The Americans for Effective Law Enforcement (AELE) have a great article in this month’s AELE Monthly Law Journal that attempts to answer these questions.  The article, Disturbed/Suicidal Persons — Part One, touches on when force can be used, self-defense and defense of others.  Part two will cover restraining EDPs and more.  I highly recommend clicking the link and reading the article.

Some searches incident to arrest are easier than others. ©2007 Jonas Bengtsson

One night at read-off, I asked for a show of hands of those who had found handcuff keys on their arrestees during a search. Our squad having a generous share of rookies, quite a few did not raise their hands.

I said that if you hadn’t found one you eventually would. I followed this with a safety refresher to perform a thorough grasping-hand, pattern search after proper control and handcuffing of your suspect.  I further urged them to re-search if they were not absolutely confident about their initial search. Hey, we got all night for safety, right?

Not three hours later, one of our guys called out with an Emotionally Disturbed Person in a residential neighborhood. The man claimed to be an ex-cop from a major metropolitan city in Illinois.  He was knocking on doors at random houses, looking for an imaginary girlfriend. After talking to him, it was clear he was reality-challenged.

He proceeded to speak about the Mafia, FBI conspiracies, Cajun food, and the death of his good brother (not the eeevil one). Despite his ravings, he did not seem to be a danger to himself or others, which are conditions for involuntary mental health evaluation in my state.

A couple of our newer officers had been out with this same guy several hours before and miles away. They had come to the same conclusion that he was not overtly harmful and had let him on his way.  We were preparing to offer the man a ride to a homeless shelter, when he suddenly threw down his ball cap and shouted that we should kill him because his life wasn’t worth living. “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”

He was taken into custody without undue drama. During the search, my partner found not one, but three handcuff keys on the man. Each was attached to one of three separate key rings in three different pockets of his pants.

Because none of the keys was “concealed” by legal definition, it was not a crime to possess them. But, it could have been an officer safety problem had the officer not done a thorough search. The man was subsequently taken for his mental health evaluation.

The next shift, I told the officers I was surprised we had found cuff keys on a guy right after we had discussed it in read-off. I actually hadn’t seen a suspect with one in a while.

I hope the rookies, especially those who had been out with that EDP, came away with a sense that you have to constantly remind yourself of the basics, because even a momentary lapse in attention or technique can lead to an officer’s injury or death.

Randall is a twenty-three year sworn police officer in Florida. He is a Midnight Shift Sergeant and SWAT coordinator.

Developed in 1988 as a partnership between the Memphis, TN Police, the Memphis Chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), and other area mental health experts, the Memphis CIT Model was created to bring a better response to mental health calls for service.

Memphis PD worked with mental health professionals and arrived at their solutions to the issues that arise when police encounter a person in a behavioral crisis. Of their 1400 sworn officers, MPD trained 225 officers and formed their Crisis Intervention Team.

The responsibility of the CIT officers is to immediately respond to these mental health crisis calls and assist as a leader in managing the call and de-escalating the situation using their training. CIT strongly stresses that officers do not violate officer safety tactics while resolving the situation.

Key to the success of the Memphis Model has been the utilization of officers who volunteer for the program and are screened through a selection process for the necessary attributes. The Memphis Model advocates a rate of 20-25% of the patrol officers at a department be CIT trained.

During initial training, officers participate in a 40-hour comprehensive training session. Some topics include:

• Clinical Issues Related to Mental Health Illnesses
• Medications and Side Effects
• Alcohol and Drug Assessment
• Co-Occurring Disorders
• Family/Consumer Perspective
• Suicide Prevention and Practicum Aspects
• Rights/Civil Commitment
• Mental Health Diversity
• Personality Disorders
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorders
• Legal Aspects of Officer Safety
• Community Resources

Memphis PD cites that, through CIT, arrests and uses of force have decreased, along with officer injuries, in their interactions with people in mental health crisis.

The Portland, OR Police Bureau has had a different experience with instituting the Memphis Model. The Portland bureau began a CIT program in the mid-1990’s, bringing in a mental health coordinator used by Memphis PD. But since the original training, and following a shooting death in 2006, Portland Police began training all sworn officers in CIT.

Mental health advocates believe that when Portland Police changed the model, they changed its effectiveness. Portland police officers are now trained in CIT as soon as they leave the academy. Critics assert that instructing non-volunteers, who have not yet demonstrated suitability for CIT or police work, is a danger.

Portland Police had eight officer-involved shootings from the Jan 1, 2010 until Jan 2, 2011. PPB had only seven officer-involved shootings from 2007 through 2009. The claims that seven of the eight recent shootings have involved mentally ill persons tend to question the effectiveness of Portland Police’s CIT program.

