🧵One year ago, a Norman mom and baker was waiting for a mental health assessment when she died in a medical cell at the Cleveland County jail. Her death raised concerns about the care of vulnerable detainees and prompted a yearlong investigation into the state's jail deaths. 1/ Shannon Hanchett lived in my city and was close to my age. It turns out we knew a lot of the same people. She had a mental health crisis and wouldn't stop calling 911 demanding they check on her son who she thought was in danger. She died 12 days later. 2/ oklahomawatch.org/2023/05/17/jai…

🧵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/

THREAD: I recently attended crisis intervention: a 40-hour mental health training for law enforcement. High profile police killings such as George Floyd in MN and Bennie Edwards in OKC have put a spotlight on this voluntary training. Here’s what I learned and observed. 1/ In attendance were 32 sheriff's deputies, police, jailers, administrators, a dispatcher and a chief from about 9 OK agencies, and me. It was one of the state's largest classes ever and was held in the Newcastle storm shelter. Here's the schedule for the week. 2/

THREAD: Last fall, I reported a series of stories with @QuintonChand about mental health and policing that made use of several records obtained through #FOI requests. We spent nearly a year reporting and examining records. Here’s more about how we did it. #sunshineweek 1/ @QuintonChand But first, I think it's important that you understand why we invested so much time and energy in this work: People in crisis are dying at the hands of police. 2/