

The family criticized officers for not being aware that she was in the middle of a mental health episode that required de-escalation rather than guns.

Officer Matthew Joniak pulled Clements over that day for what he said was a "suspicious vehicle." She drove away during the police stop but eventually pulled over on the side of a highway.

Multiple officers arrived and tried to get Clements out of the vehicle but they said she had two knives. For more than an hour, they tried to convince her to leave the car but she refused. According to bodycam footage from the scene, Clements then lit two items on fire and threw them in the back seat of her car, still refusing to get out.

Clements eventually left the car, and Lt. Christian Jensen told investigators that she "charged" at the four officers before he shot her three times, killing her.

Clements' family criticized the officers for not calling a mental health professional and instead resorting to violence to resolve the crisis.

The case has highlighted the need for other options besides police in cases involving mental health. A study from the Treatment Advocacy Center showed that about one-fifth of all police time is spent responding to mental health cases.

Her family sued the city because it was later revealed that a dispatcher told Jensen that other officers had dealt with Clements multiple times and knew she struggled with mental health.

Holly Clements, her sister-in-law, told The Washington Post that the national conversation about police violence against women was necessary but painful for the family.

“It’s not going to ever bring back my sister-in-law. But at least they’re trying to fix what was wrong,” she said.

Unfortunately, most of the cases mentioned by The Washington Post were never closed by police or flat out ignored, leaving families to pick up the pieces after their loss.

It’s the 100th day of protests in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the center of it all, the memorial for Breonna Taylor, who police shot and killed during a raid in March. pic.twitter.com/GAFgPLaLvF

— Ryan Van Velzer (@RyanVanVelzer) September 4, 2020

But Taylor's family continues to press the issue and an unprecedented campaign from activists, sports players and celebrities has put pressure on authorities.

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