A 96-year old man accused of shooting and killing an employee at a Colorado nursing home on February 2, 2021, has been found incompetent to proceed to trial. The 96-year old was a resident at the Colorado nursing home at the time of the shooting.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the former resident claimed employees at the Colorado nursing home were stealing money from him. The local police and Adult Protective Services both have said that the claims were unsubstantiated. On the morning of the shooting, the former resident confronted a maintenance employee of the Colorado nursing home and asked him about his money. When the employee responded, the former resident shot him once in the head.
The affidavit also notes that the former resident was “clear headed, lucid, and he provided detailed information regarding the incident.” A housekeeper at the Colorado nursing home told police that the former resident had been paranoid and was convinced that someone had installed cameras in his bedroom. The housekeeper additionally told the police that she had heard the former resident state, “Someday I’m going to kill them. What are they going to do? Give me life?” The former resident told police that the staff at the Colorado nursing home had previously confiscated his guns. However, the housekeeper told police that the former resident had carried the pistol in a bag attached to his walker.
The former resident is charged with first degree murder after deliberation and two counts of felony menacing. The former resident is at Colorado state hospital where they will begin the process of restoring him to competency. He will remain in custody throughout the process.
Issue:
Every nursing facility must provide necessary behavioral, mental, and/or emotional healthcare and services to every resident. Signs of underlying causes, risks, and potential triggers for a resident’s behaviors or indicators of distress must be fully assessed and a referral should be made immediately to a behavioral health specialist if needed. When a resident is determined to be a danger to self or others, immediate steps must be taken to keep the resident and all others safe. A thorough search of a resident’s room should be conducted to ensure that no weapons, or items that could be used as a weapon, are available to a resident who is a danger to self or others.
Discussion Points:
- Review your policy and procedures on behavioral health for residents. Ensure that your policy addresses a process for safely managing residents who are a danger to self or others. Update as necessary.
- Train all staff on behavioral health protocols and the importance of reporting distressing behaviors immediately to a supervisor. Teach the reporting process, including how to access the Hotline if anonymous reporting is preferred. Document that these trainings occurred and file the signed documents in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit to ensure that all staff are knowledgeable of behaviors that should be reported immediately to a supervisor, and the process for reporting.
