The fatal shooting of Bettie Jones and 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier, who was “carrying a baseball bat and threatening his father” when the police were summoned to the scene, will be viewed on a continuum with the shooting of young Laquan McDonald last year.
However, a special detail in this case is that LeGrier had been “[struggling] with mental health issues in recent months,” and a key question, as identified by the Tribune, is “whether responding officers knew they were dealing with someone with mental health issues.” The Chicago Police Department has a Crisis Intervention Team Program that teaches responding officers how to handle individuals whose behavior may seem flagrantly criminal, but who in fact are in the throes of a brain disorder and temporarily incapable of reason. Did LeGrier’s family know to request a CIT officer? If they did, did the Chicago police make a CIT-trained member available?
Quintonio LeGrier’s and Bettie Jones’ tragic deaths should trigger phone calls and visits to local police departments to demand CIT training of all officers. Their deaths should also raise awareness among families and neighbors of the need to request a CIT-trained officer when calling 911 because someone with mental illness has become violent.
— Teresa Blomquist, River Forest
