Valley law officers learn how to handle incidents involving mental illness

YOUNGSTOWN

One of the 18 law-enforcement officers graduating Friday from crisis intervention training said it has opened his eyes and, he hopes, the eyes of other officers as to how much help can be marshalled to assist someone with mental health problems.

Eric Buente, a deputy with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s office, said in remarks at the graduation ceremony at the downtown YMCA that taking the training has been an eye-opener because of the amount of help that can be offered to a person.

The officers who graduated Friday come from nine departments in Mahoning County: Beaver, Boardman, Jackson, the sheriff’s office, Mill Creek MetroParks Police, Milton, New Middletown, Struthers and Youngstown.

The training is given by the Mahoning County Mental Health & Recovery Board. The goal is to educate and train officers on how to deal with mentally ill people as well as how to de-escalate conflict.

Read more about the training in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.