Pastor Cedric Brock says, "This happened and it's being swept under the rug." The president of the minister's conference in Toledo calls last month's shooting "unjustified." Brock says, "She had scissors, she was mentally challenged, there's other ways of handling it."
On December 14, Toledo police were called to the group home on Fernwood. The manager there said a resident, 62 year old Linda Hicks, was off her medication, had threatened the manager, and was armed with a sharp object.
When police arrived, they found Hicks in an upstairs bedroom. The responding officers say, at first, they tried to use a Taser to subdue Hicks, but the Taser malfunctioned. Despite repeated warnings, Officer Diane Chandler says Hicks then came at her with scissors, so Chandler shot and killed her. "She made a decision to defend herself," says Chief Mike Navarre.
Chief Navarre had scheduled a meeting with a group of ministers Friday. He ended up informing them about the grand jury's decision. Navarre says, "I was pleased with the decision, but not surprised. Never for a single moment did I think there was a criminal element present."
But Pastor Brock says, "Mental illness is something that seems to go ignored, whereas fact that it's real. We pray and hope that in the future things like this are handled at a more professional level."
Navarre says 107 police officers, including Chandler, are certified with CIT training - specialized training about dealing with people with special needs. But he says the Lucas County mental health board will review that curriculum and put on another class. "People who have gone through the CIT training will go through a refresher training, but when I'm talking about the 40 hour course, we would select individuals who have not gone through the training," explains Navarre.
