MPD 2D Officer John Wright, speaking at a February 1 forum on behavioral health issues in the community.
In early February, dozens of community members got to meet MPD Officer John Wright, one of two police officers in the Second District trained specifically to work with the homeless.
As a result his training and experience, Wright said, he has “developed a lot of patience and compassion for people experiencing in different situations and different levels of mental unrest.”
“A lot of times people just want to yell,” Wright said. “They want someone to listen to them yell. And then they’ll be more willing to be receptive to services or treatment as opposed to if someone showed up and yelled back at them. Or felt threatened and yelled back at them.”
If Richard Bebout could have his way, there would be a lot more Officer Wrights in MPD. Bebout is the chief of Crisis Services at the DC Department of Behavioral Health, or DBH, and he is passionate about training police to better handle and deescalate situations involving people with mental health and addiction issues.
Wright and Bebout were among the speakers at a February 1st online forum hosted by the MPD Second District Community Advisory Committee.
Bebout explained how his crisis program works with the police and other emergency services. And Wright talked about how training helped him to better understand and approach situations in which a person appears threatening and incoherent. Wright said when he encounters an apparently unhoused person he has not met before, he calls a DBH crisis hotline to see if they have any information on that person. This resource also helps officers determine what this person may need, whether it be hospitalization or a referral to mental health services. Officers can also request that a DBH crisis team come to evaluate the situation.
In a follow-up phone conversation, Bebout was clear about the goals for training officers. He wants all police trained to recognize when the person before them is suffering from addiction or other mental health issues. Currently, all new MPD recruits go through such training at the academy, but he wants all officers on the force to undergo this training. Bebout also wants more officers, like Officer Wright, with specialized crisis intervention training. He told Forest Hills Connection he fervently believes that this will save lives, both of officers and of those with mental and behavioral health issues.
Bebout, in our call, clarified when it is appropriate to call 911. Whenever someone feels personally threatened by a person’s behavior, or fear for the safety of that person or of another, they should call 911. Bebout says 911 operators determine whom to dispatch, so when in doubt, call the emergency number.
The Department of Behavioral Health also has two emergency hotlines.
The Community Response Team, at 202-673-6495, offers 24-hour services to “communities experiencing psychiatric emergencies, trauma, or show signs of mental health and substance use disorders.”
The team also provides support to MPD’s “pre-arrest diversion” program for people that Wright described as “better suited for diversion than arrest.” In other words, the program diverts those with a low-level misdemeanor related to behavioral health into support services.
The DBH Access HelpLine, at 1-888-7WE-HELP (1-888-783-4367), is a 24/7 mental health resource for individuals, including children, who themselves are in crisis. Specialists help callers with problem solving, tell them about mental health services, and connect them to the Community Response Team if they need immediate help.
At the February 1st 2D community meeting, Officer Wright said the MPD’s relationship with DBH has been “really great.”
“It would be nice to see an expansion of those services and some more teams to assist us,” he said.
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