The Washington Post
February 7, 2010 Sunday
Regional Edition
BYLINE: Pete Earley; Fairfax
SECTION: METRO; Pg. C04
LENGTH: 843 words
When Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh announced
on Jan. 27 that his office would not file charges in the death of David A.
Masters, shot by a still-unnamed county police officer, he offered this
stunning summary of what happened:
"Unfortunately, we had a mentally ill man who was
behaving bizarrely," Morrogh said. "His family indicated he was
behaving under delusions, that he might feel he was under attack if approached
by the police. I think that's the explanation for his actions."
Morrogh's speculative statement connects Masters's mental
illness to his actions immediately prior to the shooting, making this appear to
be yet another tragic story about a "mentally ill man" who became
delusional, paranoid and dangerous, and ended up being shot by the police. But
this isn't something that can be determined based on the evidence, something a
prosecutor in particular ought to adhere to -- especially when he's justifying
the police shooting of an unarmed man.
In November, Masters, 52, was fatally shot in his Chevrolet
Blazer at a busy intersection after being stopped by police, who suspected him
of stealing flowers from a planter outside a local business.
According to Morrogh's own account of the incident, three
Fairfax police officers approached the Blazer. When the car in front of Masters
moved, Masters's vehicle began to roll forward, and one of the officers had to
dart out of the way to avoid being hit. And then a 26-year-old officer next to
the vehicle drew his sidearm and fired twice.
That officer, and only that officer among all the witnesses,
told investigators he saw Masters reach down for something. The officer fired,
Morrogh said, because he believed Masters was reaching for a weapon.
In addition, the prosecutor said, before the shooting
"Mr. Masters was opening his coat and pointing at his chest in his coat
and making gestures of that nature." He also said that Masters was also
"gesturing toward the police" and "challenging them."
How does Morrogh get from this set of facts to the
conclusion that Masters's mental illness was the underlying cause of this chain
of events?
The three officers did not know that Masters had been
diagnosed with bipolar disorder when they confronted him. Many drivers open
their jackets to retrieve their wallets when stopped by the police. The fact
that a driver might be belligerent or challenge the police when confronted is
not some automatic signal that he is mentally ill. What proof does Morrogh have
that Masters was in the midst of a psychotic or delusional episode when he was
stopped?
Those who have followed this story will know that on the day
before his death, Masters refused to stop for a Fredericksburg officer after
running a red light. The officer followed Masters, who drove slowly for more
than a mile before stopping. Unlike the Fairfax police, however, the Fredericksburg
officer was aware that Masters had a mental illness; that information was
displayed on the computer screen in his squad car, a result of a previous
encounter with police. This officer issued him two citations and let him go.
Obviously, he did not believe that Masters's mental impairment was significant
enough to keep him from driving away.
There are two disturbing problems here, and they are two
sides of the same coin. The first is Morrogh's apparent eagerness to draw a
line between Masters's mental illness and his death at the hands of a police
officer. This is deeply stigmatizing. Morrogh's statement implies that
individuals with mental illnesses cannot control their disorders and are prone
to violence, neither of which is true. Bipolar disorder causes a person to
experience dramatic mood changes, often slipping rapidly from feelings of
euphoria into depression. It does not necessarily cause delusions nor paranoia
about the police.
The second problem is that even if Masters's disorder
actually was a factor, there is an excellent chance that the officers who
confronted him were not trained in how to determine whether someone acting
"bizarrely" is psychotic.
Crisis Intervention Training is a nationally recognized
program that teaches police officers how to use a minimum of force to handle
people with severe mental illnesses. Fairfax County made the training available
in 2008. No money was budgeted and the instructors were volunteers, but despite
this lack of support, 8.5 percent -- about 120 officers -- of Fairfax police
took part. The training has not been offered since, mainly because the two
officers who taught the class were promoted out of the patrol division and
their bosses do not consider CIT a priority.
One lesson from this case is that the Fairfax Police
Department should begin CIT again to better prepare its officers. Another is
that prosecutor Morrogh should be careful not to marginalize those with mental
disorders. Masters was not a "mentally ill man." He was a "man
who happened to have a mental illness." It is a subtle, yet critical,
distinction. Pete Earley is the author of "Crazy: A Father's Search
Through America's Mental Health Madness."