A young Black man could be dead if not for Port Townsend police. The story has received no coverage by local newspapers. Nothing from Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County. None of the high school kids who blocked traffic while shouting “Black lives matter!” have joyfully shared on social media the saving of a Black life, someone they may even know.

It could have gone the other way. But it didn’t, because police cared.

Because police also took risks and used force, the story could have gone the route of CNN/MSNBC/BLM falsehoods and propaganda about police racism and brutality. It could have stirred up anger if someone had caught video of a fractional moment of the story instead of knowing all the facts.

Here’s what could have been the CNN/MSNBC/BLM agitation-propaganda for the June 6, 2020 incident on the south side of Port Townsend::

“After racially profiling him, Port Townsend police chased, surrounded and attacked an unarmed young Black man who had committed no crime. 911 reports told police of suspicious activity by a young Black man wearing a hoodie and running through White neighborhoods. Video of the incident captured by onlookers showed several very large police officers pulling the man’s arms roughly behind his back as he struggled for freedom and pleaded to be released. More officers joined the fray until the young Black man was overcome and placed into handcuffs. After being attacked by so many police, the young man was seen going limp but being held up by an officer who continued to twist his arms behind his back. One of the officers in the pursuit and attack admits to turning off his body cam.”

Here’s What Actually Happened: 

I obtained the following facts by submitting a public records request for all documents relating to the incident. The name of the young man was redacted from the records. Though I know it, I won’t print it here to protect his privacy and that of his family. I will refer to him as AB:

On June 6, 2020, at 5:34:59 p.m., the 911 operator received a call that AB had taken 20 Xanax pills. The call was from his mother. AB said he wanted to die and was refusing to go to the hospital. She did not know if he would be aggressive with law enforcement or if he had taken other drugs. She said there were no guns in the house but it was unknown if he had other weapons. Officers responded but AB ran away from them and they could not catch him. The 911 dispatcher then broadcast that AB was wearing a light colored hoodie. There is no mention in the transcript of the 911 tapes of AB’s race.

A Port Townsend police officer, Trevor Hansen, was listening to the radio traffic on his way to report to work. He knew AB and knew that Xanax, a sedative, could be lethal if taken in large quantities. “I was immediately concerned that if officers did not locate AB soon and get him medical help, he could suffer serious injury or death,” Hansen wrote in the case report. He signed into service and joined the search.

Police teams canvassed the area and received several tips from passersby as to where AB might have gone but could not locate him.

As they searched, 911 operations received a call that AB had been seen staggering near Nor’ West Village Apartments (1921 Sherman Street). Within minutes of receiving that information, Officer Hansen arrived there. A witness told him he had seen someone running and pointed toward woods behind the apartments. Officer Hansen saw movement in the woods and went to investigate but could not find AB.

At this time he lost radio contact and was headed back to his vehicle when he saw AB walking across the parking lot, talking on his phone.  He appeared to be unsteady and stumbling on his feet, making Officer Hansen concerned for AB’s safety.

“I approached him quickly and took control of his arms, moving them behind his back.  I detained him in this fashion because he had already fled from police at least twice, and  I believed there was an urgent need to get him medical attention.”

AB immediately resisted and tried to pull away as he was walked toward the police vehicle. Officer Hansen asked if he spit up or vomited the pills. “No. They are still in me,” AB answered. “I don’t give a fuck.” He said at another point that he had taken 20-30 Xanax pills. Officer Hansen said they were trying to get him help. AB responded that Hansen should “get the fuck off him,” said Hansen didn’t really care about him and called the officer names which Hansen does not repeat in his report.

AB started struggling so vigorously Hansen needed both arms to keep AB’s elbows behind his back. Hansen noticed a Jefferson County Sheriff’s vehicle passing and called for help. He was soon joined by JCSO Sgt. Ryan Menday who helped him get AB into handcuffs. They were shortly joined by three PTPD officers and the Department’s navigator.  AB, who had been fighting police, started going limp. Hansen struggled to keep him on his feet.

East Jefferson Fire Rescue had been alerted by the 911 calls and had been staged nearby. They responded on scene and took over. AB now came alive and started kicking and fighting and the officers had to help emergency responders get him on a gurney. They applied ankle restraints as well as the gurney’s straps as AB continued to buck and kick.

During this time AB continued to say he wanted to die and nobody cared. He said the police did not care about him, “despite us repeatedly assuring him we wanted him to live and believed his life is important,” Hansen wrote.

Due to AB’s combative behavior, a police officer rode along in the back of the ambulance. Officers met the ambulance at the Emergency Room and helped staff place him in soft restraints and undress him.  AB was argumentative and aggressive. “He would fight actively, jerk against his restraints, and yell at staff,” Hansen reported. He managed to kick one officer. Officer Hansen had to lay across AB’s legs to keep him from kicking. Between fighting and kicking, at times AB strangely joked with police and nurses.

Once he was fully in soft restraints, police left AB with hospital staff. Officer Hansen had his body camera on the whole time except upon entering the hospital, when he turned it off to protect the privacy of uninvolved citizens receiving medical care. As soon as AB again became combative, he turned it back on.

What Could Have Gone Wrong:

Besides someone rushing to misjudgment if they saw only the struggle between AB and police, this could have gone another way if teams of police had not pursued AB and Officer Hansen had not skillfully employed force.

1.  AB could have gotten away and died in the woods alone.

2.  AB could have grabbed one of Officer Hansen’s weapons and escalated the confrontation.

3.  AB could have injured one or more police officers or hospital staff.

4.  People could have so distrusted police they did not help, which would have resulted in scenario 1.

5,  Police could have reacted as many people would when cursed to their face by someone who fights and kicks. They may have escalated the situation and used inappropriate force.

6. This occurred to me after I posted this story so this is an update. AB could have died as he fought restraint from the drugs he ingested and police would have been accused of killing him. 

If this situation were to occur without skilled and trained police involvement, say with only a social worker responding, as has been proposed as part of the “defund police” movement, we can only imagine what would have happened. AB would likely never have been caught as there would have been no coordinated search and pursuit by several police units. Once he was encountered, he would likely not have been restrained. Hansen is not a small man and he wrote in his report it took all his strength at times to hang on. He is also trained in how to use his physical power. Later it took several officers to restrain AB, and he still managed to kick one officer. One, even two social workers would have been overwhelmed. I am not aware of any physical strength requirements for a social worker’s license. Very few of them have the power of male and female police officers. A social worker would have have failed to capture and thereby make it possible to save AB’s life. That social worker also may have been seriously injured when AB became violent.

Because Port Townsend police did their job and did it right, a young Black man is still with us. Without police he would likely be dead. It is that simple.

[Update: A question was raised about the legality of police restraining someone who is attempting to harm themselves. It is permitted by Washington law upon the officer having reasonable cause to believe that the person requires emergency medical detention, such as in this case where AB admitted to ingesting a life threatening quantity of sedatives with suicidal intent.]