OR - Police Chief Ralph Painter, 55, shot to death, Rainier, 5 Jan 2011

[Filly]

Arraignment had to be postponed because of Butts's outbursts and carrying on.


http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=114681784&fPath=/news/local&fDomain=10202


RIP Chief Painter. Prayers for his family as well.

 

[Missizzy]

Does anyone know whether those suspected of suffering from the sudden onset of mental illness who have just committed a crime are assessed and provided with medication?

Our experience has been limited to a son with severe anxiety issues who was sent to prison for a parole violation. He was prohibited from continuing his anti-anxiety meds which he'd taken for 14 years. He spent most of his eleven months "in the hole" due to his outbursts and rocking, which highly disturbed others.

Another time, we had a son with brittle diabetes who was arrested for possession of pot. He was taken to jail and no one would believe him that he was diabetic. When he had a seizure and was found unconscious, he was taken to the hospital, dropped off, and we were directed to pick him up. All charges were dropped. Another time, he attempted suicide by an overdose of insulin while in police custody after shoplifting two granola bars--he was 16. The LEO allowed him to take his shot but didn't know that he was overdosing. Our son then bolted and it took massive rescue efforts to locate him and get him to the ICU. Again, all charges were dropped.

These experiences have led me to believe that not all medical and mental health issues are seen as necessary to treat while one is incarcerated and if a person experiences a medical emergency, they can be handed back to family to care for.

Does anyone know the truth of this matter? Would Butts be medicated or would he be allowed to suffer from mental illness with no medication? What do they do for those suffering from high blood pressure or seizures?

I fully realize that the man has just killed a beloved police chief but it seems heartless to deny someone medication.

 

[Missizzy]

An update:

http://tdn.com/news/local/d3637492-30d7-11e0-8298-001cc4c002e0.html

Lawyer says Butts not able to stand trial


".....A motion filed earlier this week argues that Daniel Armaugh Butts can't understand the charges facing him. The documents, filed by defense attorney Patrick John Sweeney, asks that Butts be examined for the court by a forensic neuropsychologist.
Sweeney also asked that Butts' arraignment and other court proceedings be suspended pending the results of that exam.

A forensic neuropsychologist was "very worried" about Butts after meeting with him for two hours on Jan. 19, according to the court filing. The doctor's preliminary findings were that Butts was bipolar, a condition that causes abrupt mood swings between mania and depression. He also suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome, was having auditory hallucinations and is burdened by "intrusive thoughts" which interfered with his ability to think clearly, according to the court documents.

and

"....Keith Goody, one of Butts' lawyers, also states that Butts was distracted, "irrational" and "appeared to be responding to internal stimuli" during a meeting on Jan. 23. Butts' Jan. 26 arraignment had to be abruptly halted due to Butts' outbursts. Butts became agitated and interrupted the reading of the charges. He disagreed with his lawyers and complained guards were making too much noise. The court document states Butts was "clearly in great distress" and acted "inappropriately."

more at link

Unless this is a very severe form of Mixed State Bipolar, Butts is sounding psychotic to me. I have had two different psychiatrists insist to me in the last couple of years that younger people diagnosed with bipolar commonly hear voices, have hallucinations, and feel directed to follow commands. Much is changing concerning the earlier onset bipolar disorders. It's not what most of us think of when we hear the term, bipolar.

FWIW, I'm surprised that a doctor would meet with Butts for two hours. Is that typical? And I've heard no mention as to why he would be suffering from PTSD or intrusive thoughts. IMO, that could very well be because he knows that he just killed a man he's known all his life. I'm not so sure about the bipolar.

 

[Missizzy]

I thought it was something more than bipolar and PTSD. Schizophrenia breaks my heart. Parents might think that they have raised a delightfully healthy child only to learn, late in the teens or early in the twenties that a monster has invaded their child's body. My position might not be popular but Butts simply could not have known what he was doing. Of course, he needs life long supervision but he also needs treatment. Punitive measures might make some feel better but they aren't going to bring back the chief and punitive measures do nothing for those with schizophrenia. What a total tragedy. It is the proverbial "monkey on his back". After raising 14 children, I'd choose cancer or a life threatening car accident for my child ten times over schizophrenia.

If you wonder or shake your head at my assessment, please spend a few hours with an unmedicated person diagnosed with schizophrenia. Then, and only then, will you realize that our reality is not their reality. And they most certainly did NOT ask for this horrible disease. It attacks our youth at alarming rates.

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...ffering_from_schizophrenia_attorney_says.html

Doctors believe accused killer Daniel Butts suffering from schizophrenia in Rainier shooting, attorney says

"Daniel Butts, the accused killer of Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter, is "floridly psychotic" and unable to assist in his own defense, his attorney said Wednesday. Columbia County Circuit Judge Ted Grove agreed and sent the 21-year-old Butts to the Oregon State Hospital for a mental evaluation. The defense team has had "rapidly escalating difficulties" with Butts since getting the case shortly after his arrest in early January, said attorney W. Keith Goody.

