The police chief emphasizes the importance of cooperation in dealing with mental health crises and advocates medical intervention in arrests.
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — It’s a dangerous trend, according to people who are trying their best to stop the shooting.
Police say there are violent incidents around the community involving people experiencing mental health crisis.
Seven San Antonio police officers were shot in January by a man who was subject to a domestic violence protection order who had experienced a mental disorder.
In February, in Schörtz, the armed man police said were hallucinated and accused of shooting a neighbourhood until police were able to disarm him.
Schertz Police Chief Jim Lowry said that while officers had taken the accused for a mental health assessment hours before the attack, “I think it’s important to set up a foundation for everyone to let people know that people in mental crisis and mental health are not really law enforcement.”
While recognizing law enforcement is an important partner, Laurie said, “There are other stakeholders who actually have a big part of this… and when we take someone to protective custody, it now becomes the responsibility of another stakeholder.”
Recognizing this challenge, four local police chiefs gathered for discussion about what they wanted people to know and what they could do to improve outcomes for everyone.
Universal City Chief Johnny Siemens said that while crisis intervention training for executives has increased dramatically over the years, it is important to recognize that solving these complex scenarios takes time.
“We also want officers to exercise discretion in these cases. They don’t do anything morally or ethically correct just because you can do it legally right,” Siemens said. “We want them to be problem solvers as well as takers, so a lot of time is invested in these types of calls.”
“One of the things that really matters to understand is that the person is a patient, not a criminal, he is a medical episode,” said Converse Police Chief Bobby Lane.
Lane said officers are trying to eliminate tensions, but arresting people in crisis is often not the right answer.
Lane said the goal is to guide the person to appropriate medical interventions.
“The person hasn’t been arrested, but the handcuffs are still in use, but it’s for the protection of officers, the protection of patients, but it’s not arrested. It’s a protective oversight,” Lane said.
Chiboro’s Chief Tedrik Andres repeated his concerns.
“At the end of the day, I think the ultimate goal is to make sure they are caring for them and make sure their needs are met so that they can be productive in the community when they return to the community… especially in the city of Tiboro, as we want the best results for them.”
Siemens said less than 25% of responses to these types of calls in Universal City result in emergency detention.
According to Lowery, Schertz’s rate is around 16%.
“Overall, our people are doing a great job,” Laurie said.
Siemens said he repeatedly reduced the problem when he was able to establish trust with his family.
“Our appeal to these homes has fallen. Few revisited homes that needed a lot of resources,” Siemens said.
All chiefs agree that it will make a huge difference in building relationships with those seeking help.
“I want to make that clear. I’m everyone who has the courage to say I need help? I don’t want to stop them,” Laurie said. “We all want them to call.”
They often say when a person appears not to be dangerous to themselves or others when evaluated by a professional.
Andres said real progress will be made when all stakeholders come together to tackle a better solution.
“We have to have a continuous conversation. We continue to train our executives because we have really compassion for putting the right stakeholders on the table and wanting to help,” Andres said. “Now it’s at the top of all of our agendas.”
The STRAC or The Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council is a collaborative group that helps members coordinate health and safety issues across our region.
They have created a very helpful video detailing how the emergency detention process for a mental health incident works. The Chief hopes that everyone will see, learn and even participate in the conversation about solutions to challenges that we all share.
This important topic often affects so many families and lives, so if you want to know more about how things work, you can make sure that your entire conversation with the Chief is always accessible.
It’s 30 minutes of important information that will help keep your loved ones safe.
Download Ken 5+ on your TV and watch it for free now.
