By Susan M. Cover
The Portland Press Herald
AUGUSTA, Maine — A family’s fear for their mentally ill son has prompted state Rep. Jeff McCabe to submit a bill establishing a statewide training protocol for first responders who try to help people experiencing a mental health crisis.
McCabe, a Skowhegan Democrat, said that while many police departments train officers to help the mentally ill, he could find no statewide standard.
''It wasn’t really clear what everyone was doing and whether it was the same across the board,’' he said.
McCabe is one of several lawmakers who have submitted legislation that deals with how police, firefighters and others can help people who are mentally ill without endangering themselves or others.
Two weeks ago, police shot and killed a Biddeford woman who threatened to commit suicide, then pointed a gun at officers when they responded to help her. Last summer, a suicidal man in South Portland was killed by police when he advanced on them with two knives after a four-hour standoff.
The Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will hold public hearings today at 10 a.m. at the State House on McCabe’s bill and two others that address police action and mental illness.
Bills that call for better or additional training will get the support of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, said Robert Schwartz, executive director.
''We’ve gone a long way in training officers for that, but we need to train more,’' he said.
Schwartz, a former South Portland chief, said police officers in cities such as Augusta, Waterville, Portland and Lewiston respond several times a week to people in a mental health crisis.
When a shooting occurs, it’s not just the victim’s family that suffers, he said.
''It’s awful for the family, and it’s awful for the police officer,’' he said. ''His life is affected by that, too. There isn’t a police officer who goes to work and says, ‘I’m going to shoot somebody today.’ ''
Lawmakers will also consider creating a new commission to review police shootings of people with mental illness.
State Rep. Sarah Lewin, R-Eliot, said the grieving parents of Michael Norton, the man killed in South Portland, called her last summer to take action.
In Norton’s case, she said, the mental health system failed to help him at a time when he was suicidal. She doesn’t blame the police, but said there must be a better way to provide help to people who need it.
''Somebody in the system should have grabbed him and recognized he had a serious problem,’' she said.
Her bill suggests the possibility of creating a special Maine State Police tactical team to respond to dangerous situations involving people with mental illness.
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