Law enforcement graduate from Crisis Intervention training
Law enforcement officers from agencies throughout the region learned new skills this week as they took part in the East Mississippi Crisis Intervention Team Basic Crisis Intervention Team Officer Training in Meridian.
The 40-hour course covers a variety of topics including verbal de-escalation, substance abuse disorders, pharmacology and more. Officers heard from those in the mental health field as well as practiced their new skills in roleplay scenarios.
“There’s no better mechanism to practice the skill that you just learned than actually, physically doing it,” said Lt. Andy Matuszewski, Crisis Intervention Team coordinator for the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department. “And there’s a lot of realism involved even though we’re in an artificial environment because all of the things we put in front of them were actual calls that we faced out in the field.”
Matuszewski said the Crisis Intervention Team would not be able to do what it does without the help of community partners such as mental health professionals, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and others.
“Without those folks, we just really couldn’t do anything,” he said. “We have people travel from all over. We had some partners from the Department of Mental Health come in and do a presentation on suicide travel all the way up here from the coast. The director for NAMI for the state of Mississippi drove over from Jackson, so it’s truly a community effort.”
Thanks is also owed to the Meridian Public Safety Training Facility for both hosting the class and providing lodging for several members, he said.
Lauderdale County Sheriff Ward Calhoun said the Crisis Intervention Training prepares officers to go back to their communities and help those in their time of need. Doing so, however, is not achievable alone, and success requires help from others.
“Now since you’ve been through this program, it helps to make this work, but you can’t do it by yourself,” he said. “It’s in the name. Crisis Intervention Team. It takes multiple entities and people to make this work.”
Completing the 40-hour course gives officers the knowledge and training needed to respond to mental health crisis and as they look to put their new skills to test in their communities, Crisis Intervention Matuszewski said his message to the graduates is, “Do the work.”
“Nobody asked for the crisis that happened to them in that moment, and you may be the person with unique skills in that particular moment to make the difference for that person and their life cycle,” he said. “Your efforts could have far-reaching effects because of the change you make for that one person. You may change the trajectory of an entire family for generations to come because you found the solution. It is absolutely worth every bit of effort.
Graduates from Crisis Intervention Team Officer Training include:
Garrett Brooks-Leake County Sheriff’s Office
Bradley Capps – Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office
Samuel Chase – Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office
Micah Fortenberry – Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office
Jerry Fox – Smith County Sheriff’s Office
Wyatt Gore – Philadelphia Police Department
Matthew James – Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office
Toby Kitchens – Leake County Sheriff’s Office
James Leach – Union Police Department
Alexis McGowan – Philadelphia Police Department
Victor Moore – Kosciusko Police Department
Wilbert Nelson – Kosciusko Police Department
Tony Riddle – Philadelphia Police Department
Terrance Willis – Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office