Butts, 21, is accused of shooting Painter on Jan. 5 at Rainier Sound Authority, an audio store in Rainier. The police chief responded to a call that a man was behaving suspiciously at the store....."

more at link

 

[joe jones]

http://www.katu.com/news/local/Accu...eady-for-trial-prosecutors-say-192156731.html

ready for trial

 

[OkieGranny]

From last month:

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...f/2015/10/despite_doctors_who_think_accu.html

In a question of who knows best -- three doctors at the Oregon state mental hospital or a judge ---- the Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a man accused of killing Rainier's police chief in 2011 can be forced to take anti-psychotic drugs.

The high court ruled that Columbia County Circuit Judge Ted Grove has the power to order the Oregon State Hospital to medicate Daniel Armaugh Butts to make him mentally fit to face trial...

Grove and an administrative law judge have ordered four times that Butts be forcibly medicated -- in a series of hearings from February 2013 to this past January. But each time, doctors at the state hospital have refused to follow their orders.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

What happened to...? Daniel Butts

http://tdn.com/news/local/what-happened-to-daniel-butts/article_18324d16-4717-5516-8eb6-895b02191d98.html

Daniel Butts, the Kalama man accused of killing Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter almost six years ago, is making progress in mental health treatment aimed at getting him ready to stand trial.

His doctors, however, haven’t provided an end date to his treatment, said Columbia County District Attorney Steve Atchison.

Regular mental health evaluations submitted by Oregon State Hospital staff aren’t publicly accessible. Atchison said he wasn’t sure what medicine Butts is being given. A judge has authorized that Butts be forcibly medicated if necessary ito make him competent to stand trial.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

6 years later and still no justice for Rainier police chief killed in line of duty

http://katu.com/news/local/six-years-and-still-no-just-for-police-chief-killed-in-the-line-of-duty

Chief Painter was shot and killed by then-23-year-old Daniel Butts with his own gun. Butts' trial is on hold as he undergoes a mental evaluation, leaving the Rainier community without closure.

“I know he’s still here," Eric Bunday who worked as an officer under Chief Painter said. "I know every time I get on the radio and say '1309 send me another unit,' in the back of my mind I hear, '900 I’m en route.' Because I know he’s there and he’s been there every day with me for the last six years."

Chief Painter's wife has lived all these years without the love of her life.

“Within a matter of minutes it was confirmed and since then... it’s just been a nightmare,” Amy Painter said. “[He was] a kind-hearted, giving person, he never met a stranger. I guess I was a little naive to it and I’m glad I didn’t dwell. I thought, small town, chief of police, I felt that wouldn’t happen but then my world got turned upside down."

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Tentative trial date set for accused murderer Butts

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/scs/83-news/376749-262328-tentative-trial-date-set-for-accused-murderer-butts

It's been almost seven years since Daniel Butts was arrested after he was believed to have shot a police chief in Rainier outside a car audio shop.

The case against Butts sat dormant in the court system for years, marked "inactive" — until now.

Last Friday, Oct. 20, a trial date was set for spring 2019.

Butts is scheduled to be back in court in February for a competency hearing to allow a judge to evaluate his mental state and ability to aid and assist in his own trial.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

https://www.thechronicleonline.com/news_paid/trial-date-set-for-butts-case/article_f99d901e-be62-11e7-8076-eb6c4a838e1d.html

Accused murderer, Daniel Butts could stand trial in February 2019. Columbia County Circuit Court Judge Ted Grove ordered the trial to begin Feb. 5, 2019. It is expected to last up to three months according to court documents.

 

[JerseyGirl]

A judge is set to determine whether a man who hears voices and has delusions is fit to stand trial for murder. Daniel Butts is accused of murdering Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter back in 2011. Butts was found competent to stand trial in February 2012, but officials later decided he required further evaluation.

https://www.katu.com/news/local/is-...niel-butts-ralph-painter-rainier-police-chief

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Ruling on Butts' ability to stand trial could take weeks

https://pamplinmedia.com/scs/83-news/387069-276947-ruling-on-butts-ability-to-stand-trial-could-take-weeks

Columbia Circuit Judge Ted Grove is expected to issue a ruling on Butts' ability to aid and assist in his own trial after reviewing video footage, along with documents and closing arguments from defense attorneys and state prosecutors, but the conclusion could take three or four weeks to produce, says Carole Fischer, Grove's judicial assistant.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Butts found fit to stand trial for Painter murder

The man accused of killing Rainier Police Chief Ralph Painter in 2011 has been found mentally fit to stand trial. Daniel Armaugh Butts was declared able to aid and assist in his defense, according to Columbia County Circuit Court documents that were dated July 3.

According to the documents, there is no dispute that Butts suffers from schizophrenia, but his symptoms have greatly diminished as a result of hospitalization and forced medication. The documents stated that Butts could clearly understand the trial process, identify plea options and the positive or negative aspects therein, and could clearly describe the events of the shooting and days preceding it.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Trial is set for February.

Man can stand trial for 2011 killing of Oregon police chief

 

[JerseyGirl]

Trial postponed again in killing of police chief