EMPATHY TRAINING
The way law enforcement deals with the mentally ill has come under scrutiny following a spate of officer-involved shootings across the nation. But Hulse said news reports miss the success stories between law enforcement and the public they protect.
“We handle literally hundreds and hundreds of cases where everything went right and we de-escalated the individual and nobody got hurt,” Hulse said.
Hulse said the training he administers to his officers is what stops crises and protects the public. But beyond that, he said empathy with people struggling is the real key to solving these issues.
Hulse hosts a voluntary crisis intervention training every year in April. He said a number of officers participate in the 40-hour training innovated by the Memphis Police Department.
The training, called the “Memphis Method” focuses on empathy with those having a mental health crisis.
image https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police
