A man walked into the Portsmouth Police Department this week ready to confess to stealing from a gas station, but the case ended not with charges — but with another reminder of how often officers are the first to respond when someone is in mental health crisis.
The man called ahead, saying he had taken items from the station at 2nd and Washington and wanted to turn himself in. He described himself to dispatchers and warned that he had a pocketknife on him as he approached the station.
Officers contacted the store, but employees told police they did not want to press charges. When officers spoke with the man, he explained that he had been struggling with mental health issues and had gone off his medication. Police decided not to pursue charges.
The Bigger Picture
Local officials say this encounter is typical of what officers face daily — calls that look like crime on the surface but are really rooted in untreated mental illness. With limited mental health resources in the community, police often serve as the first line of response, balancing safety concerns with compassion.
Advocates argue that more crisis intervention programs and access to treatment could ease the burden on law enforcement while better serving residents in distress. Without them, police say, situations like these will continue to play out in homes, streets, and even police lobbies across Portsmouth.
