MANSFIELD ─ The goal for Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training is educating law enforcement officers on diverting people with mental health issues to get the help they need.
Twenty officers with various agencies in Richland and neighboring counties graduated from the training on Friday. It was the 26th class in Richland County. The training began in 2004.
The crew learned about different signs and symptoms of mental illness and resources in the community that they can refer to citizens in the future, according to Mary Kay Pierce, executive director for National Alliance on Mental Illness Richland County.
NAMI and the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board organized the 40-hour class together. On the last day of training, the officers applied what they’ve learned to role-playing with help from actors at The Mansfield Playhouse.
“If this were college, this (role-plays) would be their practicum,” said Joe Trolian, executive director for the mental health board.
Multiple scenarios were designed to test the officers’ skills. An inmate claimed to be former President Barack Obama’s daughter and said she has diplomatic immunity to leave the jail.
In another scenario, a male was terrified that he will turn into a vampire. He was so scared of the light and stayed under the kitchen table most of the time when the two officers were at the house.
Deputy Nolan Neyer with Richland County Sheriff’s office was one of them. He squatted down to let the person under the table see him, talking with patience.
Neyer started the job seven months ago. He said he was fortunate enough to get a similar training previously through the sheriff’s office.
“It’s not just about us going out and telling people what to do. We’re out here trying to work with people to get everybody the help that they need,” he said.
Sergeant Daniel Hillier, Richland County corrections officer, said the training helped him understand how his words could affect inmates with mental health concerns.
“My questions could either help the situation or make the situation worse. And how I phrase a question determines how the situation may go,” he said.
It makes the difference between having someone cooperate or using force to make that person do what he asked, Hillier said.
As a corrections officer with nine years of experience, he said he has seen more inmates having mental breakdowns with the restrictions caused by COVID-19. Luckily, resources are available at the county jail.
Hillier said he usually can calm people down by saying that social workers or professionals from Catalyst Life Services will come to meet them.
Alexis Forwith, dispatcher with Crestline Police Department, said she knew about showing compassion and respect when interacting with individuals in a mental health crisis but was unsure how to do it.
The CIT training taught her to speak with a calm tone, she said, and reassure individuals that she is there to help them. Forwith, who started her dispatcher training only three weeks ago, said the skills are helpful.
Trolian said teaching the officers to de-escalate a situation is the core of the training. In the past, most injuries from interactions between police officers and individuals with mental health issues resulted from techniques that may agitate somebody in a psychotic or manic state.
Richland County has seen significant decreases in those injuries since starting the CIT training, Trolian said.
Many people think those mentally ill are violent. The idea may affect how an officer handles a case.
“If you’re approaching a scene expecting somebody to be violent, you may unconsciously or subconsciously be doing things to creating pretty much a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Trolian said.
He also said individuals with mental health issues in fact, are “more likely to be a victim of violence than they ever are to actually be violent themselves.”
That is why the officers have to learn about different types of mental illnesses and what they are exactly.
