On 06-01-09 I responded to an individual’s home to assist officers in serving a mental commitment. Also present were Officer Steve Brown and Officer Jennifer Hyatt. Both have received CIT training. We were told the consumer, a 24 year old male, was going to be violent and to expect a fight. I had previous knowledge of the consumer because he had walked to a nearby apartment complex playground which alarmed the parents in the area.
When we arrived his sister told us the consumer had become very upset that morning and was breaking things in the house, talking to himself and making threatening remarks to the family. I found him standing on the bed with his back in a corner. He stared at us as we entered the room and took a defensive stance as if he was preparing to fight. He had painted various objects on the ceiling with religious connotations to include the name of Jesus, a skull, and stars. He had drawn dotted lines between each object and words. I told the consumer to stay calm and I kept my distance. I continued to speak to him in a low calm voice and tried my best to reassure him that we were there to help him. He was obviously afraid of police officers. He made several remarks about fighting us but never became physically violent. His voice and body movements were always very slow and methodical. He made irrational random statements such as, “This is my way” and “Now you are rich”. At times he acted as if he was the only person in the room. He had wooden matches stuck in the ceiling with the match head exposed. He attempted to light them with a disposable lighter. I took the lighter away from him and told him that was too dangerous. Too my surprise he did not offer any resistance. His most unusual action was smashing tomatoes on his forehead. I didn’t attempt to stop him at first because he was not injuring himself or anyone else. After three however he appeared fixated on this action so I interrupted him and attempted to divert his attention to another subject.
After speaking to him for about fifteen minutes I convinced him to put his shirt and shoes on. I had gained a rapport with him and told him I was his friend. I did explain that we were going to talk to a doctor. We walked with him to the patrol vehicle where we explained that we had to place the handcuffs on him. He offered very minimal resistance at that point by stiffening his body. With the assistance of the other officers we were able to apply the handcuffs without using any force. He complied by sitting in the back of the patrol vehicle and remained calm.
The other officers and I probably devoted at least 40 minutes to this call. With the aid of the other CIT training officers we were able to take the consumer into custody and transport him to the hospital for an evaluation. I truly believe had it not been for our prior knowledge of how someone with mental disabilities acts and reacts we would have had to fight the consumer to take him in custody. He truly did not understand what was taking place. The officers training allowed them to be patient and complete the call successfully and safely. |
