Sheriff’s department begins Alzheimer’s training

Local News

Discussion

February 15, 2013

Sheriff’s department begins Alzheimer’s training

Bill on law enforcement preparation heads to state Senate for approval.

by Caitlin Huston Pharos-Tribune Pharos-Tribune Fri Feb 15, 2013, 05:57 AM EST

LOGANSPORT — In preparation for the passage of a bill currently headed to the Indiana statehouse, the Cass County Sheriff’s Department has begun its Alzheimer’s training.

All of the department’s officers are undergoing a six-hour training, administered by Senior Helpers, on how to interact with Alzheimer’s patients during police business. The training comes as a bill requiring six hours of training on Alzheimer’s disease for law enforcement was approved unanimously by the Indiana House and makes it way to the Senate.

State Rep. Bill Friend, R-Macy, introduced the bill in January after a Peru police officer Tasered a 64-year-old nursing home resident with Alzheimer’s. The patient was reportedly combative.

Chief Deputy Jill Rife with the Cass County Sheriff’s Department said they were contacted by Senior Helpers, an in-home senior care agency, and asked if they would be interested in Alzheimer’s training.

“I thought it was a good idea for the training,” Rife said.

Rife explained that the officers currently undergo training on autism, mental illness, addictive disorders, mental retardation and developmental disabilities.

But, she said she wanted officers to know how to interact with Alzheimer’s patients, especially after the Peru incident.

“They went through some scenarios and actually showed and taught them how to approach someone with Alzheimer’s,” Rife said.

Dave Foreman, owner and director of Senior Helpers, said they began to offer law enforcement agencies training, which they typically give to caregivers, because of what happened in Peru.

“That’s what led me to want to get with these law enforcement officers,” Foreman said.

Foreman added that he has an article about the Tasering on his bulletin board.

He said the training encompasses the different stages of Alzheimer’s and what type of body language and speech pattern would be most effective with that person. For example, Foreman said they teach officers about not invading the space of the person they’re talking with and being aware of the person’s narrowed vision.

“It can help tremendously,” Foreman said.

He added that he thinks the legislation is a good step.

“I think it’s a great legislation and that our training fits perfectly into that,” Foreman said.

This training will fulfill the department’s requirements for 2013, Rife said.

Caitlin Huston is a staff reporter of the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5148 or caitlin.huston@pharostribune.com.

For more on this story and other local news, subscribe to The Pharos-Tribune eEdition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

Galveston residents seeing double
Though Shawn Durham followed his brother Shane into this world, Shane followed Shawn into a career as a police officer.
The identical twins recently joined the Galveston police force, Shawn as town marshal and Shane as a full-time deputy.
Shawn and Shane, 35, took different paths in their careers, though this isn’t the first time the two have served in the same department.

May 20, 2013 1 Photo
Appeal filed in dismissed suit against city
The plaintiff in a dismissed lawsuit against the Logansport mayor and city council claiming an abuse of power regarding the city’s power plant project has filed for an appeal with the Indiana Court of Appeals.

May 20, 2013
4-H considers smoke-free campus
The 4-H fairground may consider going smoke-free in time for the county fair.
Members of the fair board heard a presentation last week from the tobacco cessation group of Better Health of Cass County about the health effects of second-hand smoke. Board members said they may vote on the measure at their May 28 meeting.

May 20, 2013
State to spend $2 million to clean up voter rolls
Indiana’s bloated voter registration rolls, which officials say make elections more susceptible to fraud, will soon come under more scrutiny by the state.
The Indiana Secretary of State’s office will spend more than $2 million to purge the voter registration rolls in each of Indiana’s 92 counties, removing the names of voters who are dead, in prison, or have moved away.

May 20, 2013
Preventing injury
With long hours working in factories, Cass County workers can often acquire muscular injuries and damage to the fingers.

May 19, 2013 1 Photo
Area beats state average on school reading test
Area education administrators are crediting daily reading blocks, regular monitoring throughout the school year and tutoring services for third graders’ above-average performance in a statewide reading test after several schools in the area saw an increase in scores from last year.

May 19, 2013
Garage sale gun buys up
As guns are increasingly being sold by private sellers, police warn sellers to check out the background of the buyers.

May 19, 2013
City continues fighting trash, abandoned vehicles
Code enforcement in Logansport is heating up along with the weather with violation figures already surpassing those of last year.

May 19, 2013
Power out for two hours downtown
Two power outages today cut power to much of Logansport and later to about 500 customers northeast of city limits.

May 17, 2013
Let there be a light
Replacement of a traffic light pole at Third and Market streets should be finished by early next week, according to a representative of the Indiana Department of Transportation.

May 17, 2013 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Discussion

Sheriff’s department begins Alzheimer’s training

Bill on law enforcement preparation heads to state Senate for approval.

After another deadly factory accident in Asia, are you willing to see American boycotts, even if it means you'll pay more for goods?

Site Map

Contact Us