Bodycam video shows officers hugging armed woman after deescalating situation
‘This incident reflects only snippet of total number of positive interactions officers have throughout their shifts,’ police lieutenant says
Body camera footage captured an officer in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania hugging an armed woman after police convinced her to drop her weapon as she was having a mental health crisis.
Law enforcement said she was at risk of harming herself. The woman had a loaded handgun and was threatening to take her own life.
“Is something bothering you, honey?” a member of law enforcement can be heard asking the woman. An officer with crisis intervention training created a connection with her and managed to calm her down enough for her to drop the gun.
Later, officers rubbed her back as she was hunched over, crying.
“Peace restored,” one of the officers says.
“No one was hurt, and everyone went home,” Lieutenant Kyle Gautsch told WHTM. “The woman didn’t harm herself, and she got the care she desperately needed.”
“This incident reflects only a single snippet of the total number of positive interactions that officers have throughout their shifts,” Lt Gautsch told Newsweek.
Speaking about the woman in distress, he told WHTM: “It was not a person who was just armed that was looking to assault someone. It was a person that was armed...and they were contemplating harming themselves.”
“I think the officers did a great job at recognizing that and using their training in order to deescalate the situation and to get the individual to eventually drop the firearm,” he added.
Lt Gautsch said the officers showed “tremendous restraint” and “compassion” for the woman. Police officers in Harrisburg take part in ongoing crisis intervention training and also get assistance from mental health experts from Dauphin County.
The program in collaboration with the county was announced last June and tries to limit the number of people with mental health issues in the criminal justice system. Four police departments are taking part.
Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick said in a press release: “Every day, police officers are on the front lines and responding to calls that often involve drug use or a mental health issue.”
“One of the most significant injustices our country faces is the continued jailing of the mentally ill, who end up trapped in an endless cycle of recidivistic behaviour. The problem of mental illness is not new, but the ways we treat it continue to evolve, and hopefully, improve,” Mr Hartwick added.