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Human Rights Commission Minutes September 19, 2012 319 Chief Mathwig then reviewed the information the department received regarding this case stating 32o the individual was going to kill himself that day. At the scene, officers found a young man 321 sitting on his bed with a pistol in his lap. He commented that the goal of the officers was then to 322 contain the situation and keep the neighborhood safe. The young man failed to communicate 323 with the officers and until the person was separated from the gun, certain avenues must be 324 325 326 327 328 followed to gain control of the situation. Chair Grefenberg asked if the department knew the pistol was a toy gun. Police Chief Mathwig did not know this until after 11:00 p.m. after the search warrant was secured. 329 Ms. Moen did not feel this was true as her husband told a police sharp shooter at the scene it was 330 a toy gun. She questioned if the mentally ill should have toy weapons removed from the home. 331 Police Chief Mathwig stated he was told by one or two of the neighbors that they thought the 332 weapon was not real. However, this was not certain to the officers and operation has to continue 333 until all facts are known. 334 335 Mr. Partico thanked the Chief for making a good point about the importance of separating the 336 individual from the weapon. In most circumstances this may be true; however, in this case, the 337 police department was dealing with a mentally challenged individual. For this reason, an 338 individual trained to manage this situation should have been brought in. He stated 339 communication broke down and the young man shut down. 340 341 Chair Grefenberg asked if the CIT-trained officers previously-mentioned were on site for this 342 case. Police Chief Mathwig stated there were several crisis negotiators on site. 343 344 Ms. Greiling inquired if the officers were aware of the fact that the young man had autism. She 345 understood that the department was not mental health specialists. Police Chief Mathwig stated 346 that officers on the street had a varied level of understanding of this individual based on priar 347 contact. However, the department as a whole does not have this knowledge, only the officers 348 with prior contact. He explained the first two responders were responsible for the individuals in 349 the house, the neighbors and greater Roseville. The first two on site were working to minimize 35o hurt as much as possible. After communicating briefly with the young man, and seeing the 351 pistol, the door was slammed on the officers and expletives were spoken by the young man. This 352 was the end of the conversation. 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 Ms. Moen stated a health care nurse was on site to treat the young man for his diabetes. She commented this individual could have been used to address the mental health concerns before using force. Ms. Greiling understood that kicking in doors was necessary far a criminal, but not for a mental health issue. 361 Police Chief Mathwig stated the handgun in his lap was the trump card in play. Guns end life 362 and this was the most important piece of the puzzle in this case. Ms. Moen concurred that she 363 does not want to see any officers in the City harmed. 364