Denver Post

'There has to be something other than a bullet'
By John Ingold
Denver Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - When Shaun Gilman went off his medication for his bipolar disorder, he was sometimes more than his family could handle.

He believed he had superhuman powers. He thought he could be invisible. He was too strong for his family to control.

And twice when he got like that, Gilman's parents had to call police to take him into custody.

"There isn't anything else you can do," Shaun's mother, Katie, said.

Shaun's last encounter with police was April 18. While Shaun, 20, was moving into his own apartment and trying to lead an independent life - something that gave his family great hope for his future - he went off his medication.

Three days later, he was at a 7-Eleven on Capitol Hill, where he allegedly pointed a laser at a clerk. The clerk called police. After a brief chase, Shaun crashed his Jeep on a curb at 12th Avenue and Lincoln Street.

For 45 minutes, officers talked with him. In the last moments, police say, Shaun pointed a crossbow at the officers. Eight officers opened fire, killing him.

Shaun was the last person Denver police killed before Paul Childs, the 15-year-old developmentally disabled boy killed July 5 in northeast Denver.

Like Gilman's family, Childs' sometimes called police when they feared for Paul's safety. Gilman's family said that both cases have illustrated how important it is for police officers to be trained in dealing with mentally impaired people.

"Something needs to be done," Katie Gilman pleaded. "Some training has to be done. And if the police officers feel threatened, they should be able to call somebody. There has to be something other than a bullet to help these people."

Police say such situations are rarely easy. Officers are trained in dealing with people in crisis. But police officials said mentally disabled people with weapons are just as capable of hurting someone as anyone else is.

"Anything that affects someone's rational thought process could be dangerous," Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman said. "And situations change rapidly."

He could not comment on the Gilman case, he said, because the investigation is continuing.

Shaun's sister, Megen, said the manner in which police spoke to Shaun would have had a huge impact on his demeanor when he was off his medication.

"If you were confrontational with him, he would throw that back at you," Megen said. "But if you were calm with him, you could calm him down."

The Police Department, in the wake of the Childs shooting, has highlighted its current training programs for dealing with mentally impaired and emotionally distraught people.

Denver Sgt. Mike Anderson, who tracks Crisis Intervention Team cases for the department, said police are trying to work with several groups to improve its response to mental health calls.

"But we have to have community support," he said.

The Gilmans' case illustrates how hard Denver police are going to have to work, in the wake of the Childs shooting, to earn back trust of the families of the mentally impaired.

"This whole thing makes it hard for any parent who has a loved one with a mental illness," Katie said. "If this hadn't happened to Shaun, I wouldn't feel safe calling up to ask them for help. I would be scared for Shaun's life."