MADISON, Wis. – Community members who brought aid for the men displaced after a shooting at the temporary men’s overnight shelter say the situation that unfolded illustrates the need for a more holistic approach to emergency response.
Madison police are searching for a man suspected to be involved in a shooting Monday night that left another person with multiple gunshot wounds.
“It was probably the largest number of police officers I’ve seen in a long time,” said Anthony Flynn, a PhD student in counseling psychology.
Flynn’s attention was on what was happening outside the shelter.
“We saw a large group of men – I think the numbers we got was 61 total – that were cordoned off behind a fence,” he said.
He and a group of others with connections to the unhoused community brought resources such as food, water and blankets to the men who had been planning on staying in the shelter, which at that point was closed off for the police investigation.
“We wanted to provide aid,” said Tarah Stangler, a cofounding member of the UW-Madison BIPOC Coalition. “We had the resources to provide aid, we had the skills and we were prevented from that.”
Flynn said they were told it was an active crime scene and couldn’t go beyond the fence. At one point, Flynn said they were unable to help a man having an asthma attack for several minutes. He said the man had stopped breathing before they could help.
“It became a scary situation pretty quick,” Flynn said. “Thankfully, (we) got him back right as EMS arrived.”
Madison police said that the Madison Fire Department came to assist as officers provided medical attention.
In a statement, the department pointed to its responsibility to secure a crime scene.
“Last night, MPD established crime scene security to preserve and protect the area to allow the Division of Criminal Investigation to conduct an independent investigation,” the statement said.
“When we’re talking about an active crime scene, we’re not asking to go in the building; we were asking to come near our people,” Stangler said, adding that getting to them directly took hours.
“There was more concern for the sanctity of the scene than 61 human lives there without food, water or adequate clothing,” Flynn said. He said he and others were able to secure sleeping bags and hotel rooms for a number of the displaced men.
MPD said officers worked with shelter staff and assisted “to offer other services to ensure those displaced had their needs met while the investigation continued” and that “people were allowed to leave and come back as they needed to.” The Red Cross was also available.
Police said there was also access to a heated bathroom and City Metro buses were provided, though Flynn said the confined space wasn’t ideal.
“(It’s) not a great option for folks immediately after trauma and during a pandemic,” he said, adding that there needs to be more done for people in such situations.
“There needs to be alternatives to police involvement in situations like this, not necessarily the investigation, but from a human needs standpoint,” he said, pointing to trauma-informed care and support for housing in general.
City leaders are looking into alternative ways of responding to emergencies, exploring models such as the CAHOOTS mobile crisis intervention program out of Eugene, Oregon.
Stangler is behind an effort to get the university to adopt the CHAOOTS model, as well.
“We have to approach this from a more holistic standpoint,” she said.
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