Lakewood Police Chief Is Ohio's Crisis Intervention Officer 2018

LAKEWOOD, OH — Police Chief Timothy Malley has been named the 2018 Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Chief of the Year. The award honors the CIT officer that demonstrated effectiveness in the field.

The CIT program is a national initiative for first-responders to help those with mental illness pre-arrest. The program provides training for police to help those individuals. The award was announced on May 4th. It is given out by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Ohio Crisis Intervention Team, and the Ohio Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence.

“Chief Malley has been wholly supportive of policy development, continuing and advancing CIT training, and in the promotion and recognition of the successes of our CIT officers. Without the initial recognition, support, guidance, and direction of Chief Malley, Cuyahoga County law enforcement agencies still might not have CIT as a tool for helping those in need," said Lieutenant Roger Warner who oversees the CIT training program in Lakewood.

Malley led the implementation of CIT in the Lakewood Police Department and helped bring the program to other Westshore suburbs, including Rocky River, Bay Village, Fairveiw Park, Westlake and North Olmsted. The suburbs are now part of a regional CIT program.

Last year, Lakewood Police dealt with 206 CIT calls. Of those, 98 percent were resolved with no injuries and only one incident led to an arrest.

Lakewood Police now have 19 CIT trained police personnel, including a dispatcher and corrections officer. The first CIT class for the Westshore regional program graduated 24 officers on April 8, 2016. Three more classes of CIT officers have since graduated from the program.

"The implementation of CIT in Lakewood has enabled the safety of all persons on the scene of a mental health crisis, including the person in crisis, their families, and the officers. CIT has also been effective in keeping those suffering from mental illness out of the criminal justice system and helping them access mental health care," the city said in a press release.

Photo from City of Lakewood