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news
Disturbed handled
in special ways
By Christine Shin
Summer Forty-Niner
At Cal State Long
Beach, dealing with mentally disturbed people who are disruptive
in public is left to the discretion of individual University
Police officers, according to University Police Capt. Stan
Skipworth.
University Police
handled a woman in an unorthodox manner earlier this month
by rolling the handcuffed woman out of the Human Services
and Design Building on a swivel chair.
"We had to
think outside the box," Skipworth said.
Although it might
not have been the ideal option, Skipworth said he felt it
was the best choice he and Cpl. Amy Rzasa had available. Rolling
her from the building to an awaiting patrol car was the easiest
way to avoid unnecessary injury, delay and attention, he added.
"You deal
with them, in my experiences, very delicately and with a high
degree of obvious respect," Skipworth said. "Because
those individuals need sincere attention to what is of concern
to them."
A number of disturbing
thoughts can preoccupy a mentally disturbed individual's awareness.
Mentally disturbed behavior can include: undressing, obscenities,
fighting with people who are not there and hearing voices
telling one to kill, said Carmen Ortiz, a medical caseworker
for Long Beach Mental Health Services.
"Sometimes
they say that they have a computer chip in their brain that
they need to extract because it is controlling them,"
Ortiz said. "A clock on the wall can be distorted by
moving or talking to them. They see monsters following them
and see people transforming into devils."
Although not all
situations are so severe, major depression, anxiety or panic
attacks can cause people to become disruptive and difficult
to deal with for police.
"Officers
have to incorporate the information from the scene and not
rely on the book because it won't always work," Skipworth
said.
University Police
officers are trained to deal with the mentally disturbed,
and CSULB policy reflects the extensive amount of training
officers receive, Skipworth added.
For the City of
Long Beach Police Department officers, a special unit called
the Mental Evaluation Team is relied on to deal with disturbed
persons, said Officer Nancy Tabing.
When LBPD officers
come across people whom they feel are in need of some mental
help, they call on the MET, which consists of one officer
and one mental health clinician. If need be, the disturbed
persons are placed into police custody and taken to the hospital
for further evaluation.
Under the California
Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 5150, any mentally
disturbed person who is a danger to himself, herself or others,
a law enforcement officer or other professional person may
take the person into custody and place him or her in the proper
facility for a 72-hour hold for treatment and evaluation.
The intent of the
detainment is to calm the mentally disturbed person and prevent
anyone from getting hurt, Ortiz said.
Depending on the
situation, hospitalization may be necessary. The person can
lose their right to freedom and be hospitalized if they are
clearly planning to kill themselves or another or both.
When distraught
persons act out in violence, both the University Police and
the LBPD are prepared to respond.
"We have to
approach with a lot of caution," Tabing said. "We
don't know who is going to get hurt. When danger calls for
us and is not properly taken control of, the situation can
escalate."
When emotionally
distressed persons are in possession of a weapon, police have
the option of using less-lethal weapons to subdue the situation.
"I've had
people with dirt, fire, rocks and chainsaws," Skipworth
said. "But it depends on whether I believe they have
a proficiency in using the weapon they are holding."
An officer has
to evaluate the information presented by the situation and
act accordingly, he added.
"Did they
have a machete, a handgun or a mango?" Skipworth said.
"It depends on the type of situation you have at hand."
When LBPD officers
need to use less-lethal weapons, they must get the approval
of a supervisor at a sergeant level or higher to come out
and monitor the situation.
However, CSULB
University Police officers use their own discretion to determine
when to use less-lethal weapons.
"You use this
type of force to defend yourself, defend a third party, complete
an arrest who is suspected of a crime or to restrain somebody
who may be a danger to themselves," Skipworth said.
Beanbag shotguns,
rubber bullets, tear gas, mace and pepper spray are some examples
of less lethal weapons.
But according to
the men and women who handle these types of situations, the
first line of defense is talking and reasoning with the mentally
disturbed person.
"When these
persons are distraught or distressed, they are fearful of
something that may or may not be tangible," Skipworth
said. "If you don't express sincere concern to help them,
they can perceive your insincerity and it may worsen the situation."
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