When law enforcement responds to calls involving a mentally distressed individual, responses quickly can escalate into an over use of force or worse, an officer-involved shooting.
To prevent these kinds of tragedies that often end in death, severe injuries or later on, lawsuits that bleed large payouts from an agency’s budget, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has inhabited a new facility that provides one-stop training programs that will sharpen the skills of deputies and other law enforcement when responding to these kinds of field calls.
A first of its kind LASD Mental Evaluation Team (MET) Regional Training Facility was unveiled on a sunny Thursday, Aug. 17, by Sheriff Robert Luna and officials from the City of Industry.
Located adjacent to the Industry Sheriff’s Station in City of Industry, the 5,000-square-foot facility features three classrooms and interactive simulators that will provide mental health awareness and crisis intervention training to 18,000 sworn deputies and professional staff, as well as local police departments and members of state and federal law enforcement agencies.
“This is transformational,” said Capt. Geoffrey Deedrick, who oversees the Sheriff’s Department’s MET program. “This will be a paradigm change in Los Angeles County.”
For the last three years, sheriff deputies and other law enforcement have received around 86 trainings centered on recognizing the characteristics of someone with autism and symptoms of various mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia. These took place at the Industry Hills Expo Center where large rooms enabled attendees to socially distance during the pandemic.
The purpose behind these training sessions was to help law enforcement on the scene with a distressed individual, who may have a weapon and is acting erratically, to deescalate the situation. Those completing the classes received certification.
But for the last several years, trainings were scattered among…
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