Resolution urging mentally ill training for police passes Legislature

SALT LAKE CITY — A resolution urging law enforcement agencies to undergo crisis intervention training to better deal with the mentally ill has passed the Legislature.

SCR1, sponsored by Senate Minority Assistant Whip Pat Jones, was approved 68-0 by the House Thursday without debate. It now goes to Gov. Gary Herbert for his action.

The resolution is backed by Duane Cardall, who has said his son, Brian, might be alive today had the Hurricane police officer who used a Taser to subdue him been properly trained to deal with the mentally ill.

"I can only wonder how different the situation would have been had Brian been approached by an officer adequately trained in de-escalating tactics and techniques," Cardall, who recently retired as director of editorials for KSL-TV, said. 

— Lisa Riley Roche