Federal grant used to train police who encounter mental health emergencies
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services received a federal grant to assist with their crisis intervention training programs for law enforcement across the state.
“The grant itself will be able to help us better coordinate,” said Jeff Dismukes, ODMHSAS Director of Communications. “Do more outreach and engage more law enforcement agencies with these services.”
Nearly 2,000 officers and deputies have gone through their crisis intervention program across the state. Allowing places like Community Outreach Psychiatric Emergency Services (COPES) in Tulsa to work closely with the Tulsa Police Department on their crisis response.
“Lots of people don't know who to call when they need help, even when they’re dealing with someone that might be suffering from a mental illness, so they’ll dial 911 by doing that they’ll get a law enforcement response,” said COPES associate chief program officer, Amanda Bradley. “So those officers knowing how to work with those individuals and getting them connected to the right kind of care is crucial and important for their recovery.”
At TPD, their officers go through 60 hours of mental health training while in the police academy and another 40 hours of CIT once on the force.
“A big group of people that come together and educate our officers on what it's like living with a serious mental illness, to actually be able to hear from someone who is living with a mental illness and doing well,” said Sgt. Amber McCarty with TPD. “Unfortunately we see people when they’re having a bad day, so it's very enlightening.”
We really work with the officers to see what it’s like to experience working with someone, and learn how to de-escalate, the do’s and don'ts of working with someone and giving them ideas of what it might be like when they interact with someone with a mental illness. said Bradley.
It’s their hope that equipping officers with those tools will lead to more positive outcomes for all involved.
“The training is still continuing today and it makes a difference in that response and really it's to divert people away from a jail cell and hopefully into treatment,” said Dismukes.
Both COPES and the ODMHSAS have crisis lines for anyone that may be struggling with their mental health or having a crisis.
COPES can be reached 24/7 at 918-744-4800, the Youth Crisis Mobile Response line is 833-885-CARE (2273), and the National Suicide Prevention Line which gets directed to someone here in Oklahoma when dialed from an Oklahoma number is 800-273-8255.