Nashville, Tennessee (WKRN) – Since the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Partners in Care program launched in June 2021, officers and mental health clinicians have reached 1,500 cases in three districts over a year We have jointly responded to nearby calls.
This program is a partnership between Metro Police and Mental Health Co-operatives to assist community calls with people experiencing behavioral health crises.
Partners in Care provides participating officers with the opportunity to complete a 40-hour crisis intervention team course, pairing officers with trained mental health clinicians to patrol and call where their skills can help to apply.
According to MNPD, about 96% of the calls resulted in non-arrest results, as the clinician was also present at the scene. This, they say, is a sign of the program’s success.
Training is available to all officers and supervisors in MNPD’s eight jurisdictions, but partnerships with clinicians are limited to three districts: North, Hermitage and Central.
An MNPD spokesperson said the program will be expanded to southern Nashville in November. A spokesperson explained that due to the number of clinicians and hours of training required for this partnership, it will take time to roll it out to all districts.
After Landon Eaststep was shot dead by a police officer on Interstate 65 in January, His wife said she wished a mental health professional was there to help her late husband get through his battle with mental health issues.
“There were so many options that could have been taken but weren’t taken. That’s unacceptable to me,” she said in February.
However, while some officers in the area have crisis intervention training, the Partners in Care program has not fully expanded to areas that include the portion of Interstate 65 where the shooting occurred.
