DAYTON — There has been a lot of changes in attitudes toward policing and addiction and mental health calls over the last few years across the country.
Dayton Police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office have been at the front of those changes, but it remains very tricky to determine the best and safest ways to handle emergency mental health needs in the community.
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Dayton officers responded to a mental health call in the 1500 block of Bancroft Street Thursday afternoon. In a 911 call obtained through a public records request, a 911 caller told dispatchers that she was having trouble with her son and said he was being “delusional.”
Officers were met by the caller’s son, Tyler Patrick. Video from their body worn cameras showed Patrick, 29, insist nothing was wrong.
Patrick believe there was someone else coming into the house.
Officers found no one in the home besides Patrick and his mother. Despite their best attempts to de-escalate the situation, police said he pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed an officer after they asked him to go to the hospital.
The injured officer, Off. George Kloos, was taken to Miami Valley Hospital. He was treated and released that day.
That was a call that was classified as having the possibility of violence, but other mental health calls might not be handled by police moving forward.
Helen Jones-Kelley, executive director of the Montgomery County Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, said they launched the “Crisis Now” program to get people the right help at the right time.
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“I’m talking about something that doesn’t enter the realm of violence,” Jones-Kelley said.
“Crisis Now” already has a 24-hour call center and trained mobile crisis response units that can respond to addiction or mental health concerns. Their numbers show how more and more people are calling the nine-month-old phones line. Their teams have gone out to handle more and more situations in person.
Regional dispatch center call taker are now working on protocols on when to send police and when to send mobile crisis response teams. Dayton Police told News Center 7 there were previous threats of violence on Bancroft and it was appropriate call for officers.
“These officers were doing a phenomenal job, working at de-escalation, the patience they showed, we are extremely proud of them,” Major Jason Hall, Dayton Police, said.