How not to respond to the threat of suicide

Many Minnesota police departments have worked overtime to learn how to properly respond to calls concerning attempted suicides.

Today, a North Dakota couple is speaking out against police tactics used on their son more than two years ago.

In a Fargo Forum article, Mark and Tammy Erickson of Kindred, N.D., say their son Chase was handcuffed, put in the back of a squad car and threatened with arrest for attempting suicide.

“Chase said ‘I’ll never call 911 again’ because it was a 911 call gone terribly bad,” Mr. Erickson said. “He just swore up and down that he was never going to get cuffed and stuffed again.”

A few months after the incident, Chase Erickson took his own life.

“It shouldn’t be allowed that a system that’s supposed to help us becomes a system that you’re fearful of,” Mrs. Erickson said.