The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office hosted a week-long Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) attended by civilian and sworn personnel from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Springs Police Department and Teller County Sheriff’s Office.  The intense 40-hour specialized training is designed to equip law enforcement with the knowledge on how to respond, de-escalate and divert a situation involving a mental health crisis in our community. 

Many of the individuals law enforcement encounter on a routine basis suffer from some form of mental illness.  It is crucial for law enforcement to have a foundation for how to recognize those suffering from mental illness, be trained in what signs to look for when dealing with this population of our community, as well as be given tools on how to de-escalate behavior and help them cope with the crisis they are facing.

The training this week included an in depth understanding of mental illness, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Participants were given the opportunity to role play with actors through intense, scripted scenarios based on real-life situations to utilize a variety of skills learned in training.

The graduation ceremony will be held today, March 1, 2019, 4:00 PM, at Emergency Services Division Building, 3755 Mark Dabling Boulevard.  We encourage all to attend and help us celebrate.