Thread by @SoonerReporter

🧵This week, #okleg passed the "Shannon Hanchett Act," named for a woman who died in December awaiting a mental health evaluation at the Cleveland County jail. More on Hanchett and company responsible for her care in the jail in the link below. oklahomawatch.org/2023/02/21/she… 1/

House Bill 2157 recommends at least 20% of law enforcement take specialized training to respond to mental health crises. The course is called Crisis Intervention Training, CIT. The Norman officer who arrested Hanchett for false reporting & resisting arrest was not CIT trained. 2/

I attended the 40-hour CIT course with about 30 officers. It was taught by a Norman Lieutenant who was hired last month to run the jail where Hanchett died after his predecessor resigned following the deaths of Hanchett and another detainee in December. 3/ oklahomawatch.org/2021/04/14/ins…

I don't yet know how many of Norman's officers are CIT trained. A series I reported with @kgounews showed that fewer than 14% of @OKCPD officers received the training though officers were responding to a significant increase in mental health calls. 4/ oklahomawatch.org/2020/10/05/okl…

Mental health 911 calls include a man running down the street yelling about a bomb. A suicidal veteran. A man walking naked in a neighborhood. An elementary student who had a "mental breakdown" at school. Here are others described in police reports. 👇 5/ oklahomawatch.org/2020/10/05/wha…

Tulsa PD were scrutinized last year when officers who were not trained in crisis intervention responded to a woman in crisis. One officer heckled her and threatened to tase her. They eventually kicked in the door and tackled the woman to the ground. oklahomawatch.org/2022/04/27/tul… 6/

Legislation passed by the house this week recommends at least 20% of officers be CIT trained. About 30% of Tulsa PD officers have received the weeklong training, in addition to basic training required for officers statewide. Here's a link to the bill. webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2023-24… 7/

When jail staff request a mental health evaluation for a detainee, the dept. of mental health would have 24 hours to do the evaluation under HB 2157. Hanchett was scheduled for her evaluation the same day she died. The Sheriff's office will not say when that request was made. 8/

The risk of being killed by police is 16x greater for those with untreated mental illness, via @TreatmentAdvCtr. Oklahoma law enforcement have killed at least 53 people who exhibited signs of mental illness from 2013-2021, according to 👇mappingpoliceviolence.org 9/

The "Shannon Hanchett Act" was brought by Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsey, where Hanchett grew up. It passed unanimously in the House. Now, it moves to the Senate. #Okleg /end