It always upsets me when someone dies, unarmed, at the hands of police. But when I heard the tragic story of Robert Saylor, I was moved to write about it. Robert was an unarmed and mentally ill man still in the prime of his life, who died tragically at the hands of three police officers on January 12, 2013 at a movie theater in Frederick County, Maryland. Robert was upset that he couldn’t see the same movie a second time, and was yelling and screaming about having to pay a second time. His caretaker did all she could to manage the situation, including informing the officers of Robert’s condition and exclaiming “Please don’t touch him, he will freak out”. But despite this information, officers rushed in and put Robert on the ground. Just as expected, he started to “freak out”, kicking and screaming. But not for long, as a fracture to cartilage in his throat and asphyxiation killed Robert quickly.

This incident is a perfect example of not only the thuggish attitude some officers hold, but also of the need for extensive police training on dealing with the mentally ill populace, which totaled 57.7 million in 2004. The Center for Problem Oriented Policing produced a guide in 2006, and had this to say about the crimes common among the mentally ill:

Officers may try to handle the situation as usual (by giving directions, issuing commands, or making an arrest, for example) but not get the cooperation or compliance expected, sometimes leading to escalating tension. This highlights the importance of training in mental illness recognition as well as crisis management techniques.

The most intriguing part of the story, is that the officers were off-duty. They were acting as security guards for the shopping mall that the theater is in. Normally that would make them more likely to face charges because they don’t have the same powers as police officers. But they were police officers, and we all know about the ‘Thin Blue Line’. But what bothers me about this is, that the officers didn’t wait for on-duty officers to respond. In fact the reason the officers rushed Robert’s exit was because the next movie was starting. They could have delayed the 10 minutes of commercials before the movie to talk to Robert and no one would have batted an eye. But instead they had to escalate the situation, making them the aggressors.

In this instance, the officers had real knowledge that Robert had a mental illness, but due to a lack of training or common sense they defaulted to treating Robert as a common criminal. This act of being thrown to the ground would end up being what killed Robert, and fractured his throat. Forensic pathologist Dr. John Hunsaker explains the throat injury:

“It can be seen in a manual strangulation”…” And it can occur as a result of a direct blow.”

Was that kind of force necessary? Robert was a big guy, but the situation was not handled with tact and concern for the young man’s condition. Robert’s death was absolutely preventable by the people who caused it. Unfortunately for his parents, there is no justice for his death as the three officers got off with a small fine. Fortunately however, there has been a small outcry for better training to handle situations like this. If the officers were better trained, maybe Robert would have been here to tell the whole story.

By Aaron Allbrite – DontComply.com

Sources:

http://www.your4state.com/story/unexplained-injury-in-ethan-saylors-autopsy/d/story/CKgKm_MedE-NUNMpW6iSQA

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/29/opinion/perry-down-syndrome-death

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/16/robert-ethan-saylor-case-new-details-on-death-at-theater_n_3602128.html

http://www.popcenter.org/problems/mental_illness/