Oregonian editorial: police, mental health, and 'revolution'

Sat Sep 26 22:27:04 CDT 2009

BELOW is an editorial from yesterday's Oregonian (9/25/09) about  
police role in the death of psychiatrically-labeled musician James P.  
"Jim Jim" Chasse, Jr.

AT BOTTOM is how you can submit your comment to The Oregonian web  
site, and as a letter to the editor.

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http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/09/chasse_case_should_ignite_a_re.html

Chasse case should ignite a revolution in policing

By The Oregonian Editorial Board

September 25, 2009

Many things can be said about the death of a mentally ill man in  
police custody. 'Acceptable' isn't among them

Acceptable?

You can almost feel this community reeling in stunned disbelief at the  
headline coming out of the Portland Police Bureau this week ("Sizer:  
Chasse force acceptable," The Oregonian, Sept. 24).

Nothing about the death of James P. Chasse Jr., a mentally ill and  
physically fragile musician, will ever be remotely acceptable.

Unacceptable: The secrecy that has swaddled this case. When there's a  
death at police hands or in police custody, it shouldn't take a  
federal lawsuit to illuminate what happened. The public deserves a  
full and prompt accounting in a public inquest.

Unacceptable: The length of time, three years, it has taken for the  
chief to decide on discipline -- or lack thereof -- for the officers  
involved. True, it has been complicated by the federal lawsuit filed  
by the Chasse family, which goes to trial in March, but there's still  
no excuse.

Unacceptable: The officers' maximum response on Sept. 17, 2006, to a  
situation that called for minimal intervention. It is not even clear  
that Chasse, a 42-year-old schizophrenic, actually urinated in public,  
the offense that supposedly triggered the police chase in the Pearl  
District.

Of course, police are often rightfully suspicious when people ordered  
to stop run away from them. But there is some doubt about whether  
Chasse was even capable of running, since he walked with a limp as a  
result of a traffic accident. We do know for certain he was terrified  
of the police. And, it turns out, he had every reason to be.

On Wednesday, however, Police Chief Rosie Sizer announced her  
conclusion that the officers who confronted Chasse three years ago  
conformed to bureau policy. The chief only singled out a sergeant for  
discipline, recommending he be suspended for an unspecified period --  
40 hours has been discussed -- for failing to ensure Chasse went to a  
hospital.

That lapse may sound minor, but it wasn't. It violated a bureau  
policy, adopted in 2006, requiring that anyone stunned with a Taser  
who shows evidence of disorientation be rushed to a hospital.

Had the sergeant adhered to this policy, it might have saved Chasse's  
life. As for whether everything else adhered to bureau policies -- and  
a use-of-force review board backed up the chief -- the response from  
this community must be: Well, great. Then change the policies.

And it's reassuring to know that the bureau has done exactly that.  
Sizer, remember, was sworn in as chief on July 13, 2006, just two  
months before Chasse died. Since his death, and it's not a  
coincidence, the bureau has instituted crisis intervention training  
for all uniformed officers; altered training on foot pursuits; and  
overhauled the protocol for evaluating and transporting the injured.

True, there have been many tragic deaths at police hands or in police  
custody over the years. Some have reverberated in this city for a time  
without fundamentally altering the culture of the bureau. A bureau  
chastened and revolutionized, a bureau that you can speak of as pre- 
Chasse and post-Chasse?

That's the only outcome from this case that is remotely acceptable.

- end -

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BREAK THE SILENCE.... Please forward to interested Oregonians off and  
on Internet.

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HOW YOU CAN POST your comment about the Oregonian editorial on their  
web site:

Go here to register and comment:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/index.html

HOW YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS AS LETTER TO EDITOR:

E-mail your letter to: letters at news.oregonian.com (IMPORTANT --  
Oregonian guidelines: "Please limit letters to 150 words. Please  
include your full address and daytime phone number, for verification  
only.")

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WHAT TO SAY?

YOUR OWN WORDS ARE BEST.

Here is a submission to the Oregonian web site and letter to editor by  
David Oaks, Director, MindFreedom International [less than 150 words]:

It is gratifying that the Oregonian editorial board wrote that the  
police-caused death of James Chasse "should ignite a revolution in  
policing." (9/25) I challenge The Oregonian to call for a far wider  
revolution, throughout mental health care.

This is my 33rd year as a mental health advocate, 26 of those years in  
Oregon. One of the most heart-breaking moments I've seen for Oregon's  
mental health care was when Governor Ted Kulongoski zeroed out all  
support for the state-wide voice of mental health consumers and  
psychiatric survivors at the start of his administration.

For nearly seven years, Oregon continues to be one of the few USA  
States to provide zero funding to the state-wide empowerment of mental  
health clients. All Oregonians ought to demand that some of their  
taxpayer money go to the self-determination of these excluded  
citizens. The well being and power of a community are directly  
connected.

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Forwarded by MindFreedom Oregon:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/oregon

Want more info on "Why Zero" campaign about Governor Kulongoski? See:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/zero

The Oregonian uses the term 'mentally ill.' Why stop using that  
phrase? Click here:
http://tinyurl.com/not-mentally-ill

Really want a revolution in mental health care?

Join the only independent mental health advocacy group with  
"revolution" in its mission statement!

Join now! http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate

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