Older case.
It looks like Peter was actually found/arrested in September 2022 in Salem, OR for suspicion of resisting arrest, assaulting a public safety officer, criminal trespassing and giving false information to a police officer. On September 9 Marion County prosecutors charged Leonard with attempting to assault McNichols and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors. He then had a warrant and was arrested again for failure to appear.
I can't say "Yay he's been found!" because I'm not sure what happened to Peter after this.
It is quite the tale about mental health episodes and LE procedures:
"The Salem police found Leonard, but they weren’t looking for a missing person.
At no point, it appears, did Salem police learn anyone was looking for him north of the border.
The first call to emergency dispatchers the night of Sept. 8 came in as a disturbance at the Elsinore Theatre. On the bill that evening was blues artist Tab Benoit.
A dispatcher relayed the call at 10:19 p.m., “Two males yelling and cussing at each other.” Then one minute later, “Yelling appeared threatening. No weapons seen.”
A second caller, who was a theater employee, reported that a “transient male is harassing customers, yelling at them and being confrontational,” according to a Salem police report.
Angela Hedrick, Salem police spokeswoman, wrote in a statement Wednesday that the caller described the man as “making verbal threats of violence toward his customers.”
The caller said the man was drinking and had an open container, records show. He also had a chihuahua on a leash.
The first Salem officer to contact Leonard that night was Jonathan McNichols, who arrived about three minutes after the initial call. Records show at least one other officer was also on the way.
McNichols asked Leonard for his name.
“Ofc. McNichols mentioned that Peter appeared to be EDP as he was mumbling to himself and would randomly change his topic of conversation,” Salem officer Kyle Felix wrote in a report four days later.
EDP refers to an “emotionally disturbed person,” according to department policy, one whose behaviors potentially indicate they are in crisis — with “special emphasis” on behaviors that suggest potential violence or danger.
Leonard was showing what Salem police policies describe as signs of being in a mental health crisis, including “inability to focus,” confusion, and “the trigger of a ‘freeze, fight, or flight’ response.”
Salem officers should cite and release such a person if they have committed a class C felony or a less serious crime, the policy says. McNichols suspected Leonard of second-degree trespassing, a class C misdemeanor.
In such instances, officers should take the person into custody on a civil “peace officer hold” when there is probable cause to believe they are a danger to themselves or anyone else. They are to be taken to the hospital or other treatment facility.
“The ideal resolution for a crisis incident is the subject is connected with resources which can provide long-term stabilizing support,” the policy says. “When police officers need to engage with a subject in behavioral crisis, the Salem Police Department’s expectation is that they will attempt to de-escalate the situation, when feasible and reasonable.”
Nothing prior to the physical altercation compelled McNichols to detain Leonard. Officers can put off arresting someone until another time, the policy says, “delaying custody if the officer determines that taking the person into custody under present circumstances may result in an undue safety risk to the person, the public, and/or peace officers.”
But Jones said the treatment facilities referenced in that policy don’t exist. The Oregon State Hospital only admits people under judges’ orders. There is no sobering center in Marion County. The city of Salem plans to open a navigation center to serve as a short-term shelter for 75 people, but that may not be equipped to deal with people experiencing a mental health crisis, he said.
Salem officers still have another option. They can call the Mobile Crisis Response Team, a county program that pairs an officer with a qualified mental health professional, to take over and help de-escalate circumstances with a person in crisis.
Department policy also says officers must advise mentally ill individuals of their Miranda rights as well as “provide Marion or Polk County Mental Health referral information regardless of custody status.” Salem police reports give no indication that officers did either."
The story continues with Peter being tased and arrested. Poor guy, I hope he is somewhere safe and is getting some assistance.
Salem police suspected Peter Leonard may have been having a mental health crisis. They wanted to detain him anyway, triggering a confrontation that resulted in Leonard’s hospitalization as well as criminal charges.
www.salemreporter.com