GAZETTE-TIMES REPORTER

Twelve years ago, Corvallis Police officer Deb Thelen invited her 16-year-old niece to live with her after the teen was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Thelen is teaching local officers and deputies about mental illness because officers are having more dealings on the street with people whose mental illness is going untreated.

Tuesday night, Thelen stood in front of more than 20 Corvallis police officers and Benton County sheriff’s deputies at the Law Enforcement Center for a four-hour training session on how officers can empathize and effectively communicate with the people they encounter on duty who have mental illnesses. She also related her personal story of learning to understand her niece’s illness.

“That first year was tough on me,” Thelen said. “I didn’t understand a 16-year-old, let alone a 16-year-old with bipolar disorder.”

Corvallis Chief of Police Gary Boldizar and Benton County Sheriff Diana Simpson have made the “crisis intervention training” mandatory for all officers and deputies. When Corvallis police had trouble finding an instructor for the class two years ago, they sent Thelen to Portland for training. Officers now receive four hours of training on mental health issues once per year.

Virgil Wilson said he is glad to see that police are being educated about mental health issues. Wilson and his wife, Judy, are co-presidents of the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

“The whole idea is to provide safety for both officers and the mentally ill,” Wilson said. “When you have a confrontation with a person who is mentally ill, emotions can run high.”

Thelen focused her lecture on the history and types of mental illness, common medications, resources and ways in which officers can defuse explosive confrontations.

Officers need to employ patience and calm when dealing with anyone in a crisis, Thelen said. But when police identify that someone needs mental health care, they need to make treatment a priority and transport that person to the emergency room at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center.

However, space in the hospital’s mental health ward is limited. Good Samaritan has 32 available beds for in-patient mental health care, but it services people from all over the state. Most patients come from Benton, Linn and Lincoln counties.

“There are some facilities available,” Thelen told officers. “Not as many as we’d like, but there are some.”

In 2001, Corvallis officers reported 30 incidents in which they arrested and transported someone to a physician for evaluation based on a concern that the person suffered from a mental illness that posed a personal or societal danger. By 2005, that number had increased steadily to 162.

That year, the issue of police dealings with the mentally ill hit the headlines after a Corvallis Police officer shot and killed Richard Townsend, 50. Townsend, who had a history of mental illness and was known to police, charged officers while holding a metal pipe over his head. He was shot after an attempt to stop him with a Taser failed when the device deflected off his leather coat, without effect.

The incident renewed scrutiny of how police communicate with those who have mental illnesses. Public criticism of how police handled the incident most often suggested more training for police.

But training alone won’t improve the situation, police say. Thelen and Wilson both attribute the increase in police contact with the mentally ill to a lack of funding for some outpatient programs.

“NAMI is not happy with the cuts in mental health facilities in this state over the last several years,” Wilson said. “We do not think there are enough services in this area or the state.”

Incidents

Between 2001 and 2005, Corvallis Police had a 440 percent increase in “Police Officer Custody” incidents, in which they transported people to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. In each case, they believed the person was mentally ill and posed a personal or public danger.

YEAR.....TRANSPORTED

2001 ...... 30

2002 ...... 58

2003 ...... 113

2004 ...... 140

2005 ...... 162