Averting tragedy

A recent confrontation with police again highlights the need to give officers the best possible training to defuse situations involving mentally unstable individuals.

Although police officers apparently did everything according to their training in dealing with a distraught woman in an armed standoff last Sunday, it’s safe to say that everyone wishes the situation had been resolved without any loss of life.

Officials say there will be a full investigation of the confrontation that ended in the death of 36-year-old Marsha Lynn Mace. Whatever else the investigation determines, the incident confirms the need for local police officers to have the best possible training to deal with situations involving people who are mentally unstable or mentally ill.

Police went to a mobile home at 110 N. Mich., after being contacted by Mace’s mother, who was concerned about her daughter’s mental state and feared she might be suicidal. While attempting to talk to Mace and defuse the situation, officers heard shots inside the home. Then she fired at two officers on the scene. One officer returned fire, fatally wounding Mace.

Those who knew Mace confirmed that she was facing difficult financial and health issues and that she had problems dealing with authority. Lawrence Police Chief Ron Olin concluded that death was the “outcome she desired,” and shooting at officers was a way to accomplish that goal. Certainly, when officers believe their lives are in danger, they are justified in taking defensive action, but the officers involved in this incident undoubtedly are among those who wish it could have been ended without someone dying.

Local law enforcement agencies already are aware of the need to teach officers strategies to deal with mentally unstable people in crisis situations. Within the past two weeks, a special training session took place in Lawrence to show officers how to interact better with people with mental illness.

Dealing with inmates and homeless people with mental illness is an ongoing issue for law enforcement, but many of the same tools could be used in any situation involving someone who is mentally unstable because of a crisis situation. Intervention by mental health professionals is part of the strategy, along with teaching officers different approaches to defuse dangerous situations.

An internal review of last Sunday’s incident has determined that the officer who fired the shots that killed Mace acted properly. Dealing with unstable, sometimes violent, individuals is a dangerous part of the job for law enforcement officers, who often are successful in safely resolving such situations. Additional training may not avert such a tragedy in every case, but local law enforcement and mental health professionals are right to pursue all reasonable efforts to give officers the tools they need to untangle such confrontations without violence.