A confrontational video between a female suspect under the influence of drugs and Logan County Sheriff’s deputies that aired live Wednesday on social media is an example of why law enforcement professionals undergo certified crisis intervention training to help them deal with mentally unstable suspects as effectively as possible, LCSO administrators said.
Deputies initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle along U.S. Route 33 near Harrison Street in Lakeview around 5 p.m. Wednesday in response to a call for service from medical professionals at the Aries Building in Russells Point.
Doctors contacted deputies to make them aware that their client, Chelsie Bradenburg, may be a potential threat to herself and others, and that she behaved as though she were under the influence of drugs or some other stimulant.
Shortly after making contact with Bradenburg, she begins to film the interaction as part of a 9-minute, 10-second video in which she swears at law enforcement and asserts the deputies are under “mind control.”
In the video, which was posted live on Facebook and has since been viewed about 5,000 times, sheriff’s deputies ask Bradenburg to step out of the vehicle as part of the wellness check requested by her health professionals.
Video shows Bradenburg becoming agitated by their requests, as she questions the wisdom of her medical professionals. She told deputies the doctor wanted to send her away to, “the loony bin.”
As the video goes on, Bradenburg begins to shout vulgarities at the deputies, accusing them of “trespassing on her spirit.”
Bradenburg said her mother wanted her to go to counseling, but that she didn’t think she needed it because of a “spiritual awakening,” and said her spirit told her that she would be pulled over before the traffic stop was initiated.
As the suspect shouted, talked rapidly, interrupted and often spoke incoherently, as deputies looked on with a consistent demeanor, declining to match the suspect’s level of agitation or tone of voice, nor did the deputies question her talk of a “spiritual awakening” and other claims of higher enlightenment.
That ability to stay calm and to attempt to deal rationally with unstable individuals is the reason why all police and sheriff’s deputies undergo crisis intervention training as part of their continuing education as law enforcement professionals, Sheriff Randy Dodds said.
“It’s critical to maintain your composure when you’re dealing with someone that might not be of the right frame of mind,” he said. “That’s what makes that CIT training so important.”