De-escalation, crisis intervention training for Haysville officers

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – KSN is continuing to ask questions after police officers in Haysville shot and killed a man Tuesday evening.

According to the Haysville Police Department, it happened just before 5 p.m. in the 200 block of N. Main St. Officers were dispatched to the area to conduct a welfare check on an individual who was reported as possibly suicidal.

After officers made contact, they discovered a handgun in his lap. Police were “unsuccessful in de-escalating the situation,” and the man reached for the gun. Two of the four officers fired multiple rounds. The man was struck and died as a result.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is expected to release more about their investigation on Thursday.

Officers across the state are trained in de-escalating situations. One of the ways they’re trained is through something called CIT or Crisis Intervention Team training.

The Haysville Police Department does have some CIT-trained officers, but it’s unknown if those officers responded Tuesday afternoon. The chief did not respond to requests for comment.

The Kansas Law Enforcement CIT Council said that overall, there are more than 1,100 trained CIT officers in Sedgwick County.

Wichita State University criminal justice professor Michael Birzer said the Sedgwick County Sheriff regularly holds CIT training, which is typically a 40-hour class. He said it’s essential that nearby, smaller cities like Haysville can, and often do, work with Sedgwick County to get their officers trained.

“It’s important for those officers to be kind of on the same level, and so I think it’s important to have all the executive of those agencies around the table as well,” Birzer said.

Birzer said more officers need to get CIT training. He said bigger municipalities and the cities bordering them have more access to training than more rural areas.