Please Don't Shoot My Husband: Some Facts

Two Facts to Keep in Mind:

People with mental illness are FIVE TIMES as likely to be the victims of violent crimes as people without mental illness.

The number of people with mental illness who are violent (who victimize other people) is less than 1% of that total population. Of these, 50% of violent incidents are directed toward themselves, family members or friends.

In the Communities:

NAMI has been fighting the criminalization of the mentally ill for years. Here is a snip from their library:

http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/E-News/19982/March_19982/Urgent_Request_to_Contact_your_Elected_Officials_about_theCriminalization_of_People_with_Serious_Bra.htm

Urgent Request to Contact your Elected Officials about the Criminalization of People with Serious Brain Disorders

A special report today on the front page of the New York Times highlights what is the most egregious fall-out of inadequate care for people with serious brain disorders such as schizophrenia: incarceration. The article quotes NAMI’s executive director, Laurie Flynn, E. Fuller Torrey, and NAMI Board member from California Carla Jacobs, and is written by reporter Fox Butterfield.

Entitled "Prisons Replace Hospitals for the Nation’s Mentally Ill," it argues that: (1) jails have become holding places for people with severe mental illnesses—the new mental hospitals; (2) imprisonment usually occurs as a result of arrests for minor crimes (disorderly conduct) that are the result of the illness or so-called mercy arrests, where police pick up individuals with these illnesses because they have nowhere else to go; (3) 1 in 10 of people behind bars has a severe mental illness; (4) imprisonment is damaging for the consumer with a severe mental illness often resulting in inappropriate treatment and extremely stressful and even dangerous circumstances; (5) there is an increasing number of juveniles with severe mental illnesses finding themselves behind bars; and (6) the criminalization of mental illness is a direct result of a flawed public mental health system.

POLICE DEPARTMENTS KNOW THAT LETHAL SHOOTINGS OF THE MENTALLY ILL HAPPEN TOO OFTEN AND ARE TAKING STEPS TO REDUCE THESE INCIDENTS:

CIT Training:

http://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Find_Support/Your_Local_NAMI/State_and_Local_NAMIs/Crisis_Intervention_Training_(CIT)_on_the_Move_Across_America.htm
Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) on the Move Across America

Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) programs are designed to educate and prepare police officers who come into contact with people with severe mental illnesses to recognize the signs and symptoms of these illnesses, and to respond effectively and appropriately to people who are experiencing a psychiatric crisis. Because police officers are often the first responders in these incidents, it is essential that they know how critical periods of mental illness alter behaviors and perceptions, can assess what is needed in the moment, and can bring understanding and compassion to bear when they are handling these difficult situations.

CIT training provides them with the skills to make a safer intervention for themselves, for the consumer in a crisis, for the consumer’s family and for the community. A key feature of the training teaches police officers effective methods of de-escalating the crisis situation and "reaching" the person in crisis. This approach allows consumers in distress to participate in the decisions about their treatment and facilitates consensus about the immediate safe course to follow.
CIT History, Training Curricula and Outcomes

Memphis, Tennessee is credited with the first program started in 1987. The Memphis, Tennessee Police Department established their CIT program to address concerns from the public over a few high profile incidents. A number of jurisdictions across the United States have adopted similar programs, and NAMI organizations are urging more to do so.

The Memphis Police Department CIT Academy program is a forty-hour course that is completed in a one-week session. The instructors include Physicians, Psychologists, Licensed Social Workers, Specialists, and Police Instructors. CIT Academy students receive training in:

* Introduction to clinical disorders, including Borderline Personality
* Psychotropic medications
* Dual Diagnosis and Substance Abuse
* Legal Issues
* Suicide Prevention
* Elderly and Children’s Issues
* Developmentally disabled
* Community resources
* Consumer perspectives
* Intervention strategies

CIT Academy students also complete scenario-based training and testing. Students must complete a series of scenarios taken from actual mental health related cases. Students are evaluated by mental health professionals and experienced CIT officers.

A large portion of the academy is hands-on training that is facilitated by site visits. Students will interact with mental health consumers who are high functioning, as well as consumers with civil commitments to treatment, and those who are committed to a forensic unit. Students will tour various facilities to receive an understanding of the entire mental health system.

