GREENFIELD — New video from the Greenfield Police Department shows officers as they responded to a mental health crisis at an apartment building on Sunday, June 15th.
The man in need of help turned out to be Amando Lang.
Amando Lang was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in 2019 after he allegedly stabbed and killed 49-year-old Ben Christianson.
Ben Christianson was collecting soil samples on the side of a Greenfield road in 2019 when prosecutors say then-19-year-old Lang stabbed Christianson to death.
After a judge ruled that Lang was mentally incompetent, the case was never sent to trial. Court records show Lang was sent to Mendota Mental Health Institute.
Authorities and Christianson's family say they were not made aware of Lang's release from the institution.
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Greenfield police say it was during the mental health crisis call on Sunday that they would learn that Lang was back in the community.
The video shows officers saying, “It’s wildly risky to not have him detained right now,” adding, “We don’t know what he is capable of.”
The District Attorney's office now says they will call for an emergency hearing on Monday, where prosecutors will ask for Lang's competency to be reevaluated to see if he can be held criminally responsible for the 2019 stabbing.
Watch: ‘We don’t know what he is capable of’: New video shows Greenfield police responding to mental health crisis of stabbing suspect
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