Mental health deputies deal with mixed bag of uncertainty
TULSA — Two Tulsa County sheriff’s deputies were confronted with a 6-foot, 135-pound mentally ill man they were trying to pick up on a civil court order for inpatient treatment in January.
The 32-year-old screamed at them, attempting to claw the hand and kick the knee of one of the deputies. Deputy Will Ramsey presented his Taser during the encounter but didn’t pull the trigger. Instead, deputy Brandon Walker was able to physically get Joshua Barre on the ground and put him in restraints.
On an average day, Sheriff Vic Regalado said, deputies on the Mental Health Unit such as Walker and Ramsey deal with people who harbor the potential to be “very dangerous” or “very calm.” That creates a mixed bag of uncertainty that the unit’s four deputies must calculate into their approaches in handling encounters, relying heavily on their mental health training and experience, he said.
The Jan. 26 encounter is one of 29 instances in the past five years that Ramsey and Walker have reported using force — physical contact, pepper spray, or presenting or using a Taser — according to records recently released by the sheriff’s office after an open records request by the Tulsa World.
Sixteen of the uses of force were presentations of a Taser (Ramsey 12, Walker 4); they also deployed a Taser nine times (Ramsey 5, Walker 4). Pepper spray and physical contact were noted four times. The fatal shooting of Barre on June 9, which also involved Tulsa Police Officer Donnie Johnson, isn’t included in those records.
Sheriff’s spokesman Justin Green said each of the 29 uses of force were reviewed internally and determined to be compliant with policy. Neither deputy has received discipline, Green added.
‘Depending on the diagnosis’
Barre was fatally shot as he entered a convenience store in north Tulsa carrying two large knives in his left hand. The shooting prompted a robust and at times quite tense protest on site that lasted several hours.
Family members have questioned why deputies were unable to find a way to take Barre into custody and not kill him, decrying that they failed him as a mental health patient. Regalado has countered that the deputies exercised appropriate caution not to escalate encounters with Barre in which he then likely would have forced them to shoot him in his own home.
“Individuals in psychosis are unpredictable. By the very nature of their mental illness, they could be a high risk in terms of being a danger to themselves, to the deputies, or to the general public,” Regalado said. “Or they could be very low, lethargic and depressed depending on the diagnosis of their mental illness.
‘A different mindset’
Regalado offered a reminder that deputies were attempting to fulfill a civil action for treatment, not an arrest warrant for an alleged crime, so there was no rush to detain Barre.
The unit’s deputies must have a “different mindset” with mentally ill people rather than treating them like criminals, Regalado said. Communication and compassion are key.
“The goal is not to have to use any force, and that really comes down to how they approach situations, being patient, understanding that the goal is getting help not making an arrest,” Regalado said. “That’s kind of a big difference there.”
The Mental Health Unit tried three times before June 9 to pick up a reportedly combative Barre on a civil court order for him to be taken in for mental health evaluation or treatment. His family said Barre stopped taking medication in April for his schizoaffective disorder, leading to his mental deterioration.
On Monday, Tulsa police homicide Sgt. Dave Walker said his investigation into the Barre shooting found nothing to support criminal charges against any officers or deputies. The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office — which holds the authority to file charges — has yet to review the case.
‘Above and beyond’
The personnel folders of Ramsey and Walker contain several letters from colleagues or the public commending them for their work on the sheriff’s Mental Health Unit.
A Broken Arrow parent wrote in April 2016 that Walker and two other deputies exhibited “kindness and compassion, and respectfulness” toward their son on a pickup to take him in for a mental health evaluation. They “made a difficult situation much easier” and were a “blessing for me and my family.”
A sheriff’s office secretary in September 2009 took down notes from a caller to express her and her sister’s thanks for Ramsey and two other deputies for being “extremely helpful, patient, and kind” in serving an emergency court order on their sister.
“She said that they could call the deputies day and night with any leads they may have had and the deputies would make time to follow any leads; even during their off duty hours,” the secretary wrote. “She said that these deputies went above and beyond and they were extremely professional.”