on 03-09-2009 01:25 
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By JON BAKER
LINCOLN - In an effort to bolster understanding of people suffering from an abundance of mental health issues, the police department will begin instructing officers in how best to deal with such situations.
Police Sgt. Jack McRoberts will be the one to lead the charge in Lincoln, and for good reason: On Thursday morning, he and 17 other law enforcement officers statewide officially "graduated" from a program conducted by both the Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals and the Certification Board for Certified Crisis Responder Trainers.
The recognition ceremony took place at the Kent County Courthouse in Warwick. That's when those officers - including McRoberts, Sgts. Jason Jordan and Daniel Barzykowski of Central Falls and Sgt. Matthew Ryan and Patrolmen Jamie Poone and Michael Villiard of Woonsocket Police - all became Certified Crisis Responder Trainers (CCRTS).
"Through successful completion of their training - which champions the values of dedication to on-going professional skill building in law enforcement, supporting and strengthening the alliance between (police) and the behavioral health community and commitment to a leadership role in peer-to-peer training - they have proudly represented themselves and the law enforcement community," said Thomas G. Martin, not only a fellow Lincolnite but also the administrator of the R.I. Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals and executive secreatry of the CCRT board.
The natural question: What does this mean to town, or statewide, residents?
"Say we received a call to go to a home where there's a mother living with her 50-year-old son with mental health problems," explained Police Chief Brian Sullivan. "We discover he was on medication to control episodes he had, but stopped taking it for some unknown reason. Suddenly, the mother hears the man upstairs who apparently has started to hear voices coming, say, from out of the electrical sockets, and she calls police.
"Pure and simple, Sgt. McRoberts hears the call and responds because he understands, via this training, that this person is in crisis and needs help right away," he added. "If you go back 15-20 years, during an episode like that, you might have four or five officers report to the scene and end up muckling the guy who's out of control. Police may have arrested him and brought him to headquarters. Now, with the training Jack and others have received, the bells sound and the flags rise. They know how to deal with these types of situations."
Stated McRoberts: "This isn't about an arrest, but getting the proper help the person needs -- the right medication, or getting them to the hospital to get the correct care. We have seen over the past year or so such episodes in Pawtucket, East Providence and West Warwick, where people may have suffered from excited delirium, or other aspects of mental health. We also have soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and have problems re-entering society.
"Now we know exactly how to approach and deal with those issues," he continued.
McRoberts noted he was somewhat prodded into taking this three-day, 24-hour CCRT course, which occurred in late September (under the direction of Richard Crino, a CCRT instructor and vice president of Northern Rhode Island Community Services' Acute and Critical Incident Services, and Coventry Police Lt. Robin Winslow), but decided it was just the right thing to do.
"I wanted to help people, get them on the right path," he said. "There are so many people out there with addictions stemming from alcohol, drug or gambling abuse. I'd rather see them go down the proper road -- call it the road less traveled -- than the road of least resistence.
"I've been doing this for about six years now," he added. "It started off as peer support (of which he needed 20 or more hours of crisis-related training, including domestic violence, substance abuse or hostage negotiating), and then it blossomed into CCRT. I know Richard is concerned with mental health issues. He doesn't want to see those afflicted hurt because of those problems, but he also doesn't want to see police officers hurt while trying to deal with such an incident.
"I think that's why he's so passionate about this program. In my case, I went to over 80 hours of peer-support training; that is, if a fellow officer was having problems here at the station, he could come to me and talk things out, and I would know what to say and/or direction to take.
"I really enjoyed doing this. It was important to me because I'm not only able to give back to the community, but also my fellow officers."
Sullivan indicated two other officers -- among them Lt. William Sexton and Patrolman Edward Walusiak -- also attended the three-day seminar, but received only certification as a crisis responder.
"Those people did not receive CCRT status, but they do have the knowledge to identify when an incident is occurring, when a mental health issue is involved," he noted. "This is critical to our department. Jack is going to be able to instill into our patrolmen and women important information about people who might be in a mental illness crisis. By teaching our people, they will be able to take a step back and evaluate a situation from a different perspective. That perspective will lead to less injuries for everyone involved.
"We're going to start phasing in Jack's training and teaching others in the department within the next few months," he continued. "We're in the process of developing a game plan, and then we'll run with it. There are a lot of agencies around the country who have implemented this type of training because they've deemed it so important, not just to those in the mental health community but also the community at large."
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