Feeling the pain: Law enforcers train to understand mental health issues

Jan. 19--Actively working to improve their empathy radar, Butte-Silver Bow police officers role-played intense scenarios to hone their on-the-spot skills when dealing with mental health cases.

The recent interaction culminated a week-long crisis intervention training for several departments at the Butte Civic Center.

Mental health care workers volunteered to round out the hypothetical situations. The goal is for police to prevent a potentially volatile incident from escalating into violence.

Petite Johnnie Henry, a detention officer for Broadway County, played an officer's role. She held back Butte-Silver Bow Sheriff Ed Lester, playing a neighbor who called in a report of a family dispute creating a ruckus.

"We're trying to get away from tasing and arresting," said Lester, stepping out of his neighbor role and back into his sheriff's shoes. "Then we want to guide them to the best resolution for them."

Bryce Foley, a Butte police officer, acted out the role of the upset son.

"I can definitely see it being a real-life situation," Foley told a reporter afterward. "It's hard to determine whether it's mental or a drug-related scene."

Trent Schumacher of the Gallatin County Police Department roamed the scene, evaluating the role-players. The scenario was noisy and chaotic, not unlike an incident police may be called to investigate.

"We hope we get the skills to de-escalate a situation before it ends up in a physical alteration, or worse," added Lester. "Police have been dealing with mental health issues on calls for years and years."

Lester's goals are threefold:

--Reduce officer injuries

--Reduce injuries of public citizens in crisis

--Avoid sending someone dealing with mental illness to jail, if at all possible

Better options, Lester said, are for a police officer to proactively help a person in need line up mental health or suicide counseling or take them to the hospital as a first step.

"The team's job is to come to some kind of resolution," added Lester. "The whole key is communication."

Teaching reaction skills starts with dispatchers, who must help panicked callers remain calm.

"If we can communicate with people and understand their situation, then we can get them to cooperate," Lester added. "A lot of times, behavior isn't necessarily criminal, but mental health-related. Our goal is to plug them into services."

Callie Daly, a Butte police officer, spearheaded the 40-hours of training. She completed crisis intervention training five years ago in Bozeman.

"Our training gives police a better understanding how people go through mental illness," said Daly. "It's been awesome. We're getting a good reception."

Cathy Waldman, a Western Montana Mental Health case manager who played a 15-year-old girl involved in the family dispute, said the role-playing opened her eyes.

"It gives us perspective on what the officers see, too, and how hard it is," said Waldman. "There's really two sides to the story. It's good to see both."

Detention center staff, dispatchers and police from Madison, Musselshell and Broadwater police departments participated.

During a crisis, action starts with a 911 dispatcher, who can learn how to help keep calm an upset caller.

"If we can take control and see the underlying causes, we can help," said Lester, who wants to get his entire department trained in crisis intervention within the next two years.

"A little bit of understanding goes a long way," added Foley.

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