Portland mayor, Tom Potter, has asked the city council for a quarter of a million dollars to immediately start giving local police officers ‘Crisis Intervention Training.’ Kristian Foden-Vencil reports.
The request comes after the death of James Chasse on September 16th. Chasse, who suffered from schizophrenia, died from a crushed chest after three officers arrested him.
Among other things, the crisis intervention training is designed to help officers differentiate between someone acting suspiciously and someone who is suffering from a mental illness.
The mayor says the money comes from a pool of more than $18 million in unanticipated revenues — that have been generated by Portland’s improving economy.
The city council will vote on the crisis intervention training money November 29th.
The $250,000 will pay for 180 officers to take the 40-hour course. Potter says he will ask for enough money in the next budget to train all sworn officers.