5.1 Chapter Overview
5.1.1 Learning Objectives
The following learning objectives tell you what’s most important in this chapter. Use these statements as a study guide to make sure you get the most out of this chapter.
- Explain how policing in the community has changed in response to increases in demands related to mental disorders.
- Describe initiatives that have been developed to improve police interactions with people experiencing mental disorders.
- Summarize current law enforcement training to more thoughtfully interact with people with mental disorders in Oregon.
- Consider areas of growth still needed in police bureaus to address community mental health needs.
5.1.2 Key Terms
Look for these important terms in the text in bold. Understanding these terms will help you meet the learning objectives of this chapter. You can find the complete definitions for these terms at the end of the chapter.
- Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
- Community mental health
- Crisis Intervention Training (CIT
- Crisis response
- De-escalation
- Forensic
- Mobile Crisis Team
- Multi-disciplinary teams
- Use of force
- Recidivism
As people with mental disorders are increasingly living in communities without proper treatment and support to succeed, they are more likely than ever to come into contact with law enforcement (figure 5.1). Consequently, police departments have had to change how they address people in the community with mental disorders and developmental disabilities. The tragedy explained in figure 5.1 describes an incident involving a Black man diagnosed with schizophrenia who was recently released from the hospital and went to a private residence asking for help. When police were called, a struggle ensued and the man was fatally shot by police. The public has placed a great deal of scrutiny on police departments and the inherent power differential in police-community member interactions that can cause harm to marginalized people, especially. Throughout this chapter, we will consider how policing has shifted over the years with respect to engaging people with mental disorders and identify areas for growth in these interactions.
(Figure 5.1) Listen to or read about how this news article explains how law enforcement has inherited tasks to manage mental disorders in the communities they police.
5.1.3 SPOTLIGHT: Death of James Chasse
The risk of being killed in a police interaction in the community is sixteen times higher for a person with untreated serious mental illness than for the average person (Fuller et al., 2015). It is estimated that half of the people killed by police have some kind of disability, many of them a psychiatric disability (Hause & Melber, 2016). According to the advocacy organization Vera, in 2021 alone, at least 104 people were killed by police who were responding to calls involving a mental health crisis or erratic behavior (Turner, 2022).
Positive social change often doesn’t happen until there is a tragedy, and that is exactly what happened with Portland’s approach to those who suffer from severe mental illness. In the summer of 2006, James Chasse was a 42-year-old man diagnosed with schizophrenia. He lived in an apartment in downtown Portland, and he had stopped taking his medications. By the time officers encountered him on September 17th, he had likely been off of his medication for several weeks.
The officers perceived an unarmed Chasse to have been doing something “suspicious,” and Chasse fled when they approached him. Three law enforcement officers then used brutal force against Chasse while they attempted to pin him to the ground. He was tased multiple times, and kicked and punched into submission. Chasse was finally restrained face down in a crosswalk (figure 5.2)
Figure 5.2. This photo shows James Chasse on the sidewalk in Portland, surrounded by police.
Ultimately, Chasse suffered 26 fractures in 16 of his ribs, a punctured lung, a torn spleen, and a broken collar bone. Two forensic nurses at the jail refused to admit Chasse due to his injuries, and jail staff told police to transport him instead to a hospital. Chasse died en route. Later investigations showed that it took 106 minutes from the time the police first confronted Chasse until he died.
Five hundred people attended a memorial for James Chasse, and there was an outcry across Oregon. There were hundreds of news stories about the case, and civil rights and health advocates demanded change. No police officers were criminally charged in Chasse’s death.
While not immediate, change did occur as a result of Chasse’s death in 2011. The Crisis Assessment and Treatment Center opened in Multnomah County, which has a 16-bed capacity to help stabilize patients in crisis. In 2012, at the conclusion of another investigation into the Portland Police Bureau, the U.S. Department of Justice found that there was a history of excessive force used against those with mental disorders. This resulted in more police training and accountability, and funding for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams across Portland.
Law enforcement agencies know there is work to be done and still a long way to go to address mental disorders in our communities. The rise in collaboration between police bureaus and behavioral health professionals is a long-time needed response to managing both mental health symptoms while navigating community safety. Unfortunately, there is still a great amount of work to be done. Police bureaus across the country have a wide range of what they consider best practices when responding to mental disorders in the community. Collaboration with multidisciplinary teams such as behavioral health programs also have a wide range across different police bureaus. Ultimately, there is a considerable amount of focus that is needed by police bureaus to navigate initial responses and interactions with people struggling with a mental disorder.
For additional information, feel free to visit: killing of James Chasse [Website]
5.1.4 Chapter Overview Licenses and Attributions
“Chapter Overview” by Kendra Harding is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Spotlight: Death of James Chasse written by Monica McKirdy.
Figure 5.1. “The Safety Net Is Broken: How Police Became Mental Health First Responders” by Ericka Cruz Guevarra (OPB) and Conrad Wilson (OPB), OPB: Oregon Public Broadcasting is included under fair use
Figure 5.2. Photo of James Chasse by Jamie Marquez, Portland Mercury is included under fair use.