Half of fatal police shootings since 2019 involved behavioral health issues

Half of fatal police shootings since 2019 involved behavioral health issues

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Half of fatal police shootings since 2019 involved behavioral health issues

Police are responding to more incidents involving people experiencing mental health crises and in some cases the results have been deadly. 5 Investigates dug into the funding, training and innovative resources now available to help police keep everyone safe.

When police face-off with a person in the throes of a mental health crisis, the traditional tools of policing don't always do the job. We rode along with one department using new and effective ways to meet the challenge and spoke with a family who tragically lost their son during a stand-off with police.

"You never want to have four policemen show up at your door at 11:00 at night telling you your baby's been shot and killed by the police in his own home,” said Alyce Celona, whose son, Thomas Celona, was shot and killed in that confrontation with police. “"You just wish the outcome was different,” said her husband, Paul.

November 2, 2020 was the night that broke the heart of the Celona family. Alyce and Paul’s oldest son, Thomas, was inside his Winchester apartment, experiencing a mental health crisis. He had been struggling with behavioral issues and substance use disorder for years.

The security employee at the apartment complex called 9-11. “What's going on there?” the operator asked. “I got a guy saying someone broke in. I don't believe they did … I think he's messed up on something… his hand's cut… his place is a mess,” the caller said. Police reports show when three Winchester police officers arrived, they heard disturbing noises inside Celona’s apartment and broke down the door. Celona, 35, was crouched down, with kitchen knives in each of his hands, stabbing at a glass sliding door. The officers were unable to de-escalate the situation and as Celona edged slowly toward the police, one officer opened fire, killing Celona. Now, his parents are pushing for more training to help improve the outcomes of encounters between law enforcement and people struggling with their mental health. “If somebody came in and was trying to help him like that in a kind of calm, ‘Let me help you, Tom. I want to help you. Is there somebody I can call for you?’ I'm sure that would have made a huge difference,” Alyce Celona said. In nearby Arlington, police officer John Costa is armed with a vital tool as he rushes to a domestic call across town. He has mental health clinician Christina Valeri by his side. The partnership is critical as calls from people experiencing mental health crises are on the rise.

"A lot of the times whether I show up for mental health or substance the person I go to see is vulnerable,” Valeri said. “I'm that friendly face of support. I have a plan, let's get you to a safe place or let’s de-escalate the situation in the moment.”

Said Costa: “Having someone with a certain set of skills on scene being able to ask the right questions and to be able to offer appropriate services is, it's truly amazing."

“We definitely have made, especially here in Arlington, that shift from being a warrior to the guardian of our community,” said Arlington Police Chief Julie Flaherty. “And I think that the calls for service for people who are really in crisis have increased so much.”

That is why every officer in Arlington has been trained in how to respond to signs of mental health and substance use issues. Many have also had crisis intervention and de-escalation training. “It's really important for families to know when we go on-scene we're doing our best to make sure that not only our officers are safe, but everybody that's involved in the call is safe,” Flaherty said.

Arlington is one of 10 nationally recognized learning sites for training other departments in policing and mental health. Last year, 50 to 60 percent of the calls to Arlington police involved people struggling with substance use disorder, homelessness, or a behavioral health crisis.

5 Investigates reviewed fatal police-involved shootings since 2019. There were 23 in 19 communities in eastern and central Massachusetts and almost half of the people killed had histories of mental health issues or substance use disorder.

They include: 35-year-old Brendan Reilly, shot outside his group home in Lexington; Stephanie Gerardi, killed while she was having a mental health crisis in Saugus; Michael Conlon, shot during an incident in Newton; and Juston Root, shot 26 times after threatening hospital security guard, brandishing a replica BB gun and leading police on a high speed chase. Last year the Department of Mental Health pumped almost 5 million dollars in grants into 58 police departments for officer training and other resources. That is 50 times the amount spent in 2007. “It's been needed for years,” said Alyce Celona. “It can't happen fast enough. Every single police department needs to be trained.”

In the Winchester case, police said they pleaded with Tommy Celona to put the knives down, tased him, and, as he began to walk towards them, fired one fatal shot when he was 6 to 8 feet away.

“You have three big policemen yelling at him, okay, ‘Drop the knife! Drop the knife!’” said Paul Celona. “You know, it's getting loud. It's tight quarters, you know, from the officers’ perspective, not ideal at all.”

“If Paul and I had been called that night, we could have de-escalated that whole thing,” Alyce Celona said.

Thomas Celona was diagnosed with depression when he was just 10 years old. He overcame that hurdle to become a standout cross country runner in high school, but after a serious injury, he became addicted to prescription painkillers and struggled with substance use disorder, as well as mental health issues, until his death. As a result of his illicit drug use and at times erratic behavior, Celona had become known to Winchester Police. His family met with them after one incident, asking for advice and help with their son. The officer who later fatally shot Celona had encountered him twice before on calls to service, once placing him under arrest.

Now, Celona’s parents are pushing for more training to help improve the outcomes of encounters between law enforcement and people struggling with their mental health. “He's not coming back, but let's stop this so you don't have to interview anybody else like this again,” his mother told 5 Investigates.

The Winchester police department added its first clinician last summer and it’s working to certify all officers in critical incident training. Many have already undergone de-escalation and mental health training.

Winchester Chief of Police Daniel O’Connell gave us a statement, which reads, in part:

“Time and time again the police interact with people in mental crisis, some with substance abuse disorder. We are able to get them the services they need, usually at a medical facility. They leave the facility in a better state of mind and are able to become functional members of society. It is at this point where we feel people have the biggest risk of going off their prescribed medication or start using non-prescribed or illegal drugs. This is where we hope our new social worker will be able to help stop the cycle of repeated police encounters by checking in on people and their family members and to give continued support and services after leaving a facility.”

Both the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and a judge’s inquest determined the police shooting of Tommy Celona was justified. Celona’s parents were not permitted to speak at the inquest.

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