State College, Pa- At Tuesday’s Centre County Commissioner’s meeting, new details were released on a mental health task force formed in the county.
County Administrator Margaret Gray, one of two officials helping to oversee the creation of the task force (along with State College Borough Manager Tom Fountaine) announced that the force’s 30 members have been identified and are receiving confirmation letters this week.
Nine of the 30 members are from the general public. WTAJ was told some members are part of local activist groups, some formed after the death of 29-year-old Osaze Osagie. Osagie was a paranoid schizophrenic that many medical experts believe was experiencing auditory hallucinations. He died in March of this year as a result of an officer-involved shooting, after State College Police officers said he charged at them with a knife that he refused to drop.
The task force has it’s first meeting next Thursday evening, September 26, at the State College Borough Building.
Gray said the task force’s meetings will be open to the public, and that the meetings will include an opportunity for both the public and press to ask questions.
WTAJ has previously posted stories on the task force… focusing on what it will do, who is on it, and what type of power it will have.
Video links to these stories are below.