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Mobile, Ala.nothingIn May, seven Mobile police officers spent a week with Altapointe in Harris County, Texas, learning techniques for responding to mental health issues. Officers went through a variety of live-action simulations to learn how to respond to different mental health episodes.
“It gave me a new perspective on approaches and how we can reduce some of the mental health issues we see in our community,” said Commander Curtis Graves.
That new perspective was tested two weeks ago when a man opened himself up in a home on Nack Lane and threatened to kill responding police officers.
“We work together to find out the individual’s mental health history and what’s going on with them,” said Cindy Gipson, associate director of crisis services.
That gave officers a better understanding of the situation before a clinician from Altapoint arrived on the scene. Dr. Cindy Gipson said officers should have entered the home, but the training resulted in the patient getting help instead of going to the Metro Jail.
“From that situation, he went straight into an inpatient psychiatric hospital and is getting the treatment he needs and has not been convicted of a crime for those symptoms,” Gipson said.
It’s a tough first run for the program, but Commander Curtis Graves said it’s a perfect result for the situation.
“This is a win for our community. It also reduces the impact on our county jail, but most importantly, it keeps everyone safe, it keeps our officers safe,” Graves said.
This program is still being piloted at the third campus, but AltaPointe and MPD are working to expand it within the department. More than 200 officers have been trained since June and they plan to have every officer trained by the end of the year.
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