DETROIT (WWJ) – The Detroit Police Department is taking steps in response to a growing number of incidents involving people in mental health crisis.
Chief James White on Wednesday announced the expansion of the department’s Crisis Intervention Team and the introduction of new tools and technology to help combat the growing mental health crisis across the country.
The department responds to roughly 17,000 mental health-related emergencies each year, according to White. And too often they’ve ended in tragedy, the chief has said multiple times after officer-involved shootings and barricaded gunman situations.
“When we get called in, this unpredictable, unstable predicament that the family finds themselves in, they’re calling us to assist them with it,” White said Wednesday. “The reality of it is, we have training, but we’re not mental health professionals. I’m not the mental health police chief, but we have a mental health crisis.”
He said that’s why the department is expanding the CIT and upgrading training. That’s also why the department is introducing a number of new tools, including body cameras with WiFi capability, BolaWrap remote restraints and so-called “throw cameras.”
“Oftentimes we find people in crisis only want to interact with one person, but we can’t put that person close to them enough to have that interaction, so there’s a bridge there with this new camera system,” White said. “We’ll be able to get their audio on the camera, throw the camera in close to the person in crisis and let them communicate in real time, sometimes with a loved one, that could ultimately save their life.”
Officials demonstrated the use of a BolaWrap inside Huntington Place on Wednesday. If the situation calls for it, the device allows officers to shoot it at the person in crisis, tightly wrapping restraints around their legs or arms.
White said the new tools will give officers “better situational awareness” during calls with a mental health nexus.
A centralized city team will work with mental health professionals to respond to behavioral crisis emergencies, including barricaded gunman and hostage situations, officials said.
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