Recognizing Dangers : Tragedies Spur Police to Deal With Mental Illness

News accounts of the murders of a Rancho Cucamonga family at the hands of a son who then killed himself were of special interest to Detective Walter De Cuir.

De Cuir, who is overseeing the expansion of the Los Angeles Police Department’s mental evaluation unit, says the San Bernardino County case is a tragic example of the need for training officers to recognize psychiatric disorders.

“I read that deputies were called to the house all the time to settle disputes between the brothers. Neighbors knew the kid had problems,” De Cuir said. “I’m not saying it could have been prevented, but if a system was in place the problem may have been identified and minimized.”

De Cuir estimates that 25% of family disturbances involve someone with psychiatric problems. That fact is one of several he has discovered about the mentally ill since his unit expanded from one person--himself--to 10 in July.

Effective Response Sought

The expansion is the outgrowth of an agreement signed in April by representatives of 16 state, local and private agencies to help police officers respond more effectively to situations involving the mentally ill.

De Cuir said the agreement was prompted by two incidents in early 1984 involving the deaths of suspects with histories of mental illness.

One, Larry Plummer, was shot and killed by police officers in January, 1984, after he threatened a passer-by with a shotgun and then barricaded himself in a house.

A month later, a child was killed when Tyrone Mitchell opened fire on the 49th Street Elementary School. Mitchell later killed himself.

“Based on traditional Police Department response procedures, we handled the cases properly, but obviously looking at the outcome, especially with a child killed, we weren’t happy,” De Cuir said.

In the wake of the two incidents, discussions began between police, fire, mental health and criminal justice officials about the problems the mentally ill pose to each agency, De Cuir said.

“Everybody talked about what they did and we realized no one really knew what anybody else did,” the detective said.

With the subsequent signing of the cooperative agreement among the agencies, the 24-hour mental evaluation unit began operating this summer in Parker Center, readily available to officers who encounter mental illness of all types in their street work.

Only Two Options

The County Mental Health Department, in return, has provided training to the unit’s staff and doctors available for telephone consultations about people brought into the unit.

Previously, officers were faced with two options when dealing with the mentally disturbed. They could book the person under Section 5150 of the Welfare and Institution Code, committing the individual involuntarily to 72 hours of psychiatric observation, or they could jail the person on a misdemeanor charge such as loitering or vagrancy.

“We now have the resources and training in other options,” De Cuir said. “There are some agencies now available to us we never knew about before.”

Toni Delliquadri, program director of the county Department of Mental Health, agreed. “Definitely, the number of people being identified as needing help is increasing as a result of this effort,” she said. “But the issue is less one of numbers than the point of encounter. They’re being sent to us earlier, which will mean less treatment later.”