A promising new pilot program in Chicago uses virtual reality to help police better understand how to handle a subject who is in the midst of psychiatric distress.
It seems to happen almost every week: a cop in America is called to respond to some sort of disturbance -– a man with a weapon, a woman disrupting the midnight calm at an apartment complex, an escalating domestic dispute.
Already this year, at least 53 people diagnosed with mental illness have been shot and killed by U.S. police officers, according to a Washington Post database, which experts on police use of force described as among the most comprehensive of its kind. The reasons for the increase in police interactions with those in psychiatric or emotional crisis are manifold, said Dr. Bill Lewinski, a leading behavioral scientist and founder of the non-profit Force Science Institute in Illinois, which studies police use of force.
As part of our latest investment in smart, technology-driven policing, CPD announes a partnership with @axon_us to provide virtual reality training for police officers on how to better deal with mental health and special need populations. pic.twitter.com/9sbZSusz1b Once you put on the headphones and goggles, you are suddenly immersed in a jarring scene in which bright lights are flashing ominously at you from different directions, multiple voices compete at varying volumes for your attention, and your vision blurs unpredictably. While this is happening, police officers are approaching you while a parent to the side is shouting instructions frantically to the police. No matter how you turn your head, you’re trapped inside the experience.
“We’re helping [officers] to develop that sense of empathy [for the mentally ill] -- how people with that condition might be experiencing the world.” One Chicago police officer who was particularly anxious to participate in the virtual reality training sessions is Officer John Tolley, whose son is schizophrenic.
“There’s a direct connection between decreases in funding for in and outpatient mental health services and an increase in police encounters with mental ill persons,” observed Cohen. “Increasingly, state and local law enforcement agencies have become the response mechanism for communities to deal with individuals involved in mental health crises.”
When LeGrier was fatally shot by police, his 55-year-old neighbor, Bettie Jones, was also killed by police bullets -- compounding the tragedy with a collateral killing.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
I Guarantee You Will Find Your New Favorite Pair Of Shoes In This Post'I wanted to let you know that I’m getting married. To myself. And I’m registered at Manolo Blahnik.” —Carrie Bradshaw
Read more »
I Guarantee You Will Find Your New Favorite Cocktail Dress In This PostMy apologies to your wallet.
Read more »
2019 Disruptor 50: No. 43 HouzzDoes anyone start a home renovation project without getting ideas on Houzz? Disruptor50
Read more »
New York puts Democrats a step closer to Trump tax returnsNew York lawmakers gave final passage to legislation Wednesday that would allow President Donald Trump's state tax returns to be released to congressional committees that have, so far, been barred from getting the president's federal filings. The Democrat-led Senate and Assembly both approved
Read more »
Michael Avenatti charged with defrauding Stormy DanielsNew York prosecutors unveil new criminal accusations against embattled lawyer.
Read more »
Judge Clears 1976 New York Murder Conviction as New Evidence PresentedA Connecticut man convicted of murder in 1976 expressed both joy and sorrow after a Long Island court cleared his record of heinous crimes he didn’t commit.
Read more »