Findings of program effectiveness, compiled by the Memphis Police Department's CIT teams, are beginning to be replicated in outcome studies in other states where the program has been instituted:

1. Criminal recidivism by mental health consumers is reduced.

2. The relationships between law enforcement and mental health care providers are improved.

3. Less than 1% taken to a hospital emergency room were found NOT to need emergency medical or psychological care

4. Officer injury rates are reduced.

List of States and Localities offering CIT Programs*

* Memphis (TN)
* Portland (ME)
* Montgomery County (MD)
* Baltimore County (MD)
* Louisville (KY)
* Frankfort (KY)
* Lee’s Summit (MO)
* Kansas City (MO)
* Orlando (FL)
* Jacksonville (FL)
* Pinellas County (FL)
* Seminole County (FL)
* Akron (OH)
* Toledo (OH)
* Minneapolis (MN)
* Houston (TX)
* Austin (TX)
* Albuquerque (NM)
* Tucson (AZ)
* Portland (OR)
* Seattle (WA)
* Anchorage (AK)
* Athens-Clark County (GA)
* Roanoke County (VA)

* This list is incomplete, as it is still in formation

MORE: COPS STARTED THE CONSENSUS PROJECT TO BRING STAKEHOLDERS TOGETHER AND IMPROVE THEIR RESPONSE TO MENTAL HEALTH INCIDENTS -- specifically, to the shooting and killing of 2 schizophrenics in a period of months by the Milwaukee PD. To their credit, cops in that Department got this very valuable program rolling.

http://consensusproject.org/about-the-project/history_methodology_ab

snip:

The Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project Report is the result of dozens of days of meetings among leading criminal justice and mental health policymakers and practitioners from across the country, surveys administered to state and local government officials in communities in 50 states, hundreds of hours of interviews with administrators of innovative programs, and thousands of hours reviewing materials describing research, promising programs, policies, and legislation. This appendix describes the history and the methodology of this project in greater detail.


Project Origins
The Council of State Governments (CSG) developed the Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project in response to requests from state government officials for recommendations to improve the criminal justice system's response to people with mental illness. State government officials identified this issue as particularly pressing for several reasons. Practitioners and advocates have approached lawmakers in capitols across the country explaining the urgency of the problem. Newspaper headlines describe tragedies involving people with mental illness that seemingly could have been prevented. And, the current approach to responding to people with mental illness has placed an enormous strain on criminal justice and state budget resources.


A valuable message from the Consensus Project may be, law enforcement knows that the mentally ill get dead at a rate unacceptable to law enforcement professionals themselves. Kudos to the guys at the Consensus Project.

And btw, the thread title is literal: Please don't shoot my husband! :(

If the death (murder) of this innocent man can help EDUCATE everyone about mental health issues -- then perhaps his life and death will not have been in vane? It isn't for me to say but those who knew and loved him.

this policy -- even if we have to kick and scream to be heard.

:hi:

Minneapolis cops killed Barbara Schneider and then several others with mental illness.
After community outcry, city revamped its CIT program.

The original complaint was that her radio was too loud. Very tragic.

I have a bipolar family member who has become delusional on several occasions - and to a bipolar person who is paranoid, everyone is trying to kill them. There is no reasoning, in many situations.

At times my family member was manhandled into the hospital by members of our family as we had no alternative. The thought of her dying at the hands of police who are not properly trained has crossed my mind on more than one occasion.

Here is more on the Minneapolis situation you note:

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200203/12_hughesa_shootingfolo/

So tragic. I've often wondered why tranquilizer guns are not used in some cases?

2001 (it was right around there) I sent the department a letter of support and a referral to the Consensus Project AND THEY FOLLOWED UP.

Sometimes, offering a decent resource can do a lot.

:)

:kick:

:hi:

We have to build the network, mzmolly.

Because, who could do this alone?

:hug:

Minneapolis PD that got the Consensus Project going.

Their "about us" is so abstracted at their site. But, I talked to one of the cops involved and he was the best. He was turning it around for his department and, ultimately, for the rest of us.

:kick: for Minneapolis PD

with no training or support.

:kick:

This situation is so messed up, and I am astonished by all this "blame the victim" stuff I am reading here on DU.

Yeah, folks, this story is the ugly face of the United States. We won't solve the problem by looking away from the mirror.

role in changing this situation. That's very encouraging.

On the other hand, Air Marshalls don't have ties to a physical community and may need extra support to get their stuff straightened out.

But there was a time in my life I was estranged from my family and living in my broken down car behind a church. The pastor offered me a room, but truth be told, I was happier in my car. ;) Yes, I was a bit unhinged, but utterly harmless. (Some people on DU know why I take this personally, and others may have guessed.)