In January 2011, Portland Police Chief Michael Reese had defended their CIT program and the officers’ actions in each shooting. He said in all cases the officers attempted de-escalation and used less lethal options where possible.

Faced with criticism, Chief Reese none-the-less ordered staff to study other cities’ CIT programs and come up with any recommendations they could for changes.

In March 2011, Reese stated that his department’s investigation revealed six of the eight shootings involving mentally ill subjects. The bureau was attempting to implement changes to dispatch questioning and less lethal tactics.

By July 2011, and after another officer-involved shooting of an alleged mentally ill person, the Department of Justice began an investigation into the Portland Police shootings and how they relate to the mentally ill.

It is important for a department that wants to implement new policies and procedures to study the results of previous efforts. If programs such as the San Jose Model for FTO or the Memphis Model for CIT are desired, then a practical application and a legal defensibility can be maintained by following the successful programs’ guidelines.

Randall is a twenty-three year sworn police officer in a mid-sized Florida police department. He has been an FTO, K9 Handler, Detective, and SWAT Team Leader. He is currently the Midnight Shift K9 Sergeant and department SWAT Coordinator.

EDPs by there very nature are unpredictable and unlikely to deal with you in a completely rational manner. As a result, a calm EDP can instantly become violent without any discernible trigger. So, do not be lulled into complacency when dealing with someone who may be disturbed.

EDPs frequently perceive reality differently, and understanding that may help explain their behaviors. For example, several years ago I dealt with a man who went off his meds and began thinking that the people he was seeing were aliens wearing “human suits.” And this was before Men in Black. So he went out in the neighborhood with his MAK-90 rifle with the intent on stopping the invasion. Fortunately, we found him before he caught any aliens and no one was shot that night.

The point, though, is to look at things through his perception of reality. This EDP felt completely justified in shooting some people because he thought he would be killing alien invaders. So, what if I came up on him and he thought I was a bug in an Edgar suit? Suddenly it is game on. But, I could be talking to him and everything seem ok, and then he suddenly realizes I am an alien. If I have relaxed, he may very easily get the drop on me.

A rookie on my shift tonight spots a guy walking down the road who is wearing only socks, shorts, and heart monitor leads. The rookie is smart enough to figure out that the guy may be an escapee from the psych ward of one of the nearby hospitals and gets out with the subject. His backup officer rolls up about two minutes later to find the rookie and EDP rolling on the ground and the EDP is trying to grab the officer’s gun. Fortunately, the rookie is in solid shape and the backup officer was able to provide a bit of overwhelming force to get the guy in custody. Just another example of how an encounter with an EDP went downhill fast.

About eight hours before I went on shift tonight, a deputy with another county here in Florida was shot and killed by an EDP. It seems this EDP was taken to a psych facility for a mental health evaluation (called a Baker Act here) the previous evening. At some point the EDP escapes and then is recaptured. Then the EDP escapes from this ‘secure’ facility again. When the deputies go to pick him back up, he is armed and barricaded inside a house. Eventually the decision is made to have the special response team make entry, and ultimately, a deputy and the subject were both shot and killed.

So, don’t get complacent. Read the tips I posted and make sure you are using all of your officer safety tools and tactics. You never know when an EDP will decide its time to try and kill you.

Stay safe!

Richard is a police officer with a medium sized, central Florida department, and previously worked for a Metro-Atlanta agency.  He has served as a field training officer, court officer, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, watch commander, commander of a field training and evaluation program, and general pain in the butt to management-types looking to cut training hours.

However, Tasers are not 100% reliable. For the Taser to work properly there has to be a completed circuit with electricity flowing through a wide section of muscle mass. The failure of a Taser to effectively work can happen if only one probe hits the suspect, or the probes land too close together, or there is a faulty battery, or thick clothes do not allow the probes to get close to the skin. I’ve seen Tasers fail to incapacitate in each of these situations. The point is: the X26 is effective but not 100%.

There is an understandable reluctance by police officers to use deadly force. Cops are not evil people and they do not want to harm or kill anyone. So, many times when a police officer faces a situation in which deadly force is the appropriate level of force, the officer may hesitate or seek some other lower level of force, which generally decreases their own safety. While in some respects this is admirable, the fact is the officer must survive and win the encounter, not just for his or her own well being, but for the community as a whole. For if the officer is incapacitated or killed due to their attempt at a lower force option, their killer is now free to harm other innocents…perhaps even with the officers own weapons.

