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In Utah last month, police officers from all over the state talked a suicidal, divorced father down from the top of a five-story building. But before you start asking how cops from all over the state could respond to one emotionally disturbed person, be advised – the emergency situation was a training exercise. The tall building that the “divorced father” was about to leap from was in fact the multi-purpose room at the Orem City Hall.
The EDP threatening to jump was actually Ron Bruno. He’s a Salt Lake P.D. detective who runs a program to teach officers across Utah to effectively problem-solve with mentally ill individuals. The training is geared towards the situations cops face when dealing with the emotionally disturbed on a daily basis. The exercises simulate all kinds of scenarios – everything from quelling conflict with a schizophrenic diner who’s convinced the food is poisoned to calming down a war veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The program teaches officers to act as a calming influence, to protect the public and, most importantly, to help the mentally ill person. Detective Bruno said the specialized training, called the “Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Academy,” is aimed at giving officers the know-how required to “de-escalate” a situation before it becomes dangerous both to the EDP and the officers on the scene. Over 450 police officers in Utah have become CIT certified, he said.
“It gives them another tool in their tool belt in dealing with the mentally ill,” Bruno told the Daily Herald newspaper in an interview. The Orem, Utah cops who participated in the program called the training top-notch. Orem Sgt. Guy Gustman, a recent graduate and instructor of the CIT academy said that police officers deal with the mentally ill on at least a weekly basis. He said the program helps create a partnership between police and mental health professionals so officers can better use the resources that are available to them. In the most recent training session – the “man prepared to jump from a five-story building” scenario – Bruno praised officers for their verbal skills and focusing on what mattered most to the EDP – his children.
“Make the pretty things as pretty as they can be,” Bruno told the trainees, referring to the children. “Make the ugly things as ugly as you can,” he continued, in reference to the consequences of a suicidal act, including the loss of the joy of his children. But the training isn’t about turning a cop into a social worker.
“This isn’t a touchy-feely program,” Bruno told the Herald. “It’s designed to ensure the officer’s and the community’s safety. He’s still an officer.” Maddy Talbert, a social worker with Wasatch Mental Health and director of its Wasatch House program, is one of several licensed mental health professionals who assist CIT trainers during the training. Affiliated with CIT for the past six years, she said the program has had the effect of putting police and mental health resources on the same page.
“As CIT graduates, officers are much more likely to be able to de-escalate a problem,” Talbert told the Herald. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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