Case Law & Resources: Texas
Citation
Issue Presented & Facts
Holding
Lundgren v. State, 02-11-00486-CR, 2012 WL 3736515, at *3 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Aug. 30, 2012, no pet.)
Whether Texas's de-escalation training law require officers to handle persons with mental impairments with a "nicer/gentler touch."
Appellant charged with six counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer when he pointed a pistol at officers and then turned his back on them, refusing to put the pistol down. On appeal, he claimed that officers did not act within their duties because they did not recognize his mental impairment and treat him according to their de-escalation training.
Texas law creates no duty to follow de-escalation techniques in practice.
While Texas law requires that officers be trained in de-escalation and crisis intervention techniques, "[n]o language purports to create a duty to follow those techniques in any given situation."
Reference to Tex. Occ. Code Ann. § 1701.253(j).
Mays v. State, 318 S.W.3d 368, 375 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010)
In part, whether officers were acting outside of the course of discharging their duties when killed because they were not acting appropriately.
Appellant appealing a charge of capital murder of a deputy sheriff during the course of standoff. He claims he was mentally impaired at the time of the incident.
Expert testimony by a de-escalation instructor suggests that techniques "go out the window" when a weapon is involved
No evidence indicated a juror should find that officers were acting outside of their duty. At trial, the instructor of a crisis intervention course taken by the officers soon before the incident testified that "the course had covered techniques for dealing with mentally ill or distressed people, but he explained, 'Whenever weapons [are] involved, this training pretty well goes out the window.' He also said that, once a suspect is separated from his weapon, 'you use all means necessary to keep him separated from that weapon' regardless of his mental instability or distress."
Reference to Tex. Occ. Code Ann. § 1701.253(j).
Case Law
Resources
Citation
Summary and Notes
Relevant Excerpt
Interesting law review article on the relationship between criminal justice and mental health; specifically recommends increasing crisis intervention programs.
N/A
Quantifiable study re: use of force.
N/A
Text on de-escalation present just 50% of the time, exhaustion of alternatives in only 30% of policies.
Included cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Austin, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Columbus, Indianapolis, Fort Worth, Charlotte, Seattle, Denver, El Paso.
N/A