We are Beth Renniff, a New Orleans police officer trained to respond to calls involving people with mental illness, and Cecile Tebo, Director of NOPD's Officer Assistance Program and an expert with decades of experience who trains the officers. Like police departments across most of the United States, NOPD has seen a sharp increase in calls involving people with mental illness as states cut health care services. New Orleans police will field more than 5,000 such calls this year, an average of 15 a day. Yet NOPD is among a minority of law enforcement agencies that have Crisis Intervention Team training, which advocates say helps reduce safety risks for both officers and people who call in need.
The problem, including a story about Bethβs patrols, was reported by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune as part of an investigative series examining Louisianaβs broken mental health care system called βA Fragile State.β
Joining us is Jonathan Bullington, the journalist who reported the story. Ask him anything too! Weβll all be responding from u/NOLAnews, and each of us will attach our name to the responses.
Proof: https://twitter.com/NOLAnews/status/1084897006747820032
READ the NOLA.com story: On the job with a New Orleans police officer specially trained to handle crisis calls
R1: Whichever one goes the next 5 years with the more spotless record gets their funding doubled.
R2: Each force is given jurisdiction over each other's city, and has the goal of implicating and arresting as many of the opposing officers with crimes as possible.
R3: Both have their standard gear. Who wins in a war?
