I read the St. Paul Police Chief's editorial in the St. Paul paper. I thought that it was a reasonable approach and didn't see how Renee concluded that that he didn't have any understanding of mental illness.
I am not a big fan of the police and have been critical of the Mpls police treatment of several high-profile cases in which they shot mentally ill people. I don't know much about St. Paul, but since I never see any articles on the use of deadly force against mentally ill people, I have to conclude that they have some understanding of mental illness. My one direct experience with the Mpls police dealing with a person who was having a psychotic break was very positive. That person was my son. Four police came, tried to talk him down, called an ambulence, restrained him and took him to the hospital. Throughout this ordeal, the cops were respectful and careful. It was clear from the beginning that he needed to go to the hospital and every action they took was directed at that goal. They were like a football team. They went into a huddle, lined up and went into action. I was there and there were no weapons. My postive experience doesn't mean that the Mpls police couldn't benefit from more training about mental illness or that other alternatives could be used. When I was in graduate school, some of my friends who were studying clinical and community psychology served internships with the police department. They rode around with the cops on weekends and were brought into situations where people were having psychotic breaks. The psychology students were better trained at assessment and talking people down. The cops made the decisions about the level of force but they consulted first with the psychologists. I always wondered why the Mpls police dept. never made use of this model. Instead of opting for the "Memphis" model why don't they partner with the University of Minnesota to try the system developed at the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Police. I know of one person who now teaches at the University of Minnesota who was trained in this system. There may be liability issues, but at least examine some alternatives that have worked elsewhere, but don't have the police chiefs' association seal of approval. The St. Paul police chief seems to understand the problem. What about the Minneapolis police chief? David Wilson Loring Park _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
