NEWS
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
Recent suicidal incidents point to larger problems
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
hen
offi cers
responded
to a domes-
tic disturbance
between two people at a
home on West Standard Ave-
nue in Hermiston last month,
they were told the man inside
could be armed with a gun.
They knew from training if
both of his hands were vis-
ible and empty, the risk of
someone getting hurt would
be much lower.
“But he wasn’t willing
to show his second hand,”
said Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston.
The man — police never
released his identity — even-
tually went on to inform offi -
cers he had a gun. He placed
it in his own mouth and
against his head. He asked
the police to shoot him. The
offi cers, who were stand-
ing 6 or 7 feet away with no
cover, had their guns drawn
while trying to de-escalate
the situation.
This went on for 47 min-
utes, before the man agreed
to be taken to Lifeways,
Umatilla County’s mental
health agency, for an evalua-
tion. The department’s crisis
negotiator had been called,
but didn’t make it to the
scene in time.
“Our offi cers were visibly
shaken,” Edmiston said.
Edmiston said Lifeways
released the man a few days
later. Micaela Cathey, Uma-
tilla executive director at
Lifeways, said she couldn’t
comment on specifi c cases.
Not having committed a
crime, Edmiston said there
was nothing stopping the
man from retrieving his fi re-
arm from the police depart-
W
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Corporal Bill Golter of the Hermiston Police Department patrols the streets in Hermiston on
Friday afternoon.
ment, which is why the
police fi led an extreme risk
protection order or “red fl ag”
against him last week.
If evidence holds up in
court, a circuit judge could
issue an order preventing
him from accessing guns.
The incident on West
Standard Avenue is one of
two that occurred in Umatilla
County this past August. The
next was just two days later,
on Aug. 25, when 28-year-
old Urbano Cazares of Mil-
ton-Freewater was resisting
arrest for violating a restrain-
ing order at his family’s
home.
Cazares pulled out a knife
and held it against his own
throat. It took several offi -
cers from different agen-
cies, including the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Offi ce, more
than an hour to convince him
to put down the knife. Caz-
ares eventually agreed to a
mental health evaluation at
Lifeways. According to the
Umatilla County Jail roster,
he remains behind bars.
Cooling it down
On both occasions, local
law enforcement were able
to cool down the poten-
tially suicidal situations with
de-escalation
techniques.
Most offi cers in Umatilla
County, according to Pendle-
ton Police Chief Stuart Rob-
erts, have Crisis Intervention
Team training.
The program in part
teaches offi cers how to speak
with individuals who are a
threat to themselves or oth-
ers without talking down to
them. Roberts said in more
urban areas of Oregon, a sep-
arate unit in a law enforce-
ment agency will have CIT
training. But in Umatilla
County, where mental health
resources are thinner, most
offi cers have the tool in their
back pocket.
The way the Hermiston
Police Department describes
it, de-escalation moves in
levels. It starts with verbal
communication and could
end with use of force.
“Sometimes use of force
can be a form of de-esca-
lation,” said administrative
Capt. Travis Enyon.
Morrow County Sher-
iff Ken Matlack said it’s all
about limiting demeaning
“I’m in control” language
of decades past when trying
to reason with someone on
edge.
“It’s all about trying to
change the subject, make
it user friendly, try to fi nd
an angle to comply to the
point,” he said. “If you can
get them to start asking
questions, that’s a key sign
because they’re engaging in
dialogue.”
But de-escalation tech-
niques are only a small part
of the puzzle in a mental
health crisis, and in some
cases, they’re a moot point.
Last month, the Los Ange-
les Times reported some Cal-
ifornian law enforcement
agencies were no longer
responding to suicide calls,
citing fears police involve-
ment could agitate some sit-
uations into violence and
increase the risk of lawsuits
against police.
“Sometimes people that
are in crisis want to harm
themselves, but maybe they
can’t so they force the situ-
ation,” Edmiston said. “It’s
frustrating because we’re
seeing more and more of
these types of calls. We’re
not clinicians.”
Next steps
Since Lifeways hired an
engaging consultant early
last year, following com-
plaints from local law
enforcement that almost
resulted in a termination of
the agency’s contract with
Umatilla County, police note
new leadership has meant
better collaboration.
“We’ve gotten to a point
where we can get crisis work-
ers in the fi eld,” Roberts said.
For Cathey, the improved
relationship comes from four
different things.
“Changes specifi c to Uma-
tilla County and our relation-
ship with law enforcement lie
in the staffi ng models for our
crisis team, opening access in
our outpatient clinics to more
rapidly enroll individuals
into service, opening lines of
communication through reg-
ular meetings and focused
problem solving,” she stated
in an email.
She also stated Lifeways
is in the fi nal stages of open-
ing Aspen Springs Psychi-
atric Hospital, which will
provide 16 beds for people
facing mental health crises.
In 2014, the Blue Moun-
tain Recovery Center, which
had the capability to take in
people with substance abuse
issues — something Life-
ways does not — shut its
doors.
Matlack noted in Morrow
County there are few places
for those experiencing men-
tal health crises to go, and the
Recovery Center’s closure
exacerbated that.
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Westgate Mini Storage
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Pendleton, OR 97801
(541)969-6634
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(541)969-6634
Contents of:
Unit 10
Unit 55
will be sold
bidder. Sale
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2019 at 1:00
ity.
Kyle J. Devore
Virginia C. May
to the highest
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