Dec. 30--With Mayor Rahm Emanuel calling for a review of how Chicago police respond to residents experiencing a crisis, mental health experts argue that the department already has a solid program but that support for it has withered.
"Chicago is calling on police interaction to change, and here is a program that is proven effective, but it's ...just not supported," said Alexa James, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Chicago.
After last weekend's fatal police shooting of two people during a domestic disturbance call, Emanuel called for a review of the Chicago Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team program. The program certifies officers to respond to calls involving people experiencing a range of crises, from addiction to trauma to mental health problems.
The call for a review came a day after the fatal police shootings of Quintonio LeGrier, 19, and Bettie Jones, 55, early Saturday at an apartment building in the 4700 block of West Erie Street. LeGrier's father had called 911 after the teen threatened him with a bat; Jones, their downstairs neighbor, was answering the door for responding officers and was shot by accident after LeGrier confronted officers, officials and sources told the Tribune.
The tragedy has sharpened the focus even more on Chicago police use of force. Just last month, the Department of Justice announced a civil rights probe into the Police Department, including how officers deploy force against citizens and how incidents are investigated. This came after the city released of troubling dashboard camera footage showing a white officer fatally shooting an African-American teen in 2014. The officer has been charged with first-degree murder.
All aspects of department training figure to be a central part of the probe. Law enforcement use of force against people who are impaired has emerged as a problem area in other big-city departments that also faced Justice Department investigations.
James, who said she conducts Crisis Intervention Team training at the police academy, said Chicago's voluntary 40-hour class is based on a model that has shown declines in arrests of people with mental illness and improved officer safety. Piloted in Chicago in 2004, the program has received national recognition as well.
The department, in a statement, said recruits receive up to six hours of training in responding to mental health issues and that 1,900 members of the department are certified and assigned to all 22 districts, including one for each shift. The department plans to certify 900 new officers in 2016, the statement said.
James said the percentage of trained members -- 16 percent -- should increase to about 25 percent based on research she has seen. She also questioned whether there was one officer available at all times in each of the districts.
An Office of Emergency Management and Communications spokeswoman said all 911 call-takers and dispatchers receive training when first hired. In-service training for both was given in November, she said.
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