| CIT IN ACTION |
Jeffersonville Police Chief Tim Deeringer, LifeSpring CEO Terry Stawar and Sellersburg
Police Chief Russ Whelan spoke at the beginning
of Clark County Crisis Intervention Team training
Monday morning.
Staff photo by C.E. Branham, News and Tribune |
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Clark County law enforcement agencies have partnered with the justice system and the community mental health providers to develop a compassionate and
cost-effective program to deal with the mentally ill persons encountered by a police
officer on duty. This new approach emphasizes diversion to a mental health facility
instead of arrest and jail for adults with mental disorders who may be in a nonviolent
misdemeanor situation, as a result of their illness.
On August 1st, 2011, officers from the Clark County Sheriff's Office,
Jeffersonville Police Department, Charlestown Police Department, and the
Sellersburg Police Department participated in a 40-hour training program to build
Clark County's first Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). During the training mental
health professionals from our community taught the officers about the wide array of mental disorders. They were also instructed about how to recognize the behavioral
characteristics of persons with mental illness, as well as the medications used to treat various mental illness.
Officer Jim Witmer, of the Bloomington Police Department, trained the officers
in de-escalation techniques, the use of force on subjects with mental illness, and
provided insight from his experience as the head trainer for the Bloomington Crisis
Intervention Team. The unique legal issues that arise when dealing with a person
suffering from mental illness were also a part of the training curriculum. Equipped
with this extensive training, law enforcement officers in Clark County are better able
to handle the crisis situations they encounter while serving our community. |
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First CIT Training Class (2011) and Local Government Sponsors
Chief Russ Whelan, Amanda Reinhardt, Officer Tom Brewer, Corp. Matt Minich, Corp. Jason Jackson, Officer John Hartman, Officer Jeffrey Gordon, Officer Robin Bray, Officer Melissa Cotton, Corp. Pat Martin, Sgt. Richard Wagner, Councilman Kevin Vissing, Mayor Tom Galligan, Councilman Perry Smith, Judge Daniel Moore, Chief Tim Derringer. |
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Judge Daniel Moore
instructed the officers
on mental illness and the legal system. |
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Officer Jim Witmer
Bloomington Police Department
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Communities with CIT have seen a reduction in the number of mentally
individuals jailed (due to jail diversion for the mentally ill), improved officer
and mental health consumer safety, increased confidence within the
community that the police will
properly respond to calls involving
individuals experiencing a mental
health crisis, heightened officer selfconfidence
in responding to calls
involving mentally ill individuals, and,
a reduction in litigation involving law
enforcement liability (due to fewer
injuries and shootings). |
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