We usually think of mentors as people whose examples we’d follow to succeed.
Members of the Council of State Governments Justice Center must disagree with us because they have selected our own University Police to mentor other departments on responding to people with mental health issues.
Maybe the center didn’t examine University Police’s reputation for handling delicate situations in a poor manner.
You may recall a little incident in March when University Police shot a troubled graduate student, sparking outrage and eventually leading to an overhaul of the department’s mental health policies.
With less than a year under their belts after such an incident, we question why, out of all the police departments in the nation, the center chose University Police as one of six sites that will host training sessions on law enforcement’s relation with mental health.
Wasn’t there any other police organization available that lacked such an enormous blemish on its record?
In all fairness, perhaps the center decided the trying times University Police faced during and after the shooting could serve as a non-example to others. After all, people fresh from fixing a problem may have some pertinent advice.
If this isn’t the case, we truly fear for the well-being of our fellow citizens as police follow the example of a department undergoing a major change.
