Body cam released when a man dies during mental health crisis response
By: When her mother told her about her father’s strange behavior, Kenda James had very specific instructions.
James, a paramedic, told her mother to call 911 and say her father needed a mental health check. She wanted a crisis response team, trained to de-escalate mental health situations, to respond to her father, Kevin Dizmang’s neighborhood.
That crisis response team did arrive, but the newly obtained body camera shows within moments of their arrival, Dizmang was on the ground handcuffed and unresponsive. He would be pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after.
In the hallway, the civilian paramedic from the crisis response team is heard on another officer’s body camera bragging about taking Dizmang to the ground during the call.
“You reach out to these professionals for help, and we end up at the hospital with a dead relative,” James said.
His daughter and ex-wife describe Kevin Dizmang as an ornery, funny and intelligent man who had a few demons.
“He did have some struggles, he had some mental health issues and some substance abuse issues contributing to each other,” James said.
His ex-wife of 37 years, Linda Yutzy said she was Dizmang’s legal caregiver.
“He had been diagnosed with a personality disorder, slight schizophrenia, and he had a traumatic brain injury,” Yutzy said.
Dizmang was driving a semi-truck when it rolled over, leaving him with a brain injury and an injury to his diaphragm.
On Nov. 15, Yutzy said her ex-husband called her frantic because he could not find his phone. His panic transformed over the course of the phone call.
“He became manic, I guess,” she said. “He was just frantic about it.”
Knowing he needed help, Yutzy conferenced James into the phone call, who tried to calm her father down but couldn’t. She told her mother to call 911 and ask for that crisis response.
Body camera video of the incident shows a crisis response officer arriving near Dizmang’s neighborhood. He sees Dizmang and others standing in the street. Dizmang is yelling and pacing. The officer tells Dizmang first to sit down. When he doesn’t, the officer orders Dizmang to put his hands behind his back.