NAMI Far North decries officer-involved shooting

NAMI Far North is the Bonner and Boundary county affiliate of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, formed in 2007 in light of the woefully deficient local care for individuals living with mental illnesses and support for their family members.

The board of directors, on behalf of all its members, decries the fatal shooting of Jeanetta Riley by Sandpoint Police Department officers on July 8 and the recent conclusion of the Kootenai County Prosecutor that the action of the officers was “justified.”

We extend to the victim’s family our most heartfelt sympathy.

Based on information available to the public and the knowledge NAMI has gained through many years of mental illness grassroots advocacy and community education, we make the following important points:

1. It could have happened to MANY of us. One in four families in America has a relative with mental illness. Aggression and erratic behavior are symptomatic of delusional or psychotic episodes.

2. The ultimate tragedy — the loss of precious life — was the result of many tragic circumstances:

n A national culture that stigmatizes mental illness, considers it shameful rather than a disease like any other, discourages treatment, leads to misunderstanding and the assumption that all people with mental illness are dangerous;

n Lack of local treatment facilities for someone in psychiatric crisis to de-escalate, receive care and be referred for treatment;

n An Emergency Department unable to deal with a psychiatric crisis;

n Law enforcement first responders who were never intended to be mental health professionals;

NAMI Far North offers an annual 40-hour Peace Officer Standards & Training-certified Crisis Intervention Training Academy at no charge to all regional law enforcement agencies which provides basic information about the local mental health system, mental illnesses and how to recognize them; facilitates face-to-face interaction with individuals with mental illness and their family members; and provides training in crisis de-escalation techniques.

CIT is not the solution to inadequate community treatment services, but has been proven successful in de-escalating crises; avoiding officer injuries, consumer deaths and tragedy for the community; and creating relationships between law enforcement and mental health services that help get people to treatment and reduce the burden on police and corrections.

3. We are ALL responsible. We must insist on improved access to mental health services in our community and provision of appropriate crisis response facilities and personnel. We must make the best possible use of the resources we have by preparing, training and utilizing available tools designed to improve police interactions with people with mental illnesses.

4. It must never happen again!

AMBER SNODDY

Sandpoint

President,

NAMI Far North