St. Paul Police Officers Learn How To Help PTSD Veterans

Bill would pay for police training to help veterans 
SC Times
Kirsti Marohn
March 5, 2015

For veterans who are disoriented or experiencing war-related flashbacks they aren't able to process, "that can be dangerous to them to others in the area and to law enforcement," O'Driscoll said.

ST. PAUL – The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan stretched on for 10 years and left some of its veterans with invisible scars, from post-traumatic stress to traumatic brain injuries.

While the majority of veterans have returned civilian life successfully, some have struggled, and a few have ended up in the legal system.

In recent years, there's been an effort to better educate law enforcement officers on the characteristics of veterans and how to deescalate a crisis to avoid a potential deadly result.

A bipartisan bill authored by Rep. Tim O'Driscoll, R-Sartell, aims to provide funding for more police officers to receive such training. The House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee held a hearing on the bill Thursday.

About 10 percent Minnesota's of law enforcement has received deescalation training, O'Driscoll said. He hopes to boost that number to 25 percent.
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Veteran survived Marine helicopter crash, died in house fire

Veteran who survived copter crash dies in St. Paul blaze
Star Tribune
Article by: PAUL WALSH
Updated: July 9, 2013

A St. Paul man who survived a harrowing collision of military helicopters decades ago that took the lives of 22 of his comrades was unable to escape a firetrap of his own making Tuesday.

The body of 68-year-old Charles E. Nightingale was found not far from a door to his house, the Vietnam-era veteran apparently having been overcome by smoke before he could make his way out of the structure. Fire officials said the home was so choked with possessions that they had to cut a new entry to find a way in.

St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard described the house as “filled floor to ceiling” with Nightingale’s belongings. “The clutter was not only a combustible for ignition, but it spread the fire faster,” Zaccard said. “[The man] got as far as the door and then collapsed.”

Neighbors described Nightingale as someone who kept mostly to himself. He had an elaborate rock garden that he often worked on at night, neighbor Kenneth Rein said.

No one knew the extent of the situation inside his house or the trauma he experienced as a young Marine that may have played into his hoarding later in life.

In June 1967, Nightingale was one of five enlisted men critically hurt in the collision of helicopters that killed 22 during a training exercise near the Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

He suffered “at least 20 different bones broken. Femurs came right out through his legs, and so did his arms. He spent 13 months in traction, both legs with pins and casts on his arms.”

Trained as a first responder, Nightingale had been due to be shipped off to Vietnam with the Marines to serve on the front lines, providing everything “from aspirin to suturing” to the troops on the ground, LaFountaine said.
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St. Paul firefighter, combat veteran fired after hiding DWI

St. Paul firefighter, combat veteran fired after hiding DWI
By Mara H. Gottfried
Twin Cities.com
Posted: 05/10/2013

A combat veteran diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder -- who once praised his fellow St. Paul firefighters for helping him to pull through dark days -- has been fired from the department.

Billeigh Riser Jr. lost his driver's license after DWI arrests but didn't tell anyone. He went on to drive an ambulance on 63 medical calls before he was caught, according to an order last month from the St. Paul Civil Service Commission, acting as the city's Veterans Preference Board, which upheld his termination.

A psychologist hired by Riser's attorney testified that Riser's post-traumatic stress disorder was "severe" and that his failure to report the loss of his driver's license to the fire department, as required by city policy, "was due to the impact of PTSD on his ability to make good decisions," said the board's findings of fact.
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Man charged with beating soldier-wife claims frame-up

Man charged with beating soldier-wife claims frame-up, can't get Army witnesses
By EMILY GURNON
Pioneer Press
St. Paul, Minn.
Published: August 9, 2012

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Days before the scheduled start of his trial, a St. Paul engineer accused of assaulting his wife has alleged that the U.S. Army has not cooperated in getting his wife's supposed lover — an Army sergeant — to testify.

The wife was on leave from a tour in Iraq. Another military member is also on the defense witness list.

The attorney for Charlie Pearman Blackwell, 31, said during a Wednesday, Aug. 8, hearing in Ramsey County District Court that he has been "feverishly trying to find the military witnesses" and that he can't try the case without the sergeant.

"If Sgt. (Luther) Hall is not produced, I will be asking for a continuance," said attorney Ira Whitlock. "Sgt. Hall is absolutely crucial in what we believe is an absolute fabrication by the victim."

Whitlock said the victim and Hall may have cooked up the allegations days before the Jan. 20-21 incidents during a "rendezvous in Florida."
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Women veterans, military members gather for inaugural summit

Women veterans, military members gather for inaugural summit
by Elizabeth Dunbar, Minnesota Public Radio
October 16, 2009


St. Paul, Minn. — The number of women in the military has increased over the years, but it's been only recently that Minnesota has set aside a special state program for women veterans.

This weekend, the state veterans affairs department hosts its first summit catering specifically to women veterans and women actively serving in the military. About 300 women are expected at the event, which takes place Friday night and all day Saturday in Bloomington.

The summit is a product of the state's women veterans program, which was established in July 2008. There's designated funding for the program, including for a staff person who coordinates programming and helps women veterans navigate the VA benefits system.
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http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/15/women-veteran-summit/