La Plata, Md. — Six members of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office completed Crisis Intervention Team training during the week of Oct. 27-31, bolstering the agency’s capacity to handle behavioral health emergencies.
The graduates include Sgt. Amber Hancock and CFC Timothy Clayton, both from the Charles County Detention Center; Cpl. Thomas Rickard Jr.; and PFCs Paul Sady, Jesse Halterman and Nathaniel Hopp. Additional participants PFC Jordan Wheeler and PFC Andrew Boyle also finished the course, according to office records. Major David Kelly, assistant sheriff for the Field and Support Bureau, and Ryan Ross, director of the Charles County Detention Center, offered congratulations to the group.
The 40-hour program equips officers with strategies for recognizing signs of mental health crises, employing de-escalation techniques and linking individuals to community resources. Participants cover topics such as psychotropic medications, trauma-informed responses and collaboration with mental health professionals. This certification builds on foundational training all Charles County deputies receive in mental health first aid at the academy.
Captain Cari Baker, commander of the CCSO Community Services Division, coordinates the effort for Charles County. She oversees implementation, ensuring alignment with regional standards. The Southern Maryland CIT initiative stems from a multi-agency collaboration involving the sheriff’s offices and health departments of Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, along with the Maryland State Police and local partners like Qlarant and the Department of Human Services. This network shares resources, including guest instructors from area hospitals and advocacy groups, to standardize responses across the tri-county area.
In practice, CIT-trained officers prioritize verbal engagement over physical intervention during calls involving suicide risks, substance-induced episodes or psychotic breaks. For instance, deputies learn to assess environmental triggers and use open-ended questions to build rapport, reducing the likelihood of escalation. Nationally, such training correlates with lower use-of-force incidents in mental health encounters, with studies showing up to 20 percent fewer arrests for nonviolent offenses among trained responders. In Maryland, programs like this have improved officer self-efficacy, with participants reporting higher confidence in diverting individuals from jails to treatment facilities.
The CIT framework originated in Memphis in 1988 after a fatal police shooting involving a person with untreated schizophrenia. It spread nationwide through the National Alliance on Mental Illness, emphasizing a “membrane” approach that filters crises toward care rather than custody. Maryland adopted it in the early 2000s, with Southern Maryland’s version launching around 2010 to address gaps in coordinated care. Locally, about half of CCSO patrol staff hold CIT certification, up from 30 percent five years ago, enabling quicker deployment of specialized teams during high-volume shifts.
These latest graduates join a roster that includes 12 officers certified in May 2025, part of ongoing cycles to maintain proficiency. Recertification every three years reinforces skills, often through simulations at the sheriff’s training facility in La Plata. The program also fosters ties with entities like the Charles County Health Department, which provides follow-up referrals via the 988 lifeline, now bolstered by mobile crisis units in Charles and St. Mary’s counties since July 2025.
For residents, this means more seamless support during vulnerable moments. A family member spotting a loved one’s distress can expect deputies trained to listen first, coordinating with clinicians for on-scene evaluations when possible. In Calvert County, similar efforts have cut repeat crisis calls by 15 percent since 2022, a trend Charles officials aim to replicate through joint drills and data sharing.
The training aligns with Maryland’s broader push under the Behavioral Health Administration to integrate law enforcement into the Sequential Intercept Model, which maps diversions at every justice system stage. From street-level responses to court dispositions, CIT helps keep non-criminal matters out of detention centers like the one where Hancock and Clayton serve. Ross noted in internal memos that certified staff have diverted dozens of intakes to community beds annually, easing overcrowding.
This commitment reflects a shift from reactive enforcement to preventive partnerships, ensuring crises resolve with empathy alongside authority.
Like this:
Like Loading…
Related