Dante Kittrell's family will ask the FBI to investigate his shooting death by police

SOUTH BEND ― Marcia Kittrell has leaned heavily into her faith since she walked about 150 yards up North Sheridan Street to Coquillard Elementary School on July 29.

Her 51-year-old son, Dante Kittrell, was having a mental health episode, and some thought she might be able to talk him into putting down the gun that he had reportedly been waving around in a baseball field near the school since 11:45 a.m. that morning.

But she was denied that opportunity.

Before she knew it, her son was fatally shot by members of the South Bend Police Department’s SWAT team following a 40-minute standoff.

“This is about mental illness,” Mrs. Kittrell said, referring to her son. “I don’t want another mother to watch her child be gunned down by police. His name is Dante Kittrell. He is not just some animal or something. He was a human being, and I stand for him as his mother.”

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At a Saturday press conference in front of her home, Niles attorney Sean Drew said the family will ask the FBI for an independent investigation into the shooting death on Monday “due to the circumstances of this occurrence as well as the past history of the South Bend Police Department in relation to the community of folks of color.”

Kittrell said police should have known her son, who lived at the same address, had a history of mental illness, but that it was always focused on harming himself, not others.

Drew said it appears that the actions of law enforcement only served to escalate the event. “Dante was, in effect, surrounded in a semi-circle of multiple police vehicles as well as handguns and long rifles – probably the worst thing you could do with somebody who is going through a mental crisis.”

Kittrell, Drew and others indicated that the lack of police training on how to deal with such situations and the lack of a specialized response team led to the escalation of the episode and Dante’s eventual shooting death.

Bringing in a military-style vehicle and then denying Mrs. Kittrell the opportunity to speak to her son almost guaranteed the outcome. “Just hearing her voice, in all likelihood, would have totally defused the situation,” Drew said.

And prior to Mrs. Kittrell’s arrival, the Rev. J.B. Williams of Abundant Faith Family Ministries in South Bend was working with Dante when he was ordered to retreat by police, Drew said, adding that police acted too quickly for a mental health situation.

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“It will be very interesting to see out of the 10 or 15 officers there how many had any mental health intervention training or de-escalation training” of any consequence, Drew said.

And although discussions about the best way to handle mental-health emergencies have been ongoing, details are yet to be worked out ― though advocates indicate Kittrell’s death underscores the need to find a solution.

Regardless of the outcome of the local investigation, Drew indicated that it’s possible he will pursue a Civil Rights lawsuit against the city and the police, even though the family has never mentioned any interest in seeking monetary damages.

“If we can’t change society by incarceration ― vis-a-vis, the wrongdoers in this situation ― the only way to get the government’s attention is by having them pay $10-$20 million,” he said. “They’ll think next time to change the training, the supervision and enforcement.”

For her part, Mrs. Kittrell said her son’s death underscores the need for better mental health training and a creation of a response team.

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“My job is to fight not only for my son but every son who has a mental illness,” she said, while surrounded by friends, family and community activists.

Since her son’s death, she has only heard from Councilman Henry Davis, D-2, who indicated that he will continue pushing the city on the need for better training as well as emergency mental health services.

“If they get a mental health unit, maybe in his honor,” Mrs. Kittrell said. “That’s what I want, so some other mother doesn’t have to go through what I have.”

Email Ed Semmler at esemmler@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Kittrell's family calls for FBI after South Bend police killed him