PERRY, Ga. — A Perry man who was threatening suicide died after a standoff with law enforcement. Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, Perry police found Matthew Deese holding a gun. Then, just before 7 p.m., a deputy with the Houston County Sheriff's Office shot him.
The GBI and Perry police aren't commenting on what led to the shooting but the case sparked a conversation as to whether law enforcement are trained to deal with mental illness.
"A lot of times, we try to make a connection verbally with the individual and try to establish some type of rapport," Andy Garner, the training manager of the crisis intervention team, explained.
Garner helps train officers at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center.
He says officers are required train there on de-escalation and use of force, but not on mental health crisis intervention. Garner says officers are protected through Georgia's "Stand Your Ground" law.
"We train the officers if they feel like they are in great bodily harm or receiving great bodily harm, or receiving death or they're protecting someone else from that, they should use the appropriate level of force," he said.
Suicide is a mental health crisis, and according to the Treatment Advocacy Center, people with untreated mental illnesses are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter.
"The reason we treat mental health conditions is to try to prevent people from getting to that point where they want to end their own life," a Macon psychiatrist explained.
Dr. Brian Wright, a psychiatrist, says it's easy to agitate a person in crisis.
"I think everybody who responds to these type calls should have as much training as possible to help deescalate situations," he said.
The GBI says they will conduct an independent investigation of the shooting. They say no officers were hurt in Tuesday night's standoff.
They will turn the case over to the Houston DA, who will decide whether the shooting is justified.