opinion

Hummons: Son’s actions point to mental illness

Ronald Hummons is the father of Trepierre Hummons, who was killed June 19 after fatally shooting Cincinnati Police Officer Sonny Kim.

I know what happened the morning my son took the life of Officer Sonny Kim and then was killed himself. As a father and a person who knew Officer Kim, I needed to know why it happened.

I know the police are doing their investigation. I know they are doing the best they can, while grieving too, but I just couldn’t sit back and wait. My first stop was to speak to my son’s girlfriend. I needed to know what was going on with him, from her perspective. As a father of an adult son, it pains me to know that he was struggling and didn’t come to me.

He lived with his girlfriend, and she explained that Tre was very excited about new career options. He wanted to be a paramedic. Then he wanted to become a tattoo artist. And then he wanted to become a barber. Finally, he decided on the Navy. She said his mind was racing. He talked about his plans and had some pretty grandiose notions about what he was going to do to “take care of his family, because he was the man of the house.” She went on to explain that every time that there was a setback to his plans or ideas, he would get very depressed. She said she could talk to him sometimes, but many times he would just drink - and drink a lot.

The night before all of this happened, there was an incident between the two of them and the police were eventually called. Tre was not there when the police first arrived. When he saw the officers at the home, he ran.

I took what I learned from Tre’s girlfriend to a few mental health professionals, and they all said that my son was exhibiting the symptoms of manic depressive disorder. One told me symptoms include poor judgment, inappropriate social behavior, feelings of hopelessness or pessimism, feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness, and finally – the one thing that I didn’t want to hear – thoughts of death, suicide or actual suicide attempts.

It breaks my heart to know that the signs were there and no one around him could see that he needed help. He was a grown man, living in his own house. He had a family with his girlfriend. But he was my baby! My firstborn! Why didn’t he come to me?

The more that I researched this, the more I have come to grips with how serious mental illness can be to a person and, in our case, the community. “Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a medical disorder that impairs the brain’s ability to sustain a calm, steady mood,” according to one article from a school for psychiatry. “People with bipolar disorder experience a variety of intense emotional states, including elation and grandiosity, explosiveness and irritability, and periods of extreme sadness and low energy that they cannot easily control. Moods may shift abruptly many times per day, or they may persist for weeks, months, or even years and may seem inappropriate responses to actual circumstances and stresses.”

This sounded like what Tre’s girlfriend described to me about my son in the last few months. I also found that this disorder is usually diagnosed in people between 15 and 24 years of age.

After tears of frustration, it finally hit me: If I didn’t see the signs, how many other parents miss them? If his girlfriend, living with him, didn’t see the signs, then how many other girlfriends or spouses have missed them? Do we even know how to help our loved ones, when we do see the signs?

I have to accept that finding this information now is too late for my son. I have hope that it is not too late for others.

That’s I have decided to do everything in my power to bring awareness to mental illness and give tools to those who need it the most. My plan is to bring mental health education to law enforcement and regular people in under-served areas. I am going to share my story and my pain in an effort to prevent other families from going through the same pain.