Cop in Ga. Tech student shooting didn't get crisis training
Tyler Beck
Officer Tyler Beck shot and killed Scout Schultz  a computer engineering student  after police at the Atlanta school received a 911 call about a “suspicious person on campus.” The caller described the suspect as an intoxicated white male with long blonde hair and blue jeans who was wielding a knife — and possibly a gun.
In an interview  Stewart said  Beck  “had only been on the force a little over a year ” and had no law enforcement experience before that.  He  said  Beck  had not received well-regarded Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training to deal with suicidal or mentally fragile suspects.
“It would seem that you would make sure at least campus police officers have all of the mental health training possible  (training) that’s easily available ”  he  said.
Actually  he said  one of  Beck ’s colleagues “did a good job of talking with Scout ” and the other cops were likely surprised that  Beck  discharged  his  weapon.
Georgia Tech has said  Beck  is on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting. In response to a query about  Beck 's training  the school referred USA TODAY to a series of statements on the shooting that did not specifically address training.
Ryan Powell  spokesman for the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council  which coordinates police training statewide  said  Beck  graduated last year from a basic law enforcement course mandated for all Georgia police officers.
But  Beck  didn’t take part in the more extensive  40-hour CIT course that since 2004 has trained nearly 11 000 law enforcement officers statewide. The course is recommended for 20% of all officers throughout Georgia.
He said video of the shooting suggested that the training benefited  Beck ’s colleagues  who calmed Schultz down during the confrontation and used the student’s first name. “Those officers were saying exactly what the CIT trainers are trained to say ” Powell said. “They were saying things like  ‘Hey  Scout  we aren’t here to hurt you — please put down the weapon.’”
He couldn’t be sure that  Beck ’s colleagues were trained in CIT  but said a CIT official who had seen video of the confrontation told him  “Those guys were saying exactly what we train them to say.”
Powell hesitated to second-guess  Beck ’s actions  noting that the standard for using deadly force amounts to this: If an officer is in fear of great bodily harm or death — to himself or others — he’s justified in shooting.
Officer [TGT] shot and killed Scout Schultz  a computer engineering student  after police at the Atlanta school received a 911 call about a “suspicious person on campus.” The caller described the suspect as an intoxicated white male with long blonde hair and blue jeans who was wielding a knife — and possibly a gun.
In an interview  Stewart said  Beck  “had only been on the force a little over a year ” and had no law enforcement experience before that.  He  said  Beck  had not received well-regarded Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training to deal with suicidal or mentally fragile suspects.
“It would seem that you would make sure at least campus police officers have all of the mental health training possible  (training) that’s easily available ”  he  said.
Actually  he said  one of  Beck ’s colleagues “did a good job of talking with Scout ” and the other cops were likely surprised that  Beck  discharged  his  weapon.
Georgia Tech has said  Beck  is on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting. In response to a query about  Beck 's training  the school referred USA TODAY to a series of statements on the shooting that did not specifically address training.
Ryan Powell  spokesman for the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council  which coordinates police training statewide  said  Beck  graduated last year from a basic law enforcement course mandated for all Georgia police officers.
But  Beck  didn’t take part in the more extensive  40-hour CIT course that since 2004 has trained nearly 11 000 law enforcement officers statewide. The course is recommended for 20% of all officers throughout Georgia.
He said video of the shooting suggested that the training benefited  Beck ’s colleagues  who calmed Schultz down during the confrontation and used the student’s first name. “Those officers were saying exactly what the CIT trainers are trained to say ” Powell said. “They were saying things like  ‘Hey  Scout  we aren’t here to hurt you — please put down the weapon.’”
He couldn’t be sure that  Beck ’s colleagues were trained in CIT  but said a CIT official who had seen video of the confrontation told him  “Those guys were saying exactly what we train them to say.”
Powell hesitated to second-guess  Beck ’s actions  noting that the standard for using deadly force amounts to this: If an officer is in fear of great bodily harm or death — to himself or others — he’s justified in shooting.