POLICE: Treating mentally ill

Hiding in Section D2 of Aug. 31 Food & Health section of The Press is an article entitled “Justice Dept. focuses on police treatment of mentally ill.” Every state is accountable in making sure there is adequate support for community-based mental health services in compliance with federal law.

Areas such as Baltimore, Mississippi, Seattle, Cleveland, Albuquerque and Portland have reached court-enforceable consent decrees aimed at overhauling practices to comply with federal law in accordance with the Disabilities Act.

To date, my inquiries to Captain Dan Soumas, KC Sheriff’s Department, who is in charge of the field training for officers, have not been answered. Two simple questions: How many officers are there on staff and of those, how many have received CIT (Crisis Intervention Training)? I expect that Captain Soumas is avoiding answering my inquiry due to an embarrassing number of maybe one officer or quite possibly none.

Another article dated Sept. 5 on page A6 of The Press, entitled “Unresponsive to medication” was an incident that happened in Boise when a sheriff’s deputy showed up at a residence and told the family of a mentally ill son that he did not qualify for a mental health hold, which would have gotten him back on his medication safely. He died. Another death in Sandpoint, where a husband brought his disabled wife to a hospital seeking help and officers shot and killed her. The list goes on.

With Idaho’s suicide rate being one of the highest, I find it negligible that our officers are not trained to deal with the mentally ill. It appears that the state of Idaho as a whole is not compliant with federal law and the Disabilities Act. It has certainly NOT trained its police officers in CIT to avoid unnecessary violent confrontations and even death for these mentally ill people who in many instances haven’t even committed crimes.

Most of our officers are doing the best they can with what they are given. It is unfortunate that the state of Idaho, even our own Sheriff’s Department, cannot give these brave officers the training that is much needed.

I encourage anyone who believes CIT is a necessity to write The Justice Department, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 to voice your concerns.

JoANN LOKKEN

Coeur d’Alene