CHANHASSEN, Minn. - It's been five weeks since the fatal police shooting of a teenage boy in Chanhassen. And now there's a call for another investigation.
One of the nation's largest mental health organizations is asking the state to investigate why mental health professionals wouldn't respond to a call from Archer Amorosi's father the day before the teen was shot.
Sixteen-year-old Archer Amorosi was shot by two Carver County deputies while they say he held a hatchet and BB gun after his mother called 911 and said he was being "violent and destructive."
But that was actually the second 911 call from that home, in two days.
The day before, Archer's father Don Amorosi called, saying, "He has mental health issues and I'd like you to come escort him to the hospital," according to the 911 transcript obtained by KARE 11.
Police who responded didn't do that.
And Don Amorosi says before 911, he called Carver County's Mental Health Crisis Team, and they wouldn't respond to help Archer.
"They said it wasn't a crisis and to call back if he's homicidal or suicidal," Amorosi said on the day of the shooting.
"To see that perhaps some systems failed their child, that makes it even harder I think," said Sue Abderholden, the executive director of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Abderholden believes Archer's death could have been prevented.
NAMI is now formally asking the Minnesota Department of Human Services to investigate why the Crisis Team didn't go out to help Archer the day before the shooting, and whether they failed to follow the law, which broadly defines a mental health crisis.
"It's just that you're worried, basically, about that individual's mental health. That's all that it takes. So to say they have to be suicidal or homicidal is absolutely, totally incorrect," Abderholden said.
Abderholden believes the Carver County Crisis Team should have responded in-person if Archer's father reported a mental health crisis, like is reflected in the 911 transcript.
"You don't want it to be the end of a mental health crisis before you intervene. You want it to be at the beginning of a crisis," Abderholden said.
On Tuesday Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Chuck Johnson released a statement on the call for an investigation into why the crisis team did not respond to Amorosi's request to help his son.
“A young person’s death is a tragedy, and our hearts go out to the family and friends of this boy as they grieve his loss. DHS is committed to doing all we can to ensure that people with mental illness get the care they need.," Johnson wrote. "We understand and appreciate the concerns expressed by NAMI regarding the services provided by mental health crisis teams. We have reached out to NAMI and to Carver County to determine how we can help shed light on this particular case and work on improvements statewide so that crisis services are received when they are needed the most.”
The reason Abderholden is asking DHS to investigate is they provide funding for county mental health crisis teams, and she says they have responsibility to make sure the dollars are used correctly.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is still investigating the shooting.