CIT training varies from entity to entity. The City of Portland does not use "live" people who are mentally challenged in their CIT trainings. They do have a collection of interviews on DVD. Gresham uses live people to discuss issues with those in training. I personally think that the DVD's are good; being able to discuss solutions together in person is even better.

Not all of the suggestions from the mayor's task force are being followed.

What suggestions are being ignored?

More training is great. Portland police - the vast majority - do their level best to help all the public. But Chasse was killed by Officer Humphreys - that year the 5th most violent cop in the department and #1 in beating detainees during arrest. Why does the autopsy indicate that Chasse died from Humprheys falling on him crushing his chest, but Humphreys testified he never fell on Chasse? It's pretty simple. Chasse was mentally ill, and he behaved as you might expect. He made no sense. He ran. He tried to bite. Things that will push the limits of a good officer. With one who's already past the edge like Humphreys, it was lethal.

It would really help if police - and the public in general - thought of mental health crisis like physical health crisis. When someone's heart is failing, people respond to them differently. That same sense should apply when someone's brain is failing.

There are mental health professionals who can be called in tandem with calling the police. If you're going to call someone about a mentally ill person having a crisis, do them and you a favor. Call a mental health professional, like Project Respond or Cahoots. Folks who specialize in dealing with mentally ill people in crisis. If they need police help, they'll bring it.

The real tragedy in the James Chasse case is the lack of a grand jury indictment -- just as we've seen in every other Police death in Portland.

There's a saying, "A district attorney could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich." The opposite holds true as well -- a district attorney can get a grand jury to NOT indict a ham sandwich just as easily.

In Multnomah County, D.A. Mike Schrunk is way too close with Portland Police. His repeated refusal to bring charges against officers who kill the people they're supposed to protect contributes to the distrust between citizens and officers. Police think there are no repercussions for their actions, even when they kill innocent unarmed people.

Until we vote in a district attorney who represents the people instead of the police, there will never be any true accountability in Multnomah County.

What terrifies people about what happened to James Chasse is not aspects of mental illness or that something is wrong with all or even most officers (thanks Sara, for chiming in). It is the insufficient tools in the hands of the police chief and the police commissioner to immediately remove the officers involved from further police work. Their inability to act undermines trust and respect.

We've learned from extensive surveying in other police bureaus a few bad apples make the whole barrel reek. What's surprising to me is how the Portland bureau and Multnomah County Sheriffs deputies have remained collectively mute - or defended - the actions of these three individuals.

Read everything about what happened to James Chasse at http://jameschasse.blogspot.com/

Families whose loved ones live with mental illness can get practical strategies, personal help, and the latest science from a free 12-week class sponsored by National Alliance on Mental Illness. My husband and I took this class 18 months ago, and it has helped us greatly. Call 503-203-3326 to register.

Pamela Dunham
Board Member
National Alliance on Mental Illness, Multnomah Chapter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Pamela Dunham 503-244-3074

Free Classes for Families Living with Mental Illness

A free, 12-week course for people whose loved ones live with mental illness will begin April 10, 6-8:30 PM, at Legacy Emanuel Hospital. The course, described as "life changing" by former participants, is designed for parents, spouses, children, siblings and friends of mentally ill family members. Sponsored by the Multnomah chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the Family-to-Family classes are designed by a NAMI mental-health professional and taught by specially trained volunteers whose own family members live with mental illness.

The course covers the biology of brain disorders; co-occurring brain disorders and addictive disorders; schizophrenia; major depression; bipolar disorder (manic-depression); panic disorder; obsessive-compulsive disorder; and borderline personality disorder. The course also includes sessions on medications; communication skills; empathy; how to deal with crisis and relapse; locating services; and coping skills for the care-giver.

Registration is required. To register, call 503-203-3326 by March. 21. Clackamas County classes begin April 3, 6-9:30 PM. To register, call 503-723-4989. For information on classes in Washington County, call 503-356-6835. For Clark County classes, call 360-695-2823.

