There is a growing need for police officers to be trained on how to interact with those suffering from a mental illness. Most recently, we have seen officers mishandle a situation involving an elderly woman and a mother, both suffering from mental illnesses. Instead of providing help, officers shot and killed them both. These scenarios sounds very familiar to the story of Alfred Olango. In September, his sister called officers from the El Cajon Police Department to help her brother. Olango ,who suffered a from mental illness, was killed after pointing a vape pen towards officers.
This tragedy left yet another community heartbroken over the continuos narrative of unarmed black person being killed. To help change this narrative and provide support, Alfred Olango’s father launched a police reform program. Richard Olango launched the Alfred Olango Unity and Justice Foundation in honor of his son. The foundation promises to focus on improving police training by focusing on areas such as psychology, human behavior, criminal justice and discipline.
“These are the foundation of police training,” he said. “If you don’t pass these, you go back to police college.” Olango wants to prevent officers from using their gun first. “Police are supposed to use a gun as a last resort. From the time police arrived to the time my son was dead was one minute and 29 seconds.”
Hopefully this foundation brings awareness to how officers should be trained in sensitive scenarios like the one in which their son was tragically killed. Alfred Olango’s mother, like many, wants her son to be the last to suffer at the hands of police violence. “I don’t want any mother to go through what I am going through.”
