A man with a "chronic booking history” was jailed overnight, marking his 539th arrest in Nashville.
According to an affidavit from the Metro Nashville Police Department, most of Robert Brown's arrests were just misdemeanor charges, like the latest one for criminal trespassing and public intoxication.
Sheriff Hall said Brown has been an example of how the criminal justice and court systems fail people suffering with mental illness.
"The real reason anyone would be arrested in the hundreds of times is very deep, usually mental illness or addictions," Hall said. "What we do, unfortunately in society, is we treat it as a criminal justice matter. It’s not. That individual doesn't know the difference often times between right and wrong, and we’re questioning why we tell them to be in court and they don’t show up."
Brown was arrested Wednesday at an Exxon on Rosa Parks Boulevard for allegedly refusing to leave and arguing with an employee.
Police arrived and noted that he was "intoxicated to a point that he was a danger to himself and others."
Hall said Brown's story has shown why Nashville needs the Behavioral Health Center set to open in 18 months as part of the new jail.
"We want police to bring the person to this new facility and allow the mental health staff to design a treatment plan for the individual that will entail what is really the problem," Hall said. "The problem is not criminal. It’s illness."
The 48-year-old man has arrests dating back to 1994 when he was 25 years old. He was scheduled to be in court Thursday morning.
