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Detroit Police Crisis Intervention Team adds new treatment for suspects suffering from mental illness
Detroit police say it is responding to 64 calls each day for mental health issues - three times more than in 2020, the chief says they responded to 17,000 mental health calls last year.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Last October and Detroit police responded to a call for help from the family of a man with a knife suffering a mental health crisis. Sadly, Porter Burks was killed when he charged police.
In November - the family of Kiazia Miller had also called for help - she was also in crisis, allegedly armed and had attacked her young son and mother. She, too, was killed by police during an alleged struggle over a gun.
Both families have filed multi-million dollar lawsuits. Now it's December - and Detroit police are looking for ways to resolve these incredibly difficult situations that don't involve lethal force.
On Tuesday DPD debuted new HD body cameras with wi-fi, and foam bullet launchers.
It is now exploring other possible options - like the bola wrap remote restraint - which fires a tether at a person's legs to temporarily restrain them.
Another possible tool - drones - and a camera that can be thrown into a home and used to communicate with a barricaded person.
"The reality is we have training, but we're not mental health professionals - I'm not the mental health police chief but we're in a mental health crisis, and this situation that we're in right now, we have to have the opportunity to respond more effectively," said DPD Chief James White.
At a roundtable with community leaders Wednesday - Chief White announced the expansion of their Crisis Intervention Team - starting with 18 officers wearing gray shirts instead of the traditional uniform - their scout cars outfitted with green lights, not just the traditional red and blue - all in an effort to calm someone in a mental health crisis.
"We're going to hit the ground running," said White. "We're inspired - we're excited - for the opportunity to be better, and make sure they have everything they need.
Detroit police say it is responding to 64 calls each day for mental health issues - three times more than in 2020, the chief says they responded to 17,000 mental health calls last year.
DPD works with the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority's behavioral health specialists to provide a variety of services including treatment and medicine.
One of the options for officer crisis training involves virtual reality and putting them in the position of someone suffering from a mental health crisis.
"For the first 45 seconds to a minute -he was schizophrenic so he hears the sounds of people talking to him, etc." said one officer.
FOX 2: "So the officer is going through what someone is feeling if they're schizophrenic ?"
"Correct - to build the empathy part of that," he said.
Another perspective for the officers who are trying to help.
"I see from their standpoint how it is when they're going through a crisis," said Officer Marcus Harris.
People, families, an entire community experiencing that crisis - as Detroit police pivot from crime-fighting to problem-solving.
"We deal with a lot of people who are misunderstood," said Officer Julian Chavies. "They need somebody to talk to them that understands where they're coming from - that's not just understanding but is also patient - a lot of people don't have the patience to deal with someone, so we're taught that as well.
"I feel like this has a very positive impact on our community."
For more information on the Crisis Intervention Team, CLICK HERE.
DPD Crisis Intervention Team Officer Julliam Chavies.