Scout Schultz was shot and killed by a police officer while they were holding a pocket knife. Photo:

Scout Schultz was shot and killed by a police officer while they were holding a pocket knife. Photo:

The police officer who shot and killed nonbinary student activist Scout Schultz at Georgia Tech on Sunday night had received no crisis intervention training, it has been revealed.

The officer, Tyler Beck, who has been a member of the Georgia Tech Police Department since March 2016, shot Schultz after they ignored commands to drop the folded pocketknife they were carrying. He is on paid leave while under investigation for use of force.

Ryan Powell, the director of operations for Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.), a regulatory agency for officers, told BuzzFeed News that Beck had not received crisis intervention training.

Vernon Keenan, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, explained that Crisis Intervention Training teaches officers how to de-escalate situations when they are dealing with someone in “psychiatric crisis.”

“The objective is to de-escalate a situation and hopefully minimize the potential to employ force,” he added.

The training is not mandatory, but Powell said that “Georgia does encourage and offer this training quite a bit.”

The Schultz family’s lawyer tweeted about the lack of crisis intervention training, as well as the fact that Beck had only been on the force for a year, while commending the other officers present at the scene for their patience.

The officer had only a year on duty and no crisis intervention training I commend the patience of the other officers involved #scoutschultz https://t.co/ObK8ywakR8 — L. Chris Stewart Esq (@chrisstewartesq) September 19, 2017

A vigil on Monday night for Schultz later turned to scenes of a burning cop car, as about 50 students, outraged at the police shooting death, made their anger known at the campus police station.