Dana Flanders walked into a room at the Quality Inn on Staniels Road on Jan. 27 with almost no information. The Loudon police chief knew only that a man inside was experiencing suicidal ideation and hadn’t answered his phone or answered the door in hours.

A 911 call from Merrimack County Sheriff’s Dispatch had informed Flanders and his officers that the man had called his family member, telling them he planned to take his own life. When they arrived, officers knocked at the hotel room door and, receiving no response, had to pry the door open, according to an arrest report obtained by the Monitor through a Right to Know request.

Finally inside, they found the man sitting in silence with his back to them, staring at a closed window with white curtains.

“We were walking into the unknown,” said Flanders. “He wouldn’t say anything.”

Officer Frank Cassidy approached the man and placed a hand on his shoulder. That’s when officers realized the man was armed.

Flanders believed that, based on the man’s prior interactions with the Pembroke Police Department, he likely didn’t have a gun.

“I was under the impression that there wasn’t a firearm,” said Flanders. “As soon as I heard ‘gun,’ I prepared to defend myself and my guys. So I had my weapon out.”

All too often, interactions go south when police officers respond to a 911 mental health call.

A recent incident in Pelham was no exception. What began as a call about a person “in mental distress” ended with officers using deadly force after the individual reportedly fired multiple shots at them, according to the attorney general’s office.

Flanders said his officers were “lucky” the man chose to listen rather than escalate, ultimately dropping the gun instead of turning aggressive.

“Mental health can go in so many different directions,” said Flanders. “But this person was responding to us and worked with us, and we were able to come to a peaceful, safe outcome with no use of force at all.”

Once the gun was safely removed, Flanders said he, along with Cassidy and fellow officer Robert Akerstrom, immediately began using de-escalation techniques to calm the situation.

After ensuring the scene was secure, Flanders stepped out to speak with a family member about next steps. Meanwhile, the other officers located and secured additional weapons in the room before arranging for the man to be transported to the hospital for care.

The arrest report states that the man had a rifle and a pistol in his truck.

Use of force

Last year, New Hampshire’s law enforcement agencies used deadly force in nine incidents, eight of which resulted in fatalities. So far this year, five people have been shot by police in the state, with one death reported.

The attorney general’s office is responsible for investigating all instances where law enforcement uses deadly force. Every investigation completed by the office since 2023 has concluded that the use of deadly force was “legally justified.”

Each investigation report from makes clear that it “does not investigate or opine on particular procedures or tactics used by law enforcement officers.”

Flanders explained that when officers respond to an armed person, the standard approach is to escalate to one level above the threat they’re facing.

For instance, if the person has a firearm, officers are trained to respond with a firearm. Since knives are also classified as deadly weapons, if police responded with a firearm to a person armed with knife, their response would be considered appropriate under department guidelines.

“I have two little girls. I want to make sure they grow up with a dad,” said Flanders. “I’m not willing to take that chance with somebody who charges me with a knife.”

Mental health advocates widely hail Crisis Intervention Team training as the gold standard to equip officers with the skills to safely de-escalate and resolve crises involving individuals with mental health or substance use disorders, leading to better outcomes for all involved.

According to data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire, the number of crisis intervention-trained officers in the state has more than doubled in the past two years.

In 2023, 417 law enforcement personnel, including correctional officers, local police, sheriffs and state troopers, had received the crisis intervention training. The latest data from May shows that 1,005 officers are now trained.

Flanders said he’s not certain whether officers Cassidy and Akerson have received Crisis Intervention Team training, but said that, as a department, their guiding approach in mental health crises is treating people how they would want to be treated.

“I don’t ever want to take my weapon out of the holster unless I absolutely have to,” Flanders said. “If there’s a difference between me going home, one of my guys going home, versus somebody hurting us, it is what it is.”

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com.