2,344 calls, 9 arrests. The role of Indy’s MCAT in mental health response
Since the beginning of the year, more than 2,000 mental health emergency response calls in Marion County have been answered by Eskenazi Health’s Mobile Crisis Assistance Team (MCAT) in conjunction with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Sgt. Lance Dardeen, with the police department, said about half of the people contacted during those calls had problems and were hospitalized.
“We can’t buy our way out of this problem,” Dardeen said. “It needs to change the culture and have officers who understand and dig a little deeper into their running. Sometimes an arrest may be appropriate, but often we can divert these people to prisons.”
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and MCAT held a town hall Tuesday to provide new information about the complex challenges facing mental health calls and how MCAT and Clinician Led Community Response teams ( CLCR) how they work together to solve them.
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How the MCAT scores work
The groups use face-to-face intervention techniques with the vulnerable person. This includes someone with suicidal thoughts, mental health emergencies, emotional or psychological stress and substance abuse concerns.
People in crisis can be taken to hospital by the police for emergency detention for up to 48 hours. This allows the hospital to carry out an assessment. Families can also ask the court to hold someone for 14 days if they are dealing with a long-term mental health crisis.
“An example of this is the mother of a 23-year-old man,” Dardeen said. “He’s calling 911 because his behavior has been intermittent for the past few months. Our dispatchers would send our first two beat officers and then the MCAT would be what we call, ‘ The Third Car.’
Dardeen said MCAT had time to recover parts from these runs, against a hit officer who would respond to more than a dozen calls at once.
“Because let’s say you have an officer at two o’clock in the morning,” Dardeen said, “and they’ve been to this house multiple times. They can refer that person to MCAT if they can’t get them to the hospital.”
Earlier this year:Indianapolis’ new police chief is creating a mental health office to deal with ‘serious issues’.
The MCAT operates Monday through Friday with five shifts from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and two shifts from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“We reserve it as much as we can for the hours we see the greatest need,” said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Chris Bailey. “I wish we didn’t have to live in a world where the police have to answer these calls and it’s up to the professionals. The hope is that we’re finally out of this whole business.”
From January to September this year, there were 2,344 active runs and 19 of those resulted in arrests. Dardeen said active arrests are often tied to warrants.
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Clinician Led Community Response
The physician-led response is in partnership with Stepping Stones Therapy Center and the City of Indianapolis, specifically the Office of Public Health and Safety. The crisis program operates 24/7 in the Downtown and East Indianapolis counties with a team of approximately two members.
The city’s crisis response program, staffed by licensed social workers and physicians, responds to mental health-related reports in the area of law enforcement.
They are also sent by 911 when a call involves someone with a mental health problem.
Medical teams answered 710 calls between Jan. 24 and Oct. 28. Andrea Brown, who owns Stepping Stones Therapy Center, said the expansion of the pilot program is slow and slow as they gather data.
Indy Police:A union leader says the mental health office could expose some of the department’s weaknesses
Herman Whitfield III:What happened in the year since his death
The pressure on mental health focus groups increased after the death of Herman Whitfield III. Whitfield’s family called an ambulance while he was having a mental health episode on April 25, 2022. During the interview, police danced and handcuffed him while he was naked and face down while he is in the process of mental health. Whitfield died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Autopsy results for Whitfield, who was 39, ruled his death a homicide and also ruled he died of a heart attack while under ‘a legal prohibition.
Two officers were charged in the case by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. Their cases are still pending.
IndyStar reporter Sarah Nelson contributed to this report.Jade Jackson is IndyStar’s public safety reporter. Contact her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar. Follow him on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
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