Advocates: Chicago police crisis training languishing

CHICAGO — After another police shooting, Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for an immediate review of how the Chicago Police Department trains officers to respond to calls involving people in crisis or with mental health problems.

But advocates for what’s known as crisis intervention team training say Chicago’s program has been “starved” of resources, with only about 15 percent of officers completing the 40-hour course. Advocates say they tried to get meetings with Emanuel early in his first term to stress the importance of the training, but were ignored. Illinois’ budget crisis also created a lapse, not just in Chicago but elsewhere.

The issue resurfaced last weekend after officers responding to a domestic disturbance shot and killed a 19-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman. The deaths of Bettie Jones — who police say was accidentally hit by gunfire — and Quintonio LeGrier occurred just weeks after the Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation into Chicago police practices.

LeGrier’s father said the Northern Illinois University student appeared to be a “little agitated” and later tried to bust open his door, prompting Antonio LeGrier to call police. He said Jones, who lived downstairs, told him Quintonio LeGrier had a baseball bat.

Relatives of both shooting victims have questioned why police opened fire and if the situation could have been handled another way. On Monday, Antonio LeGrier filed a lawsuit against the city, saying his son was never a threat and that officers used excessive force.

In CIT training, officers learn to identify a person who is in crisis and to de-escalate situations in which someone is agitated or exhibiting other signs of mental trouble.