By Dick Lindsay
Berkshire Eagle Staff
DALTON, Mass. — Officer Richard Nicholas Jr. has often dealt with people in mental distress.
The 29-year veteran of the Dalton Police Department and fellow officer Michael Martin once prevented a suicide attempt by spending 15 minutes talking down a man from a bridge over the Housatonic River. Their actions on Nov. 17, 1998, earned them a local commendation and a citation from then-Gov. Paul Cellucci.
Nicholas said he relied on his “ability to talk to people” -- rather than any formal training -- to save the man s life.
“I m extremely thankful we took the time to do what we did,” he said. “Had we had training, we could have got him off the bridge a lot sooner.”
Nicholas now finds himself better trained to handle crisis situations involving mentally ill individuals. He and 16 other police officers and emergency dispatchers from seven different police agencies throughout the county recently became certified Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, specialists. They completed an inaugural training course conducted by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill -- or NAMI -- of Berkshire County.
The 40-hour course is based on the CIT model originally conceived in Memphis, Tenn., 22 years ago, according to local NAMI officials. NAMI engaged an 18-month collaboration with the Brien Center, a countywide mental health services agency, and Berkshire Community College to develop the intense one-week program.
The 17 law enforcement personnel who participated were from the Berkshire County Sheriff s Office, the Pittsfield, North Adams, Adams, Clarksburg and Dalton police departments, and state police assigned to the Cheshire barracks and the detective unit of the district attorney s office.
NAMI vice president and training coordinator James Beauregard said the CIT course will be offered again in September to another 24 local and state police officers. He said the ultimate goal is to have every local police agency with at least 25 percent of their force staffed with CIT specialists.
NAMI created the local CIT course -- and raised $50,000 to initially train up to 72 officers -- in response to police clamoring for the training. According to NAMI, at least 30 percent of calls police respond to involve someone with a mental illness.
“I never realized how prevalent mental illness was in the community,” said Nicholas.
“Mental illness is an equal opportunity disease -- it can strike anyone,” said Catherine Doherty, CEO of the Brien Center, Berkshire County s largest provider of mental health and substance abuse services.
The local CIT training included understanding the medical aspects of mental illness, working with mental health professionals, dealing with children and teenagers, suicide assessment, and de-escalation techniques.
“By spending more time with a person, an officer can de-escalate the situation,” Beauregard said. “It’s important to develop a rapport with the person as many of these individuals may have contact with police in the future.”
And the rapport must be genuine. “Don’t lie to someone, you have to be truthful,” Nicholas said. “If I tell just one lie, I ve lost their trust.”
The 17 officers and dispatchers also gained a better understanding of mental illness. Guest lecturers helped them erase any preconceived notions about mentally ill people.
“My emphasis was on breaking down the stigma of mental illness and [the officers ] understanding what a person is going through,” said Egremont Police Chief Reena Bucknell.
Bucknell teaches criminal justice courses at BCC and took a CIT course in Waterbury, Conn., last year. She and BCC assistant dean Anna Foss helped develop the local CIT course cirriculum, which included first-hand accounts of people dealing with mental illness.
“I was struck by the families speaking so honestly to the class and the bravery of the two with mental illness who spoke,” said Foss. “That’s the most believable lecture you can listen to.”
The police and mental health professionals said they ve also forged a better working relationship because of the CIT training.
“I learned more about the police end of things and the importance of officers staying safe in dangerous situations,” Beauregard said.
“They understand what we [officers] have to go through and vice versa,” said Nicholas.
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