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I had a son with psychosis who threatened to attack me with a large stick in the days before he was treated. I was afraid for my life, but felt that if I called the police they would be happy to shoot a young man with a stick, and that the public would have been happy to exonerate them. My husband came home in the middle of this, tackled our son and talked quietly into his ear about what was and was not acceptable behavior. We never had a repeat. It would be amazing if police had such courage, and did not cower behind their tasers and firearms.

This is a super important topic and show. I really appreciate this story about how two parents responded to their son's developing psychosis. In my opinion, police are scary in pretty much any crisis situation regardless of whether there is someone with mental illness or not. It is only with mental illness in the mix that we begin to recognize the inhumanity inherent in these "encounters." We, the public are mostly responsible for this horrible arrangement and the regrettable outcomes because, we expect police to solve complex problems with force... often deadly force. Any one of us could find ourselves in crisis, acting "crazy" and end up a victim, because that is the situation we, the public set up for ourselves. To overcome this, we need to move toward a society that deals with our complex reality and complex situations by being as humane as these parents were with their beloved son. Their son should not be known as beloved only to them, but always in every situation even in moments of fear, want, hostility and deteriorating mental states, he should be beloved to all of us. In an enlightened society, He is our son as much as he is theirs and we need to create systems that demonstrate that. The police, therefore are obsolete.

As a person who has been part of the CIT training process it is important to help police understand that they may need to learn how to wear different hats. Most of the time the police mission is to have people comply to authority. When working with someone in crisis these techniques don't necessarily get through to the affected person. Also, the reason police are involved with people in mental health crisis is that they are the first responders in these calls. We cannot send ambulances because of the possible public safety issues.

I have a schizophrenic brother who has been dealing with the challenges of his illness for more than 30 years. He has been obviously not-right since the early 1970's, but he is not dangerous. He has only done non-violent crimes, but being in the wrong place at the wrong time when other people in the house were smoking pot caused him to be hauled into the local jail.

The saving grace in his situation was the judge presiding at his hearing was a neighbor and member of the same church as my family. He knew through the small-town grapevine that my brother was mentally ill and my family was struggling with a way to get help. At that time the person is in a small window of opportunity to access mental-health professional intervention: ie, he had to be perceived as having committed a crime to be forced to get care. When the patient refuses to acknowledge that there is something wrong with him, his family cannot force him to get help until he commits some kind of crime.
This creates a Catch-22 situation. People who do not have schizophrenic family members don't understand how small the percentage of the "crazy" population is truly dangerous to others. People are afraid of something they have no understanding about.

Folks tend to forget that mentally ill are far more likely to be the victim of violent crime than the perpetrator of it.

here in Phoenix Arizona I had an "encounter" which resulted in the police coming to my home. The offficers were calm, confident, assesse the situation an dat all times were supportive and kind to me - helping me call my PD and insuring that everyone in the house was safe - speaking with my wife to insureshe was safe and also insuring that I was safe, took a brief history and talked to me in a reassuring way. Clearly here in Phoenix training has been taking place and it is working.

Here's an example of very good work by police...
remember that public safety officials are almost always the first line of help, however unfortunate that is, for people in distress. Police carry out numerous welfare checks, searches for missing persons, transports of people in crisis to crisis centers...

A suicidal man surrendered to Portland police about 7 p.m. today after several hours of disruption and negotiation around Northeast 15th Avenue and Knott Street.

Police did not release a name, age or hometown for the man. He was taken for medical attention, said Sgt. Brian Schmautz, a Portland Police Bureau spokesman.

The man called a metro-area crisis line earlier in the day, threatening to kill himself or to harm his wife because their relationship was deteriorating, Schmautz said. The man also said he was coming to Portland from central Washington.

The crisis line alerted police and notified Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Medical Center, which the man mentioned as a destination. The hospital was locked down for several hours but reopened.

At 3:30 p.m. an officer spotted the car at Northeast Seventh Avenue and Weidler Street, then stopped it in the 1400 block of Knott.

The man's wife, who was driving, jumped out and ran to police. It was unclear whether she accompanied him willingly. The man sat in the car and held a handgun during the talks.

