AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JUNE 2017 27 My Mom’s a cop and she’s my hero! Max Perez, 7, pins a badge on the uniform of his mom, Lauren Flores, after the pre- sentation of certificates and badges. The latest Denver Sheriff’s Academy Class held its commencement exercises on April 14, 2017 at the Doubletree Hotel. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images) I n Alabama, police offi- cers in Gadsen recently got some mental health training. Calls for more of this kind of training are coming from all over the country as police increasingly find themselves dealing with people suffer- ing from mental illness. According to WBRC News, the entire department participated – everyone from the chief to the green- est rookie. Unfortunately there was only eight hours of training, which many say isn’t nearly enough. “The training covers stuff like how to identify individ- uals in mental health crisis, not to diagnose but to iden- tify and assist them in con- necting them to resources to get them help when neces- sary,” Sgt. John Hallman said. A step in the right direction