By Benjamin W. Skillings

South Portland resident

Just recently a tragedy occurred in South Portland that could have easily been prevented if police officers were properly trained to handle mental health crises. A suicidal man, 29-year-old Michael Norton, was reportedly wielding a knife when he was shot in the neck and jaw (according to a local newspaper). Police used lethal force even though some officers had non-lethal bean-bag shotguns pointed at him. His family may understand that he got what he wanted, but the question still remains why non-lethal methods weren’t used to subdue him. His tragic death begs the question: are local police trained well enough to handle people suffering from a mental health crisis?

Police knew that they were dealing with a suicidal man with a knife, which is why they had the  non-lethal beanbag rounds in the first place.  But they did not use them in time. Two officers allegedly fired live rounds before the others fired bean-bags. Why they need to use lethal force to subdue a mentally ill man armed only with a knife? Panic? Lack of training? It isn’t protocol to shoot-first at a mentally ill person when non-lethal methods are at your disposal. Police need to show that they or someone else were threatened with deadly force, and that using deadly force was needed to end that threat. 

Why else would officers be armed with non-lethal beanbag rounds? Why else would the family have called police? This man needed help and we did not give it to him. The night before the incident South Portland Police transported him to a local mental hospital. Shortly before the incident he checked himself out of that hospital. Police and mental health workers knew he was suicidal, but didn’t they take the necessary steps to preserve his life.   

As a mental health support worker with more than five year’s experience, I have seen all types of crisis situations resolved peacefully.  But this can be difficult when there is a hands-off policy. This forces us to work with police on a near-daily basis in order to keep our clients safe. Working with Spring Harbor Hospital’s ACTion Team and the Preble Street Resource Center, I have seen officers inadvertently escalate a crisis situation many times. When that happens, our jails take custody and their condition worsens.

The main problem is a lack of officer training in the mental health field. Few officers even receive 40 hours of mental health training, called Crisis Intervention Team (CIT).  Departments need at least one CIT trained officer per shift. About 15 of the 52 South Portland officers have gone through the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team training, according to local news reports. Most officers are not CIT certified, and therefore many do not have the skills needed to resolve a situation without force.

If more training isn’t fiscally possible, then perhaps there is a way Maine police could receive more experience with crisis situations in a short period of time.  We all know Maine has very little violent crime. So I am proposing an officer exchange program with Baltimore, the former murder capital of the US. The more critical incidents you have under your belt the better you can judge a situation requiring force. Practice makes perfect, right? This will give our cops practice in making the correct choice, and give theirs the opportunity to enjoy some fresh air. Then our local police will be more inclined to understand when their life is in danger and when and how to use force.

I don’ have professional experience in South Portland, but I have found the wait time for a CIT officer in Portland to be very troubling. Whenever we must place a call, when someone’s safety is in question, I will ask for a CIT trained officer.  When asked for at the scene of an incident, I often get grumbles and sometimes refusals of that request. This shouldn’t be an issue. All Maine’s officers should be CIT certified; the forty hour course would be added to the academy.  It would save lives.

Benjamin Skillings is a South Portland resident with seven years of professional experience in health care and mental health field. He attended South Portland schools. First graduate of InterCoast Career Institute’s Alcohol and Drug Counseling program, he is Currently attending USM studying communications and a co-founder of USM Disability Advocates, a student-led activist group.