In the wake of two shooting deaths by the Albuquerque Police Department in two weeks, more families of people living with behavioral health issues are calling for reform of the department鈥檚 practices. But despite recommendations years ago to train all staff on how to deal with people living with , just a fraction of the workforce has the special training.
Several years ago APD commissioned a report from a that called for dozens of reforms, among them that more personnel, including 9-1-1 operators, be trained in , but APD says just about 10-percent of its workforce have been certified. The report, compiled by a national group of law enforcement officials, also said APD should back off of its reactive control model when dealing with an armed person.
Joline Gutierrez Kreuger is the mother of a 17-year old with behavioral health issues. She said she has had to call 9-1-1- several times and that police who responded have calmed her child down, but she added, given the , she will no longer call because most officers are not properly trained to effectively deal with a bad situation.
鈥� with a mentally ill person. You don鈥檛 scare them, you don鈥檛 startle them, you don鈥檛 yell commands at them, you don鈥檛 order them on the ground. You don鈥檛 throw flash bangs at them, you don鈥檛 sick a dog on them,鈥� Krueger said.
An overwhelming majority of the 37 people shot or killed by APD officers since 2010 were living with mental health issues, which can include drug and alcohol addiction. Kreuger, who writes for the Albuquerque Journal, has been talking with parents of children and adults in situations like her own.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a greater recognition now, that something is horribly wrong within our police system.鈥�
Kreuger says APD and their middle managers need to meet with parents and behavioral health experts to create effective reform and comprehensive crisis intervention training.
