Dealing with the Mentally Disturbed (Paranoid Schizoprehnic) ?

[SamAdams]

Hello everyone - I don't know if this topic is best posted here, or in the Tactics section. But, I thought the LEOs here would likely have the most experience with this subject.

Background - the stepson of a 79 year old widow is a paranoid schizoprehnic with a history of violent encounters going back to childhood. (The widow is a relative of mine.) He is now 69 years. He terrorized his family and neighbors by waving guns around and threatening people for many years. He shot a man about 18 years ago, but it was ruled self defense. (Shot man survived. ) The paranoid was committed to a state mental institution at that time, however. He was in there for two years. He was later put in state prison for rape of his wife or girlfriend. (A family member saw him with the woman after he got out, and they seemed 'friendly' to one another, so who knows what that was all about.) A member of his family told me this individual was jailed twice in Texas for carrying a concealed firearm, - even though he is an ex-con. This individual is now back in the area, living in his pick-up truck. He contacted his family trying to get money and was told to leave. (They gave him money in the past and he always blew through it and came back for more.) Family members called the sheriffs office and told them about the gun conviction. They were told nothing can be done till paranoid commits a crime. This is a rural area, and budgets are tight. I was told average response time for the sheriffs office is 45 minutes. This was told me by one of paranoids family members, but I don't know how accurate it is. The man was forbidden to come to the county at one time by court order, but it appears this is no longer the case.

The elderly widow I mentioned earlier was married to paranoid's father. She knows her deceased husband's family, but they are just acquaintances, not close. The widow also didn't have a relationship with paranoid step son. Everyone tried to avoid him. Paranoid had been to the widow's place some 20 years ago when he was looking for his father.

I moved back to the area about year ago. My place is about 5 minutes from the widow's house. This man returned to
the area a few days ago. I did some research on dealing with such individuals - Rory Miller wrote a book on the mentally disturbed and I re-read de Becker. But 'book learnin' and real world arent necessarily the same. This is out of my area of expertise and I would appreciate any insights and advice you may offer. I've taken the approach that the best thing to do is avoid the guy, stay off his radar screen. If he doesn't even think of her, he can't fabricate paranoid thoughts about her and act on them. But, who knows what a desperate mentally unstable individual might do ? He may seek her out. Thank you -

[Peally]

I don't have much to offer other than remember to carry every single day.

[Chance]

There was a similar thread about this not too long ago, which might be helpful to look over.

[voodoo_man]

Ive dealt with something similar, though without firearms implications, on duty. I deal crazy people a lot.

Few things that you can do...

Paper/document everything - every single time he does anything even remotely weird or confrontational, call 911 and make a report. If they wont come out, have them take a report over the phone and give you a report number - document this in a log or journal - everything this guy does should be there if its noteworthy, especially his violent acts.

Crisis teams - when he does something crazy or acts crazy or when you can articulate facts that he had a firearm on him and is a prohibited person, call 911 and ask the officers to call a crisis intervention team - you can call on your own, find the info on your own - this will piss him off but itll get him on the radar.

Self defense - if the people that have to deal with this guy are afraid and he take overt steps with violence, tell the people in question they can and should defend themselves. Explain to them what they are allowed to do.

CRT officer - contact the local PD see if there are any crisis intervention trained officers that can make contact with him.

Theres more...when I remember ill post

[ubervic]

I have a BA in psychology and have several members of my extended family who have suffered from schizophrenia. While I am not an expert on the subject, I have been more exposed to the condition than most. Many of the more severe symptoms (i.e., hallucinations, delusions, acting-out) are controllable with proper medication, but there is nothing a friend or family member can do or say to a schizophrenic to calm or control him while that individual is acting-out while under-medicated.

Avoid at all cost.

[JHC]

What is the physical condition - mental acuity and mobility of the widow?

[voodoo_man]

Ohh, the easy one is get the widow to get an order against him, either pfa (protection from abuse) or stay away order.

She may not be able to do it due to her physical or mental condition, so depending on how involved you wanna get you may be able to get an order for her but she'll have to sign an affidavit.

[SamAdams]

The widow is in good physical & mental condition for her age. This matter has overwhelmed her a bit, he only showed up 3 days ago at his relatives place looking for money. But, he has been seen camped out at a gas station parking lot that's only 3 miles away from her place. - - I'm trying to get her to talk with me about the best strategy for dealing with him if he does show up. (But she's in the " I don't want to hear about it, or talk about " mode right now. The widow is a sweetheart. Good in hard times, but tends to shut down when there's confrontation or conflict. I talked to the widow's daughter-in-law about having a conversation with her about this. This woman has an excellent rapport with the widow and that may help.- -

Paranoid schizophrenic has Not come to widow's place or indicated any intent toward her at this point (that we are aware of). His attention has only been directed at his own blood relatives so far. Given his condition and mental state, he's very likely to get himself in trouble again with the law at some point. The likelihood that they would find firearms on his person or vehicle is probably pretty high given his history.

[voodoo_man]

The widow is in good physical & mental condition for her age. This matter has overwhelmed her a bit, he only showed up 3 days ago at his relatives place looking for money. But, he has been seen camped out at a gas station parking lot that's only 3 miles away from her place. - - I'm trying to get her to talk with me about the best strategy for dealing with him if he does show up. (But she's in the " I don't want to hear about it, or talk about " mode right now. The widow is a sweetheart. Good in hard times, but tends to shut down when there's confrontation or conflict. I talked to the widow's daughter-in-law about having a conversation with her about this. This woman has an excellent rapport with the widow and that may help.- -

Paranoid schizophrenic has Not come to widow's place or indicated any intent toward her at this point (that we are aware of). His attention has only been directed at his own blood relatives so far. Given his condition and mental state, he's very likely to get himself in trouble again with the law at some point. The likelihood that they would find firearms on his person or vehicle is probably pretty high given his history.

Please warn local LE about him. If you have a photo or something. Just go to the station, ask to give a tip or "officer safety" type of info about someone who has a history of being dangerous and provide all the info you know.

Last thing anyone wants is the inevitable stop and hom going all evil half on unsuspecting officers.

[SamAdams]

I just wanted to add that I appreciate all your comments & suggestions. They may make a real difference for this widow and for me in this situation.

Thank you guys