Police, SummitStone pave a path forward on addressing mental health
The next time a Fort Collins police officer is called to help someone experiencing a mental health crisis, his backup might not carry a badge or a gun.
Fort Collins Police Services and SummitStone Health Partners this month will begin pairing officers trained in community policing with experts trained in de-escalating mental health crises. The end goal of the partnership: Connecting people in crisis with the services they need instead of connecting them with the jail and criminal justice system.
Co-responder partnerships aren’t new in Colorado. The Loveland Police Department and SummitStone have had a program in place for a couple years, and various Denver-area police departments and health providers also partner. Experts, like SummitStone CEO Michael Allen, say the programs lead to reduced use of officer force as trained behavioral health experts help diffuse situations that might otherwise end in an arrest.
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