-- Elizabeth Suh
elizabethsuh@news.oregonian.com

My name is Scott Snedecor not Snot Snedecor.

I can't believe I did that!

So sorry. Perhaps it's because my nose is stuffy!

That's OK. Common Error. I am hoping in the future when you do shows on mental health issues that you include as your scheduled guests people who have been receipients of mental health services. I am not sure why you have not included us before. I will guarantee the conversations will flow toward human rights if you do.

I am a mental health clinician and have spent several years working with mentally ill adolescents. There are times when these children lose control of their bodies and in spite of best efforts and least restrictive responses, they throw rocks, bite, throw desks over, and can pose hazards to the safety of people around them. There were times when we had an out of control youth and we required police intervention. I will tell you that the officers sent to our school demonstrated caring and restraint, and it's because they knew what they were dealing with when called to the school, and they are to be commended.

It seems to me that the solution can be found when people work together instead of blaming one another.

Once more, "Talk Out Loud" has done a recent show on mental health.

But once more, no guest directly represented the more than one dozen mental health consumer and psychiatric survivor organizations or coalitions in Oregon.

Why?

KBOO radio regularly includes such voices.

Why not OPB's "Think Out Loud"?????

For more information about this see http://www.mindfreedom.org, a group that for more than 20 years has worked in Oregon representing mental health consumer and psychiatric survivor voice on mental health. For info on Oregon work see http://www.mindfreedom.org/as/act/us/or

OPB does not list MindFreedom in its web list of Oregon group.

I encourage people reading this to speak out to OPB and ask for guests on "Think Out Loud" that directly represent mental health consumer and psychiatric survivor groups!

You can contact OPB here:

http://www.opb.org/insideopb/contactus/

NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US!



David W. Oaks, Executive Director
MindFreedom International
454 Willamette, Suite 216 - POB 11284
Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA

web: http://www.mindfreedom.org
email: oaks@mindfreedom.org
office phone: (541) 345-9106
fax: (541) 345-3737
member services toll free in USA: 1-877-MAD-PRID[e] or 1-877-623-7743

United Independent Action for Human Rights in Mental Health!

MindFreedom International is an non-profit coalition with a vision of a non-violent revolution in mental health. Accredited by the United Nations as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with Consultative Roster Status.

Join now! http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have a family brother who is severely mentally ill. He attacked my father and held him down for an hour ( he thought my father was the devil). When my mother came home she saw what was going on and called the police. The police came and had to tazer my brother, but rightly so, he was in an acute episode and unpredictable. I think the police responded appropriately. We've had to call the police several times, and each time they helped my family deal with very scary situations. The James Chasse case is indeed very tragic. Our mental health system is overwhelmed and underfunded. For my brother to get help he had to commit a crime, (attacking my father). It's really sad that people cannot get the help they need before things get out of control.

It would really help if police - and the public in general - thought of mental health crisis like physical health crisis. When someone's heart is failing, people respond to them differently. That same sense should apply when someone's brain is failing.

There are mental health professionals who can be called in tandem with calling the police. If you're going to call someone about a mentally ill person having a crisis, do them and you a favor. Call a mental health professional, like Project Respond or Cahoots. Folks who specialize in dealing with mentally ill people in crisis. If they need police help, they'll get it.

I sit on the board of directors for a non-profit that has mental health programs, helped start the Mental Health Action Alliance, and spoke multiple times with the mental health case workers who worked with Chasse.

I got busted. I wrote an email to an aquaintance in Colorado. 18 hours later the police showed up at my door, and demanded that I tell them that I did or did not write a suicide note. I asked how this was a police matter, and why a mental health professional wasn't sent if I did instead of the police. I was scolded for my attitude. I was then asked if he could enter my apartment. I told him no. He said he was coming in any way. I was charged with assaulting the officer with my door! I spent the night in jail for that. The charges were dismissed. I guess the court would have found it too embarrassing to read the charge out loud.

I had been hospitalized for mental illness before. Yep. In jail, not a hospital. Right next to the Lane County Jail. 'Patients' get the same food, and nearly the same treatment as criminals. Essentially no respect. That's care! Care for the rest of the community. It really boils down to keeping the rest of the population safe.

