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CANTON – The man in ripped jeans and a dirty T-shirt on a local street corner asking for money may not be mentally stable.
Police Chief Jack Angelo wants residents to be safe but he also wants to keep that man from winding up behind bars.
Many panhandlers suffer from mental health issues that grow, becoming problematic for police while they re actually dementia issues or simply a cry for help, he said.
The number of those suffering from a mental health crisis that draws police attention is on the rise, Angelo said.
Hoping to keep these people out of the criminal justice system, Angelo assigned detective Todd Gillilan, a 20-year veteran of the police department, to serve as a liaison between a suspect and the care that person needs.
CANTON – Stark Mental Health & Addiction Recovery has produced a video at the Stark County Sheriff s Office to inform other law enforcement agencies about StarkMHAR s crisis-prevention services.
In particular, the agency offers Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for law enforcement officers and other first responders in partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and Mobile Response Teams through Coleman Professional Services.
A recent attack on a Canton police officer and the fatal shooting of a fast-food manager in Cuyahoga Falls by men with histories of mental illness underscore the need for more services and crisis training for law enforcement officers, who often are the first people on the scene.