To promote and facilitate safe responses to mental health crises by and for all concerned.
On April 7, 2013 Sean D. Isensee (resident of Lakes of Austin Park and son of Debbie and Ted Isensee) was shot and killed by a Sugar Police officer who was responding along with many other officers to a call for help regarding a mental health crisis. No one else was injured at the scene. The facts of the case have not all come to light. However, it is clear that the results could have been much better. If things had been handled differently, Sean could be alive today.
In response to his death his family and other concerned citizens are calling for an independent investigation into the events and root causes leading to his death.
In addition, his family and friends have formed the Isensee Foundation for Safe Police Response. The mission of the foundation is to “provide law enforcement and professionals with training, techniques and equipment that will increase their ability to de-escalate mental health crises.”
The foundation will focus initially on efforts to increase the ability of law enforcement and professionals in Sugar Land to respond safely and effectively to mental health crises. We have already learned that Sugar Land does not have sufficient training and resources to handle mental health crises safely. In contrast, Houston does have much better resources. As a result, in situations such as we and Sean faced on April 7, we probably would have been much safer if we were in Houston than in Sugar Land. We believe Sugar Land needs to do much better than it has in dealing with mental health crises.
To promote and facilitate safe responses to mental health crises by and for all concerned.
