Mission Peak UU Congregation

M i s s i o n P e a k U n i t a r i a n U n i v e r s a l i s t C o n g r e g a t i o n

Training Needed for Police

Published August 16, 2005 in The Argus, Fremont, CA

The tragic shooting death of Edenar Talens at the hands of a California Highway Patrol officer on August 1 underscores the need for specialized training for East Bay law enforcement officers in handling psychiatric crisis situations.

This incident is the latest fatal confrontation between police and suspects in the East Bay. Recent weeks have seen such incidents in Dublin, Hayward, Alameda, and San Leandro.

In the Talens case, it seems that the CHP officer approached Talens with weapon drawn, without understanding the nature of the situation, and events quickly escalated into the fatal shooting.

Training to help avoid these situations is available. For example, there is a program called Crisis Intervention Training that is designed for law enforcement officers to learn about mental health crisis situations and how best to handle them - including how to deescalate a situation before it gets dangerous.

Most departments have found that such training results in fewer injuries, fewer investigations and fewer injuries and fatalities, and thus results in a savings to them.

I believe law enforcement officers in the East Bay should use such a crisis intervention training program to avoid more tragedies.

Barbara F. Meyers
Fremont, California

M i s s i o n P e a k U n i t a r i a n U n i v e r s a l i s t C o n g r e g a t i o n