BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - On Monday afternoon, Mayor Byron Brown announced the formation of the Buffalo Police Department's Behavioral Health Team, which will officially start up next month.
Essentially, this will be a partnership between the department and Endeavor Health Services, as the team will consist of two lieutenants and six police officers, as well as three clinicians and a program supervisor. The clinicians will provide support to BHT officers and other crisis intervention-trained officers who are responding to calls involving who has experienced a mental or behavioral health crisis.
Each officer will have to complete a 32-hour course in crisis intervention before becoming a member of the team, and they'll also have to undergo annual re-certification.
"When these individuals present a danger to themselves or others, there is a role for law enforcement personnel to play," said Brown. "Their role in these situations should be to deescalate whenever possible and ensure that the individual gets the help and support they need. This new agreement will expand the tools we have to achieve those desired outcomes and ensure that Buffalo Police can more effectively respond to these types of calls in the future."
Additionally, officers will work with clinicians to make sure that the individuals who experienced emotional distress, as well as their families, receive ongoing support.
"Modern day policing is more than just criminal investigation work," said Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood. "Officers today must be ready to respond to any kind of crisis, including those that center on a person who is in extreme emotional distress and posing a danger to themselves and others."
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Monday's announcement came two days after Wille Henley was shot by Buffalo Police. Henley was in a mental health crisis when he swung a baseball bat at officers. Henley was charged on Monday with assault.