I've been in the Lane County Mental Health system too. That's a great system! You get 15 minutes a month, and only 15 minutes a month. Like, thats a big help! Their excuse -- no budget. During my visits to them, they were in need of a facility. They got one. A brand spanking new six million dollar buiilding, although they had no budget. The patients got a tree dedicated to them. A tree. Not new, expanded programs, and virtually none existed at the time. They got a tree dedicated to them. Hopefully it will grow. But the doctors got a brand spanking new facility! Six million dollars worth. One of the speakers at the dedication was a patient. She said "All we wanted was a bathroom".

No.. that's not my real name above. I've learned better than to use my real name. You see, once you've been into the 'mental health system', you're fingerprinted. This way they can show you're a danger to the rest of the world. You are stigmatized from day 1. Nobody gives a rats ass about you, not even Lane County Mental Health.

I have a dual diagnoses. I have, along with frequent bouts of depression, severe, chronic neck pain. No medications worked. Only the most expensive ones were prescribed... the ones I can't afford. And no doctor was willing to give me what I needed -- a narcotic pain reliever. "You might kill yourself," I was told. "I don't need your help to kill myself," I told him. "I need your help to stop the pain. Do you realize I might kill myself if someone doesn't put an end to this?" Needless to say, I got no cooperation from this doctor. He really didn't care. All he cared about was his liability.

Soon, and already, it's boiling down to what it always boils down to. Money! The economic impact! The world cares more about the economic impact than the people that suffer! I guarantee you that more time and effort will go into studying the financial end of this than the care. Guaranteed! And you know it too!

All the proposals and all the medications and all the talk that you see before you lacks one very important word. Nobody is saying the word that would fix it all. Love! Love is the right approach. Love and respect! Yet we don't have time for that. We only have time to measure the costs of a new hospital, new treatment plans, the economic impact, and how it's all going to be funded. Money money money! How much will it cost to keep the community safe, not the sufferers!

Listens2Opb, who I'm replying to, has got it right. If there's a crisis situation, don't send the police! Send somebody who cares! The police is there to protect the community, not the person under duress. And have you any clue what drove that person to the crisis stage in the first place? I can tell you -- it is the lack of love and understanding. I know. I been there. I can tell you first hand! Family members tell the sufferer what he needs to do to end THEIR suffering, not his. Police tell the sufferer what to do, so that that the policeman doesn't have to resort to force (and fill out all that paperwork).

All the scientists and all the legislators don't have the answer. They continue to be and are key role players in the endless cycle. They are the ones that start the endless cycle, and they are the ones that perpetuate it. PHDs in psychiatry or psychology have 1/2 hour for you. When that's up, it's up. Need another appointment? Pay again! Pay! Pay... pay... pay! Money money money! Love? "Get that elsewhere. I'm a scientist!" And a capitalist!

Now, I ask you, does this sound like the rantings of a madman? Or does it sound like the rantings of an angry man?

People are so stupid. They analyze things to death, but can't see the Truth for the very life of them. Look at all these posts! Talk, talk, talk. Show some love! That'll solve the problem. Don't know how? Well, do an economic impact study on it. That'll replace it and show that you care.

Correction: In my post I used the phrase "Talk Out Loud" instead of "Think Out Loud" by error, that was purely accidental, sorry.

Regardless of your error, your main point was an excellent one with which I agree.

To Will with MI from Portland who called at about 9:45 and voiced his fear that, after what happened to Jim Chasse, he is "one bad day away from ending up on a slab": We are making a documentary about Jim's life and death. Please contact us @ Alienboy.org

I wanted to highlight the importance of using "person first" language in your discussions. For example, "persons with mental illness" would be much more preferable than "mentally ill persons". The National Alliance on Mental Illness and other advocates who are interested in reducing the stigma associated with mental illness (and other stigmatizing features) prefer this language in order to define the individual as a person first and not by their illness or disability. I hope that you will incorporate this change into your future discussions.