If a police officer encounters a suspect armed with a deadly weapon, the officer’s appropriate response will be deadly force, not a Taser. A suicidal subject armed with a knife or a gun needs to see the business end of your AR, shotgun, or pistol…not the blast doors of a ‘green’ X26 cartridge. If you have appropriate deadly force cover (say your two zone partners are in a position of advantage covering the suspect with .223 rifles), then you might –in certain circumstances– attempt to use a Taser to subdue the suspect. The idea is that your backup can employ deadly force should the Taser attempt go wrong.

Keep in mind that the vast majority of us have Taser cartridges that are good to a maximum of 21′ or 25′. Perhaps 21′ sounds familiar? That distance should be known to all police officers as it relates to the Tueller Drill. The Tueller Drill was developed by Sgt. Dennis Tueller of the Salt Lake City PD. Sgt. Tueller discovered that an average person could cover 21′ and begin stabbing an officer in 1.5 seconds: the same amount of time an officer could draw his weapon and put a round on the threat. That, of course, does not take into account that a fatal shot is not likely to instantly stop the attack.

So, if you encounter a violent subject armed with an edged weapon AND you have lethal force cover AND you want to try to use a Taser, you better hope it works. If it doesn’t, you will likely have a subject on top of you in less than two seconds. Your partners better be very accurate and very quick. Even then you stand a pretty decent shot at getting hurt.

If the subject has a firearm, you don’t even have 1.5 seconds, as they just have to point and pull the trigger.

So, read your department SOP’s, know your state laws of the use of force, and work out plans with your zone partners before you encounter a deadly force situation in which you may want to try a Taser.

A person who is in a state of excited delirium is clearly a threat to the officers and others, but they are also in danger from themselves. Oftentimes in-custody deaths are related to a suspect being in a state of excited delirium.

The best bet for an officer to avoid an in-custody death related to excited delirium, is to recognize the symptoms and summon emergency medical assistance when you encounter it.

Some of the symptoms attributed to excited delirium as identified by the Street Survival seminar are:

• profuse sweating
• paranoia
• aggression toward objects (especially glass)
• disrobing
• running
• yelling
• hiding
• hallucinating (especially that bugs are crawling on them)
• seizure
• thrashing before/after restraint

Keep in mind that someone with these symptoms may not be in a state of excited delirium, but it is far better to have EMS respond and clear the subject, than to have him or her die in your back seat.

Stay safe!

As dangerous as the meth lab operation is, for most police officers the danger from meth comes from dealing with the methamphetamine user. Meth users are responsible for violence toward themselves, family members, friends, strangers, and each other. Headlines such as “Father Beheads 14-Year-Old Son” are, unfortunately, a by-product of meth use.

The abuse of methamphetamine tends to go in a cycle, with the user being most dangerous when they are tweaking. During the “tweaking” phase, the abuser is driven into a severe depression, followed by extreme paranoia and aggression. The tweaker’s behavior is very unpredictable, and the effects of tweaking are intensified by other depressants, such as alcohol.

A tweaker may appear normal at first blush. Their eyes are clear and their speech is concise. However, their eyes are moving at about 10 times faster than normal. Their may be a quiver to their voice. Often the tweaker’s movements will be jerky. The tweaker may be saying weird, delusional, or paranoid things.

If you, a police officer, encounters someone you believe is tweaking, here are a few tips that can help keep you safe:

• Get backup enroute. If violence erupts, you want your backup officers already on-scene or already enroute.
• Maintain a reactionary gap. A seven to ten foot gap is a good minimum. This allows you slightly more time to react if the tweaker becomes violent. Almost as important, this does not “crowd” the tweaker. Keep in mind that he is paranoid, and by standing close to him, he feels crowded and his feelings of paranoia are intensified.
• Slow your rate of speech and lower the pitch of your voice.
• Slow your movements. Try to avoid any sudden moving.
• Avoid shining lights in his face. Bright lights can be very frightening to a tweaker. Bright lights can cause a tweaker to spontaneously fight or run.
• Keep the tweaker talking. If he is talking, he is not listening to the paranoid voices in his head. A silent tweaker often means his paranoia has encroached into reality. You are now part of his paranoid delusions, which could mean violence against you is imminent.

Stay safe!

Richard is a police officer with a medium sized, central Florida department, and previously worked for a Metro-Atlanta agency.  He has served as a field training officer, court officer, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, watch commander, commander of a field training and evaluation program, and general pain in the butt to management-types looking to cut training hours.

Often times a suicidal subject does not have any real intent to harm themselves; they are just looking for help and don’t know how to ask. However, there are some EDPs who have the intent and will to die by their own hand. One method they may use is jumping from a tall structure.

Someone who is standing on a rooftop, a bridge railing, or a window ledge is a heartbeat from falling to their death. Even the most hardened cop is unwilling to let this person fall without making an attempt to save them.

