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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2017)
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM DANCE: continued from Page A1 Though he said his first re- action to being asked to dance was “total panic,” Elfering en- joyed his performance, engag- ing the crowd and impressing the judges — who praised his showmanship and camarade- rie, both with the audience and with his partner. Elfering raised money for Pregnancy Care Services, which offers support to young families and single women who need help during pregnancy. Beas-Fitzgerald wowed the crowd with her strong dance skills and stage presence, danc- ing the high-energy Polka with her partner Joey Williams. Her charity, the Umatil- la-Morrow Hispanic Schol- arship Foundation, which en- courages local students to stay in school and pursue college. Judges were floored by Be- as-Fitzgerald’s dance ability and her enthusiasm. “We all felt like we were part of your dance from your interactions with the audience,” TRAINING: continued from Page A1 can escalate quickly. “It’s not meant to be tactical training, but educational — to get of- ficers aware of what can be in play, to be on guard for is- sues in the immediate area.” But Edmiston said it can be a challenge to deal with those kinds of issues — both for officers and others. “We try to address those things and do a good job,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s not illegal to suffer from mental illness. That’s a tough pill for people to swal- low.” Eynon said officers pre- pare to encounter any type of crisis. “I don’t know that we see one more than others, except maybe drug or alco- hol-related things,” he said. “We don’t always know if it’s drug-induced psychosis, the result of long-term drug Hansell said. The crowd loved the danc- es, cheering mid-song and clap- ping along to songs they knew. Audience members also en- joyed a performance by several local children, as well as one by the professionals of the Utah Ballroom Dance Company, which paid homage to a vari- ety of dance styles and iconic films — including “Singing in the Rain” and “Moulin Rouge.” “I was shocked to win,” Smith said after the announce- ment. “I just came out to have a good time. Everyone who danced was phenomenal.” Smith said he felt raising money for the warming station was important now more than ever, with the unusually cold winter, and thanked all who contributed to the event. Smith had spent several hours this week driving back and forth between Salem and Hermiston for rehearsals — but said it was worth it. “It was a blast,” he said. The event is organized by the Desert Arts Council, and was sponsored by the Herm- iston Breakfast Kiwanis Club. use or mental issues first and then self-medicating with drugs or alcohol.” Eynon added that before the department started doing crisis intervention training they dealt with mental health cases a little differently — with more frequent bookings so patients would be safe from physical harm. The training helps officers handle the situation before it gets to that point. and avoid using force. “Are we seeing reciprocal results? I’d say yes. I think our officers are able to de-es- calate or defuse a situation, and show people they’re try- ing to help,” Edmiston said. Hermiston police have dealt with their share of mental health-related is- sues. On Dec. 31, 2012, the department had its first offi- cer-involved shooting where a suspect died. A man robbed a bank, and then went across the street to a crowded li- quor store. He demanded WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017 FROM PAGE A1 STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY Rep. Greg Smith dances and his partner, Trina Morago, react to being named winners of Dancing with the Hermiston Stars on Saturday at Hermiston High School. a bottle of liquor, and then drew a black pistol BB-gun, which officers thought was a semi-automatic weapon. Of- ficers fired, and the man went down. He died later that day. “It’s our belief based on the investigation and state- ments that the individual suf- fered from mental illness or a short-term crisis,” Edmiston said. He recalled how his offi- cers reacted to the incident, and some of the dangers with the training. “If there’s a concern with this training, it’s that (offi- cers) take their guard down to talk with the person, and you have to be able to do both — talk with the person, but keep your guard up — you never know what could happen.” Kevin Campbell, chief executive officer of Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc., agreed that police in- volvement should not be the long-term solution to mental health crises. “People call the police because they’re afraid an in- dividual may kill themselves or others,” he said. “There’s a lot of fear associated with people having a psychotic condition. But we need to think of mental health crises as medical conditions rather than law enforcement condi- tions.” Carol Eck of Lifeways, a mental health services pro- vider in Umatilla County, said mental health counsel- ors from the organization are always available to deal for such situations. “I have Masters-level clinicians on-call 24 hours a day,” she said. “We go out on scene with the officer if they request it.” She praised officers’ han- dling of mental health cases, citing the effects of crisis in- tervention training. “They’re very adept,” she said. “Very good at working with individuals with men- tal issues, patient and able to decide the best place for that person to go.” Eck said one of the draw- backs to the system is that if a person needs to be hospital- ized for a psychiatric service, they have to go to the emer- gency room — and Oregon has a lack of emergency beds, which means those people are often kept waiting. Kimberly Lindsey of the Morrow County-based Community Counseling Solutions said her organi- zation has worked closely with local law enforcement for several years to provide mental health services to the surrounding areas. “If it’s brought to law enforcement’s attention that there’s something that looks like a mental health issue, we get called to go to the scene,” Lindsey said, adding that her staff never go to a scene without law enforcement of- ficials. “They keep the perim- eter and us safe, if a person is dangerous or violent,” she said. “I can’t say it’s cut down on crises — it’s not really a preventative measure,” Lind- sey said of the collaboration with officers. “But I think it reduces the trauma for both individuals and officers.” Edmiston said he’d like to see more short-term care options for people going through crises. “The answer is not to ex- pect more from the police, yet tie the hands of police to do their job,” he said. “‘In eastern Oregon, where re- sources are limited, it’s going to require significant invest- ment on the part of the state.” He said he hopes fund- ing for mental health care is something state lawmakers will consider seriously in their next session. “There’s got to be a right formula out there that hope- fully legislators can figure out,” he said. 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