Observations from a longtime CASA Guardian ad Litem;
Nationally, people suffering from untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed in interactions with law enforcement.
What’s it like to be the cop that shows up to engage a child or juvenile exhibiting violent/dangerous behaviors and you have no *significant de-escalation skills?
This CASA volunteer guardian ad litem worked with a 14 year old boy that planned his death by cop. He tried to kill himself on multiple occasions. Tortured from four to seven years old he became a State Ward child and my caseload charge as a CASA.
In the 14 years we were connected, he experienced 29 foster placements, was simultaneously required to take multiple psychotropic medications. He committed many police involved infractions, beat up his teacher (who quit teaching because of it) and had many hidden triggers to violent behavior.
Instead of cops and incarcerations (from the age of 9) this child needed significant mental health services that he did not receive.
Tasers, clubs and bullets are the norm much too often. Recently in Utah, a 13-year-old boy with autism was shot several times by police after his mother dialed 911 to request help as her son was experiencing a mental breakdown.
Most big American cities experience this sadness because police training requires a “Deadly Force” response by officers when they are attacked. This kind of deadly training and the lack of de-escalation training make life dangerous for growing numbers of American’s.
Law Enforcement is now the accidental service provider to mentally troubled people in many communities. Racial and poverty issues add a thick layer of distress and distrust (hate) impacting public perception of law enforcement.
De-escalation training*, social workers and mental health providers make life better for police officers, the communities they serve and people suffering from mental health issues. Something few people outside of child protection know; children traumatized by their caregivers fear and hate authority.
Policing them with uniformed officers often automatically ignites a fight or flight response and is much more likely to result in violence as the behavior and mental health problems that come with abuse
In Alexandria two social workers are now on the police department’s payroll. But while working for the police, they are not cops: they do not have arresting powers and they do not carry weapons. They ride in a Ford Focus instead of a police cruiser. They wear polo shirts, not police uniforms, and carry a radio with a panic button in case they find themselves in danger. Minneapolis now has a mental health unit to intercept these cases.
Alex Vitale, a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and the author of The End of Policing,
said police work and social work should be separated and
police officers should simply not be the first responders on many types of emergency calls.
“The police see the world through a lens where every encounter is potentially deadly,” he said.
Minneapolis now has a mental health response team!
This could lead to the change we need in policing everywhere.
Share this with policy makers in your community
KARA reports on the issues of child abuse.
This article submitted by CASA volunteer Mike Tikkanen
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My young charge did not die by cop, but his violent behaviors and multiple police encounters made it probable that he would.
*Major hospitals with de-escalation teams are up to 90% more effective in ending de-escalating mental health violence than are law enforcement units that show up when hospital teams are unable to manage multiple incidents simultaneously.
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#deescalation
#policing
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