, said it is not surprising so many police shootings involve people in a mental health crisis. That’s because when people are in crisis, they’re in “fight, flight or freeze” mode. Their behavior — like moving quickly or not listening to officer commands — could make officers fearful.
Adams said that bolstering non-law enforcement crisis services was “a reasonable first effort,” but he questioned how much that would reduce police contacts with people in mental crisis. He wanted earlier interventions. People can call the Warm Line for those who aren’t exactly in crisis but need someone to talk to. State officials have also launched the SafeUT app.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill recalled a painful phone call he had years ago from a mother. Officers spent 40 hours that week — much of it in a classroom inside the Layton Police Department — learning how to identify signs of mental illnesses, disabilities and disorders and how to respond to people experiencing them.
He also wanted them to gain “a whole boatload of empathy for people who have mental illness” and a “whole bunch of resources to be able to respond to calls for service more effectively” — like where they can send someone for treatment and when someone would be better off going there instead of jail. At week’s end, they went through a series of scenarios to practice and be evaluated on what they learned.
Maj. Scott Stephenson, director of Utah’s Peace Officer Standards and Training, often called POST, spent months outlining the types of training — like this CIT training — that meet the new law’s guidelines. After one of its officers shot Cameron, the 13-year-old diagnosed with autism, Salt Lake City made some changes. This year, it became the first city to have all of its first responders completeAnd whenthat most police calls for a mental health crisis happen later at night, Salt Lake City shifted and staggered the hours its crisis intervention team works so someone is on between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., spokesman Brent Weisberg said. The shifts previously went from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Stoddard said he recently started meeting with Salt Lake County’s Unified Police, specifically the mental health unit, which includes a sergeant, a detective and a social worker who respond to calls.
Cops fix mental health problems by shooting the afflicted. Simple fix to what they see as a disruption to law and order.
Yeah...you didn't need that 'alone' in there. Law enforcement can not solve mental health. They literally bring nothing to the table when it comes to helping mental health. 6mo at an applied technology college and training with weapons isn't a societal fix all.