When Jesse Batten’s girlfriend called 911 on October 4 at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, she was desperately seeking help for the 30-year-old R&B music producer.
For about a week, he’d been drinking almost nothing but fifths of vodka. And he wasn’t eating or taking his medication for depression. During this time, he began sending her text messages that were “suicidal in nature,” said a family member, who didn’t feel comfortable having their name appear in this story, during an interview with L.A. TACO last month.
“She made it very clear that” it was a “mental health-related call" and that Jesse “just needed to go to the hospital,” the family member explained.
Police weren’t needed.
Despite their concerns, Jesse’s family tells L.A. TACO that ultimately, the firefighters, police, and medical professionals that they enlisted to help him “failed at every level.”