New Orleans, La. (WGNO) – The NOPD receives about 3,000 crisis calls a year. Whether it’s mental illness, substance abuse, a personal issue, those situations can be hard to handle. But 24 officers were honored at the training academy on Lakeshore Drive Thursday. They completed 40 hours of specialized training that will help them deal with those kinds of scenarios.
Superintendent Michael Harrison started off the graduation ceremony saying, until now, officers were given few options on how to deal with these situations. They would bring the individual to jail or a hospital — and would sometimes have to use unnecessary force to subdue people.
According to the 2012 Consent Decree, the NOPD has to train at least 20% of their nearly 1200 man force on crisis intervention by August of 2016. So, now they’re a little closer to that goal.
These officers were personally recommended by their supervisors. They have learned how to calm a tense situation and minimize the use of force in a crisis. WGNO spoke with one officer who has already put his training to good use, after a woman called in making suicidal threats:
“I felt in my own heart, I cannot leave this girl here, inside of this apartment alone. She could possibly end her life. I was there to stick with her, even through a 40 minute phone call, to make sure she got the help that she needed,” said Officer Joshua Simke.
The next class will begin in November. Two other sessions have been scheduled for next year.