:hi:

as a functional response to De-Humanization and the Generalized Insanity of our lives.

He was right about that, lol!

who was swishing a broom at them..

to COPS any more. In the kinder, Clinton era, we were making big gains. Let's not allow these to be wasted.

:kick:

with limited resources and little community support and for life. Kick for our families.

:kick:

This can affect everyone, my personall feeling is that there are varying degrees of mental illness that have yet to be identified. Until we completely understand all the possibilities, we must not allow incidents to go unchecked. Who amoung us can honestly say they have always been completely "under control"? Who can honestly say that there have not been situations that have pushed us over the edge?

I was getting extremely frustrated by the inattention being paid to the training issues in this tragedy. I guess it's eaiser to pick a team and get on it that to try to look at the real issues.

I have read several accounts of your husbands struggle and I admire both you and him.

If we devise an action to encourge the personnel involved, to demand training for them, we may well get somewhere.

NAMI's statement is here:

http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=December3&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=28896&lstid=641


And while I usually support NAMI, after a while, orgs get tone deaf to them.

Grassroots have a good chance of breaking the sound barrier.

:hi:

by this terrible incident so carelessly. Who are afraid to fly on airlines they are subsidizing.

CIT for air marshalls.

who signed on for the most dangerous duty possible to have to live with the fact that they shot and killed an innocent person.

We can change that. We can get them the training they need if we keep our heads.

:kick:

Here is a short list of his community work:


San Francisco Symphony

Celebrity Pool Toss / TNCC (benefits affordable housing)

BGP Earthquake Benefit

Thunder Road Benefit Celebrity Roasts (benefits rehab center for teens)

Toys For Tots

Santa Rosa First Night New Year’s Ball (clean and sober event for SR Families)

Travis Air Force Base

Men’s Health Magazine

Rotary Clubs

Walden House (rehab center)

Run For A Drug Free World

Bureau of Primary Healthcare (conference on mental health and homelessness)

* * *

That's the short list. We laughed when someone gave him an award inscribed, "Thank You, Doug Ferrari, for Making Mental Health Possible."

Lmao!

If Doug was dead, he couldn't have done any of this. Something to think about maybe.

:kick:

It does seem like a civilized nation ought to give some consideration to the fact that in protecting ourselves from mass murderers, we should not accept a high probability that we will kill people who present no real threat. The latest things I've read on the air marshall shooting on the plane indicate that they've now backed off that this man ever actually claimed to have a bomb; but rather they shot him because he was "acting like" he had a bomb - whatever the hell that might mean.

The history of suicide bombers does not lead us to expect that they will run up and down the aisle of the airplane, "acting like" they have a bomb. So, maybe this is not the type of behavior that air marshalls should be looking for, or that should trigger a "shoot to kill" response from them.

My belief is that these marshalls probably acted within the guidelines that they have been given. If so, I think that we, as a society, should fight to change those guidelines. We should also ask that law enforcement officials, especially those who are trained to respond with deadly force, be given some training in recognizing behavior that indicates a mental or emotional illness.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

:shrug:

Passenger witnesses concur that he never said he had a bomb, and that he was trying to get off the plane (which is a damned peculiar way of blowing it up). His wife even said, as he was trying to get off "He's sick. He needs to get off the plane". But, I guess to a federal employee that would sound a lot like "He has a bomb." Doing a heckuva job.

These Air Marshalls should be prosecuted for murder.

a person in distress and a terrorist. :(

But more and more it looks like, the air marshals had no training to dealing with a brown skinned guy having an attack of panic or paranoia who just wanted offa the plane. :cry:

And this is a problem. Because travel is a huge trigger for some people tilting with mental health issues. Not to mention, the concerted cya spin that the networks unloaded on us.

There was no bomb, most likely no talk of bombs, just air marshalls trying to do their job according to their training and a whole culture still in denial about mental illness.

:(

i was a kid and my oldest brother was suffering from schizophrenia. Even within the family we were sort of expected to ignore it. People used to say it was better he died, there were no good meds back then, there seemed to be little hope of getting him back on track.
Better off dead at 19. Hard to believe, huh?
And I didn't realize the similarities until today, he was panicked, and running from the guards. Not bullets, but the roof's edge.
Scared people run as much as guilty ones do, what's so hard to understand?
Thank you for the OP, Beth.
:hug:

because she took her own life at 25.

We can do better than that.

:toast:

but yes, we need to do better.
:toast:

:toast:

as the training they receive.

