John Firman, the Director of Development of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, disagrees with opponents of the deescalation method. “The only case you wouldn’t do that is if someone’s life is critically at risk at that time, for instance if the person is shooting at someone else, " he explained. “The real question is, ‘How soon do you need compliance’? If a person is mentally ill and they’re wandering around and screaming at people, they’re not going to apply. If I’m an autistic child and you say ‘stand up,’ I’m not going to comply. How quickly do you need compliance, how much do you need, and what are the threats to safety? A smart officer is going to assess all of that and do anything necessary to minimize potential that there’s going to be further damage.”
Firman pointed to two departments that successfully adopted their own versions of tactical retreat. San Francisco’s Chief of Police Greg Suhr instituted a similar policy in order to deescalate aggression between officers and mentally ill persons, whose interactions previously led to a substantial number of injuries. To reduce the possibility of a physical altercation, Suhr established a policy that allows officers to set up a perimeter around the mentally ill person in question and wait for assistance from mental health experts and a crisis intervention team. Prince George’s County also implemented the tactical hold.