Start thinking about where in your zone, beat, or jurisdiction are you likely to encounter a situation of a suicide jumper. Even if you don’t have skyscrapers, you probably have a bridge overpass, multi-story commercial building, or radio tower.

Once you have identified where you may encounter the EDP, think about:

• How will you approach the subject?
• Can you approach the subject from cover?
• Will the location allow for more than one officer to approach?
• Will there be a lot of ambient noise that will interfere with talking to the subject?
• Can you safely talk to the person at the location? If not, can you do anything to make it safer?
• Is there any special equipment that you may need access to?

Bridge overpasses seem to be a frequent location for suicidal subjects. This probably is because of ease of access. Anyone can walk across a bridge, whereas accessing a building roof is generally a bit harder.

Ohio troopers encountered a suicidal subject on a bridge last year. The subject was on the railing, and appeared to be ready to jump. The video is here. Watch the trooper as he talks to the woman, and works his way around to (about) her 5-o’clock position. From this position, he gives himself a fraction of a second more time to get to the EDP and pull her to safety. A job well done!

Keep in mind, however, not all suicidal subject will want your help. You must be prepared for witnessing a tragic incident.

A friend of mine with a neighboring department saw a woman parked in the break down lane of a bridge over an Interstate highway. Thinking that the woman was broken down, my friend pulled her patrol car around and parked behind the woman’s car. As the officer was getting out, the woman glanced at my friend, and then jumped right off of the bridge, hitting the pavement 20+ feet below. The woman did not survive.

Pay attention to what’s out there, and plan ahead for everything you can imagine. By thinking things through before you encounter them, you increase your likelihood of doing the right thing when the feces hits the windmaker.

Stay safe!

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For more on dealing with EDPs:

Recognizing Emotionally Disturbed Persons
Tips For Dealing With EDPs

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EDPs fall into three general categories: chemical abusers, short term, and long term. Recognizing what category the EDP falls into may help you in how you deal with the subject.

The first category is the chemical abuser. The folks in this category include your crack-heads, meth-freaks, and drunks. Name any chemical, and I’m sure I can find someone abusing it. Police officers often deal with these people, especially drunks, and may become complacent because of this. Complacency can get you and your partner hurt. Anyone who is in a chemically-induced altered mental state has lowered inhibitions (they are more likely to attack you), and will most likely have a much higher tolerance to pain. Not really a good combination.

The short term EDP is generally out-of-control because of something going on in their life right now. For example, the loss of a loved one may push someone into a frenzy. Many times these folks aren’t dangerous, but they need some level of intervention to stabilize. A short-term EDP may be dangerous in some situations, though. Say, for example, a father has found out his daughter has been raped by a neighbor. That father may lose rational thought and be walking down the street with his hunting rifle to find him when you roll up.

The long term EDP is someone who has on-going mental health issues. Someone who is bi-polar or schizophrenic, for example, is a frequent example of an EDP police officers often encounter. A lot of times officers know in advance of the mental health issues because of prior calls to the residence. Sometimes, though, you may roll up on a trespassing or suspicious person call, completely unaware of the skewed reality of the person with whom you are about to deal.

Pay attention to the person’s behavior. Are they withdrawn? Are they acting as if they are being persecuted by people? Is their behavior erratic, or does their mood shift sharply? Do they have repetitive behaviors, such as snapping their finger every minute, or doing things in multiples? If you are seeing any of these behaviors, recognize them as clues that the person may be an EDP.

Many human services agencies offer free training in how to better recognize EDP’s, and how to deal with them. If you can, take some of this training, and learn to integrate it with your officer safety training.

Through the years, I have had a variety of police training classes, and a bunch of first hand experience. Probably the best set of tips I’ve gotten came from the Street Survival officer safety seminar I took in 1998. I don’t know if Calibre Press is still teaching the same tips, but here they are.

1. Never underestimate the intelligence of an EDP. Many of them are highly intelligent.

2. Get back-up enroute ASAP. If things go bad, you may have a fight on your hands.

3. Don’t rush. Wait for your back-up, and be prepared to talk for a while to establish rapport. As trainer and law enforcement veteran Bob Willis told us, if you don’t talk, you’ll have to fight.

4. Use simple, straightforward language. Speak slowly. Use soft tones.

5. Try to calm the EDP.

6. Maintain your reactionary gap, and be willing to widen those gaps more than normal.

7. Be ready to use force if it becomes necessary.

8. Do not assume cooperation in previous encounters will mean cooperation in this or future incidents. Apparent cooperation doesn’t mean the danger has passed.

Use your training, and watch out for yourself and your partner.

Stay safe!