- Nick Hytrek - Sioux City Journal, Iowa (TNS)

Photo by Daria Sannikova on Pexels.com

SERGEANT BLUFF — Before the day her son Michael died, Carol Meredith had never heard the term "#suicide by #cop," much less knew what it meant.

Unfortunately, she would learn first-hand its meaning.

Hours after Michael Meredith told her he'd do something to make an #officer shoot him if she tried to have him taken against his will for a #mentalhealth assessment, he rushed a Woodbury County Sheriff's deputy with a tire iron, forcing the deputy to grab his service weapon and fire two shots, one of them fatal.

In review, it appears to be a #suicide by #cop situation: a subject draws #police to the scene, then acts in a way to force #officers to use deadly force. In many cases, the person will pull out a #gun, or an object that looks like one, leading #police to fire their weapons.

In Meredith's case, he prowled about a mobile home park, prompting a resident to call 911 and report a possible burglary. Once two sheriff's deputies and a Sergeant Bluff #policeofficer responded, Meredith ran at them, forcing the fatal response.

"When they happen rapidly, there's really nothing you can do. You don't sign up as a #policeofficer to shoot someone who wants to commit #suicide," said David Klingler, a criminology and criminal justice professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a former #policeofficer.

Because it's not always possible to determine if a #police shooting was a #suicide, there's no definitive data on how common #suicide by #cop incidents are.

According to the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit think-tank, there were approximately 900-1,000 fatal #officer-involved shootings each year from 2015-18. An estimated 10% or more were #suicide by cop incidents, meaning there could be roughly 100 or more a year. A research study in Los Angeles found that for each suicide by cop incident that ended in the subject's death, approximately 60 others were attempted, but #police de-escalated the situations without using lethal force.

Chuck Wexler, the #Police Executive Research Forum's executive director, said his group reviews videos of #officer-involved shootings to better understand #suicide by cop incidents. A current trend involves the subject, nearly always #male, advancing toward #officers until they shoot him.

"It doesn't always happen that way, but the point is, there are enough similarities to look for," Wexler said.

#Mentalillness markers

One thing many have in common is the subject had a history of #mentalillness or was having a #mentalhealthcrisis at the time of the shooting. #Drugs and #alcohol also may be involved. Those common factors, Wexler said, highlight the need for crisis intervention training so #officers can more effectively communicate with the subject they're encountering to defuse the situation before it leads to gunfire.

"Without training, you wouldn't know what to look for," Wexler said. "The key is to teach #police warning signs of someone who might be in crisis."

If a 911 dispatcher learns the subject is suicidal or in crisis, relaying that information to responding officers is the first step toward a peaceful resolution. Officers then can alter their approach, staying a safe distance from the subject, keeping their weapons holstered and speaking calmly rather than shouting. That training can help #officers better read a situation when arriving, Klingler said.

As Meredith's case illustrates, it's not always that simple.

He had a history of #anxiety and #alcoholism. His family said he told them he hadn't slept in the five days prior to his death and he was hallucinating, talking about fictional characters breaking into his home and, about an hour before he was shot, green caterpillars crawling on his ceiling.

But the officers who encountered Meredith that night didn't know any of this. Even if they had, Meredith rushed and attacked Deputy Eric Fay immediately after being contacted, leaving Fay with little choice but to use his weapon. The entire interaction lasted less than 10 seconds. Fay and his fellow #officers had no chance to gauge Meredith's #mentalhealth status or de-escalate the situation.

"They would not have had time to process it. Oftentimes, yes, there is time for communication. The attack started as they saw him," Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan said.

It was a case in which the deputies' training was useless because they had no time to implement it.

At least they had the training, Klingler said, pointing out that every state has a different #mentalhealth training curriculum for law enforcement #officers and there are no national standards when it comes to that type of instruction.

"How thorough that training is, I don't know," he said. "I'm unaware of any national board that requires academies to look if you're going to be an officer, you're going to need training in crisis management and #mentalhealth."

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Iowa offers training

In Iowa, #officers seeking certification at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in Johnston, a state agency that certifies all #officers in the state and trains a large number of them, must complete 16.5 weeks of training, a lot of it pertaining to #mentalhealth.

"It's not just a one-and-done class. It's embedded in every course that we speak to," said Judy Bradshaw, the academy's director.

When she took over in 2014, Bradshaw said, there were no crisis intervention or #mentalhealth classes. Now it's an emphasis, she said, including a four-hour class on #mentalhealth emergencies and other crisis intervention, classroom and scenario training.

"There is certainly more awareness," she said.

It's hard not to be aware, when a large number of calls involve subjects with some type of #mentalhealthissue, Sioux City Police Chief Rex Mueller said.

"Certainly, we are aware of the fact a lot of people we are dealing with are in crisis," Mueller said. "It can be a huge challenge because you can be dealing with someone who doesn't think as a rational person does. No matter the training, some people can be very hard to deal with."

Mueller said Sioux City #policeofficers are taught how to communicate not only with people who are mentally ill, but also autistic and developmentally challenged. That training is ongoing, he said, and exceeds state requirements.

Looking for compliance

Sheehan said his deputies approach every call aiming to resolve it peacefully through de-escalation techniques they've practiced, acting and speaking to project a calm demeanor in an effort to help an agitated individual feel more relaxed.

"Going in, the goal is to generate voluntary compliance," Sheehan said. "We try to train all of our staff that you can't rationalize with everybody, but you can reason with everyone."

And force is to be used only in response to a threat.

"First and foremost, the thing to remind the public is we don't dictate the use of force. We respond," Sheehan said.

In Meredith's case, deputies had to respond before they could utilize their training. But if all departments placed an increased emphasis on training for such encounters, Wexler said, some of those situations may have better endings.

"It's not easy," Wexler said. "Sometimes things happen quickly. Not every situation will you be able to slow it down."

Proper training could increase the chances #officers can do so.

"This is about education," Wexler said.

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https://standingabovethecrowd.com/2023/03/jamesdonaldson-on-mentalhealth-suicide-by-cop-incidents-demonstrate-a-need-for-mentalhealth-training/