Let's make sure they get some better training, and not this cut rate bs they are being stuck with.

:hi:

:hug:

"Special Needs" people are "teddy bears with a fuse", as I posted in another thread addressing yet ANOTHER topic on the Miami tragedy.

My special needs adult child doesn't fly very often, we take the train and auto :)

:)

The topic of this thread is education for law enforcement - and an appeal to people to consider that things may not be as simple as they seem.

Your family member (FAM) may recognize mental illness when he sees it and know how to respond appropriately. Not everyone does. So some people - esp. those charged with protecting the public - may need training so that they can act with "common sense" when faced with a difficult situation.


What is common sense for you does not necessarily make sense for others.

Flying is what made sense for the couple coming home from South America.

Flying may never have been a problem for this man before - so you can't assume that this couple could have predicted that the man would go running off the plane. Or that it won't happen to someone else.

I expect there will be people with various problems/concerns who will also think twice about flying after this episode. A lot of people already avoid it.

..which is hard right now, coming from yet another thread started by a mod calling fam's killers.

I have both in my family.

Special Needs kid, who is MY responsibilty as his parent/mommy and legal guardian to keep him safe from harms way. You betcha the gate agents/conductors/and mall dicks know when we're passing through...BECAUSE.. if he freaks on me, I'll need their help.

FAM boy's been doing his gig for over 4 years, since 9-11, he left a cushy state probation/parole job to risk his life every day in this uncertain world :( Yeah, I'm proud of him, I'm also on any 'breaking news' airline "disaster" in the world with my heart in my throat. FAM's can't even tell their mommies their schedules :(

Is it a shooting in Miami or a plane skidding off a runway in Chicago...these are all deeply personal to me.

I assure you the FAM's are trained to protect us, just as I am trained to protect you from my whacky special needs kid :)

:)

I also want to say how much I admire your efforts to educate people about mental illness despite some of the hurtful remarks I have read here.

I have a child with autism and the autism community has also been actively working with law enforcement to prevent tragedies due to lack of training. It is a win-win scenario.

effective policy and a better way for the kids.

:toast:

Peace to you and yours.

horrible that happened to me as a result of severe depression a couple of years ago. A certain nurse in an ER needs to have her ass fired for how she treated me, but even though I've complained, not a damn thing has been done. Confronting the emotions that well up whenever I think about what that day cost me is so hard that I don't want to pursue the issue any further. That's the problem. When I'm functional, it's all I can do to stay that way. I don't have the energy to go out and slay dragons, too.

Shame on the system and on people who coddle those who mistreat the mentally ill.

:hug:

And if we use our heads, we can get this cleaned up.

:kick: for all of our great DUers who are willing to look at this situation and who know we can ALL do better, that we will ALL be safer if we insist on proper training for our Air Marshals.

:kick:

It seems we need some more facts to ascertain exactly what happened. Regardless, I feel for this man and his wife.

When I was at my lowest point, a nurse in an ER berated me, had me held down and injected me with an unknown drug without my permission. I was completely non-combative. She just wanted me to suffer because she said her other patients were "more important" than me and that no one had shoved "those pills" down my throat (referring to a drug overdose). When she brought me a charcoal "shake" to drink, she made it perfectly clear she'd rather forcefully pump my stomach.

As far as I know, she was never even confronted after I filed a complaint. I wish I could make her pay in some way, but I have no power.

:kick:

:kick:

We can do that.

:kick:

Thank you, DUers. You are the best.
:loveya:

/I couldn't type my way out of a tea cup

Incarceration, abuse and capital punishment for people in need?

Sadistic sociopaths are sick too. When will that be recognized in this society? Individuals like that seem to just be winding up in higher office and positions of "authority".

Better that they get professional help than be hired to protect and serve those they hate (other people).

:(

to prevent mental illness- if folks really comprehended that, this thread wouldn't need kicking-
Thanks Sfexpat2000.

something positive needs to rise out of this mess-

:hi:

If Doug and I can make it work, ANYONE CAN.

:kick:

:kick:

and please, don't shoot her husband. :grouphug:

:loveya:

:hug:

:hug:

Hope you're enjoying DU. :)

We might as well get good at dealing with it.

:hi:

who deal with Bipolar.

Thanks all for this discussion.

:hi:

Families can't get help for sick members because of medical costs and/or because of patient's rights, but it's perfectly OK for a sick person to be left to wander the streets to be a victim of the real sickos out there.

Flying one a plane, not okay.

:crazy: