Advocacy group says underutilized mental health statute could have prevented Lewiston shooting [Video]

Members of a national advocacy group called on state officials Friday to expand the use of Maine’s progressive treatment program, a law they argued could be used to prevent acts of violence – like the Lewiston mass shooting – but that remains underutilized by police.

The National Shattering Silence Coalition has asked the commission investigating the shooting to look into why no one used the law to ensure Robert Card received treatment before he killed 18 people last October, former state legislator John Nutting said at a news conference at the State House on Friday morning.

“We don’t want them to only worry about how Maine can react to the next tragedy quicker,” Nutting said. “We want them to focus on preventing the next tragedy.”

Maine’s progressive treatment program, sometimes called the “green paper” program, allows medical providers, police or the legal guardian of a patient who suffers from severe …