MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Following a deadly standoff situation this week on Auburndale, local experts shared insight on mental health issues and preventing crisis situations.
Wednesday, police said a man, with a reported history of mental illness, showed up at his parents’ home with a gun and fought with them.
He wound up in a standoff situation with police. When he allegedly fired at him, officers returned fire and killed him.
Memphis Police said the Crisis Intervention Team responds to these types of situations.
Sandra Armstrong with the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness said CIT officers once responded to her home 25 times in one year, because her sister was struggling with schizophrenia.
NAMI works with CIT officers to make sure they understand family members’ roles in these difficult situations. They are the people who know the most about a person’s condition.
Armstrong says current numbers suggest 1 in 4 people across the country have some sort of mental illness.
Therefore, mental health conditions are something police officers regularly deal with.
Memphis Police said they generally cannot know someone is a danger to him/herself or others unless something has already happened or a loved one says something.
“Where we run into the biggest situation, we have a hostage situation, is maybe when that first episode comes,” Armstrong said.
“You don’t want your loved ones to be sort of hauled away in a squad car. It’s just not a good thing. So, most people will wait too long, and the individuals will find themselves way in crisis than when they first started,” said Major Vincent Beasley with the Memphis Police Training Academy.
He said there are currently about 250 CIT officers in the city. They go through 40 hours of training to learn how to de-escalate situations.
When CIT officers respond to a situation, they take a person to a Crisis Assessment Center where he or she gets checked out.
That center retains information about people who regularly need police help.
“The Crisis Assessment Center will have that, but we [police] don’t keep a running log of anybody or anything like that because of privacy reasons,” Major Beasley said.
If you know someone who might need help addressing a mental health issue, NAMI suggests you contact them at 901-725-0305. The Memphis Crisis Center hotline is 901-274-7477.
