use in Colorado analyzed 6,353 incidents involving people in a mental health crisis, including reports of substance abuse, psychiatric illness, violence risk, and/or threats of suicide. The report, though limited, “showed encouraging results . . . even in the presence of lethal weapons, and showed promise for the nonviolent resolution of crisis calls.” People experiencing extreme mental health issues were more likely to be taken to an appropriate treatment facility rather than being arrested and put in jail. SWAT teams were less likely to be deployed in these situations since their presence often further agitates someone experiencing the effects of mental illness—the same could be said of a person with an intellectual or developmental disability. Injuries to subjects and officers and the use of force were also found to have fallen, albeit minimally. Although Thompson recognizes the benefits of live scenario-based training but her program is limited to eight hours, she chose to use bodycam videos that she stops midstream and discusses the situation with students asking them how they might respond. So it’s more streamlined than CIT, Davey says, but it is still very interactive, and Thompson really pushes people to be involved in the conversation. “It’s the best way to broadcast that information to the class given the time constraints,” he adds. Getting officers trained COURTESY PULSE LINE can be challenging though, particularly for smaller departments that can’t afford, from safety or financial perspectives, to take officers off shifts to attend an eight-hour training—let alone 40 hours. Davey previously worked for the Teller County Sheriff ’s Office, which is much smaller than Douglas County. He’d requested to take CIT, but it just wasn’t feasible, he says, due to the burden it would place on the department and his coworkers. Thompson is actively seeking grant funding so she can offer the Pulse Line disability training at no- or low-cost to those departments. If a national bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) passes, Colorado law enforcement could be at the front of the line to receive training grants through the Safe Interactions Act. Boulder County’s deputies are trained well beyond Colorado’s core minimum standards. Sloan says his department’s culture has changed over the years due, in part, to twice-weekly mini-training sessions in which community members, including people with disabilities, are invited to speak to deputies about various topics. About a year ago, for example, three officers and a game warden responded to a suicidal man way up in the mountains, Sloan says. The officers stopped on the road before approaching the situation and devised a game plan. When the man started throwing small explosive devices at officers, they didn’t panic and instead shot him in the belly with a bean bag. The incident ended with no injuries. To people looking on, it would have seemed dramatic, Sloan says. “But to [the officers] it was ‘That’s how you’re supposed to do it.’” He adds, “We’ve always had mental health issues in the community. But we used to say they’re just crazy. Now deputies say, ‘That person may be affected by schizophrenia.’” Though law enforcement attitudes are beginning to change, it will likely take time before there’s a complete shift in the culture. Colorado has more than 8,000 law enforcement officers in a state that spans more than 100,000 square miles, much of it in rugged mountainous terrain. But for Boulder County Undersheriff Sloan, whose department is admittedly well-placed financially and well-staffed, it’s a built-in expectation. This sort of training, he says, “makes for a good deputy, it protects our liability and it’s the right thing to do.” BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
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