30 officers to be trained to be crisis specialists

5/30/2001

Thirty Toledo police officers will receive training in June for the department's new crisis intervention team, which will be called upon to deal with situations involving mentally disturbed people.

The officers, 12 women and 18 men, will spend a week working with mental health professionals, mentally ill people, and the relatives of the mentally disturbed. They will learn how to communicate with the mentally ill and those who are disturbed and have other problems, such as drug and alcohol addictions.

Thirty-one officers applied for the team. One of the applicants did not attend the interviews held last week, Capt. Ray Carroll said. Eventually, the department wants to have all of its officers trained. The department estimates that it responds to 1,500 calls a year involving the mentally ill.

The department is working with Lucas County mental health board, Lucas County Family Council, the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Toledo, and the mental health provider network.