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| Fairfax County offers jail diversion program for mentally ill offenders | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Fairfax County officials formally unveiled a program Thursday that is meant to steer people with mental health problems away from jail, an effort partly inspired by the death of a mentally ill woman last year who was restrained and stunned at the county jail. | Fairfax County officials formally unveiled a program Thursday that is meant to steer people with mental health problems away from jail, an effort partly inspired by the death of a mentally ill woman last year who was restrained and stunned at the county jail. |
| Under the county’s Diversion First program, police officers take non-violent offenders to a crisis response center in Merrifield or another facility in the state where those people receive counseling and even a place to sleep instead of jail time. | Under the county’s Diversion First program, police officers take non-violent offenders to a crisis response center in Merrifield or another facility in the state where those people receive counseling and even a place to sleep instead of jail time. |
| County officials launched the program at the start of the year, and have handled 265 cases so far. | County officials launched the program at the start of the year, and have handled 265 cases so far. |
| “What we are focused on is a system where people suffering from mental illness can get the help that they so desperately need so that they can turn their lives around and not continue to come into jail,” county Sheriff Stacey A. Kincaid said during a news conference held inside the Merrifield Crisis Response Center. | “What we are focused on is a system where people suffering from mental illness can get the help that they so desperately need so that they can turn their lives around and not continue to come into jail,” county Sheriff Stacey A. Kincaid said during a news conference held inside the Merrifield Crisis Response Center. |
| Kincaid said the Diversion First program was partially inspired by the death last year of Natasha McKenna, who was restrained and hit with a stun gun four times inside the county jail. | Kincaid said the Diversion First program was partially inspired by the death last year of Natasha McKenna, who was restrained and hit with a stun gun four times inside the county jail. |
| [See dramatic video of McKenna being taken into custody and Tasered] | [See dramatic video of McKenna being taken into custody and Tasered] |
| McKenna, 37, stopped breathing a short time later and died days later at a hospital. | McKenna, 37, stopped breathing a short time later and died days later at a hospital. |
| But with 40 percent of the county jail population suffering from mental health problems, “this is something that has been in the works for a long time,” Kincaid said. | But with 40 percent of the county jail population suffering from mental health problems, “this is something that has been in the works for a long time,” Kincaid said. |
| The program — part of Fairfax’s broader effort to reform its policing agencies — trains sheriff’s deputies and county police to deal more sensitively with people with mental health problems who may have committed a crime. | The program — part of Fairfax’s broader effort to reform its policing agencies — trains sheriff’s deputies and county police to deal more sensitively with people with mental health problems who may have committed a crime. |
| [John Geer shooting controversy inspires $35 million in police reforms] | [John Geer shooting controversy inspires $35 million in police reforms] |
| County police chief Edwin C. Roessler said the program will help reduce the number of arrests that become violent. | County police chief Edwin C. Roessler said the program will help reduce the number of arrests that become violent. |
| “We see the majority of our use of force is the interaction of people who suffer from mental health episodes,” Roessler said. “We need to re-engineer the law enforcement effort.” | “We see the majority of our use of force is the interaction of people who suffer from mental health episodes,” Roessler said. “We need to re-engineer the law enforcement effort.” |
| Kevin Earley, who works as a county counselor for mentally ill people who’ve been arrested, said he’s experienced first-hand the difference that sensitivity training can make during a police encounter. | Kevin Earley, who works as a county counselor for mentally ill people who’ve been arrested, said he’s experienced first-hand the difference that sensitivity training can make during a police encounter. |
| Earley said he suffers from bipolar disorder, which about 10 years ago led to his being arrested in Fairfax County after escaping from a mental health facility. | Earley said he suffers from bipolar disorder, which about 10 years ago led to his being arrested in Fairfax County after escaping from a mental health facility. |
| When the arresting officer placed his hand on top of Earley’s head to guide him safely into the squad car, Earley reacted violently, prompting the police officer to use a Taser on him. | When the arresting officer placed his hand on top of Earley’s head to guide him safely into the squad car, Earley reacted violently, prompting the police officer to use a Taser on him. |
| In 2007, Earley was again taken into custody. | In 2007, Earley was again taken into custody. |
| That time, he said, an officer who had been trained to deal with mental health cases transported Earley to a hospital without handcuffing him, and even asked him which radio station he preferred. | That time, he said, an officer who had been trained to deal with mental health cases transported Earley to a hospital without handcuffing him, and even asked him which radio station he preferred. |
| “I joked with the police officer that, without the handcuffs, it felt more like a ride in a taxicab than a police car,” Earley said. “And that is the point of these services, to make the ride more like a taxi than a police car heading in the direction of help.” | “I joked with the police officer that, without the handcuffs, it felt more like a ride in a taxicab than a police car,” Earley said. “And that is the point of these services, to make the ride more like a taxi than a police car heading in the direction of help.” |