Crime & Safety

O'Fallon Police Officers Train for Crisis Intervention Team

Local law enforcement agencies form CIT program to help mentally ill and their families find the help they need.

For the past few years, the has teamed up with other local law enforcement agencies and worked to train officers for the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT).

The CIT program’s main purpose is to better prepare police officers for calls where they encounter people with mental illness.

“We deal with everything, from those who are suicidal, mentally ill or those who have Autism,” O’Fallon’s Sgt. Robert Kendall said.

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Kendall said the program’s main goal is to guide the mentally ill and their family members to the help they need.

O’Fallon, Wentzville, St. Charles, St. Peters, Lake Saint Louis, the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department and a few other smaller departments teamed up to form the council three years ago.

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As a CIT Coordinator, Kendall is responsible for identifying department officers who are qualified and possess traits that would benefit the program.

Currently, the O’Fallon Police Department has 45 officers who have completed the 40-hour basic CIT training course. Six more officers will train this month. The department’s goal is to train as many patrol officers as possible.

“Our department leaders feel very strongly about the value CIT training brings to the O’Fallon community,” Kendall said.

The CIT Training committee, comprised of police officers from the St. Charles County and St. Louis County CIT Council, coordinates the training.

Training includes role-playing, guest speakers and presentations by family members who have a loved one suffering from mental illness.

“Basically it gives clinical definitions of different mental illnesses and how they manifest and the best way to deal with people in these situations,” Kendall said.

Training in specific areas of the program is also provided by council member social service agencies. Some of these agencies include: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Crider Center, Veterans Administration and SSM representatives.

Kendall said having a CIT trained officer is a valuable asset to any police department, because any call has the potential to be a CIT call.

“The CIT training is one of many tools that officers can use to their advantage in bringing a safe resolution to major incidents for fellow officers, citizens and subjects involved,” he said.

The type of call a CIT trained officer responds to varies. One example Kendall gave, was an incident involving a man who told police he jumped in front of traffic on the highway because "God was testing him." 

“This is an incident that anyone could identify as a person needing help,” Kendall said. “Unfortunately, not all people suffering from mental illness exhibit this obvious of behavior signs.”

Which is why, Kendall adds, if an officer is not trained properly or does not have access to someone who is, there is potential to create a dangerous situation.  

“CIT training allows us to better serve our citizens while preventing major incidents,” he said.  “And last but not least, our goal as police officers is to help these people, not have to hurt them, or have them hurt themselves or others.”

O’Fallon police saw a 24 percent increase in CIT cases from 2009-2010, according to Kendall.

“This is not just a local or regional issue, CIT related calls have gone up across the country,” he said, adding that the state of the economy, unemployment and lack of medical coverage could all have something to do with the increase.  

“People that in the past, who have taken medication for their diseases may no longer be able to afford prescriptions, while others do not have coverage to see a doctor to provide a diagnosis.” Kendall said.  “In addition to medical coverage and economy issues, there has been an influx of veterans returning from combat zones with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).”

Kendall said another reason for the increase could be the economy's impact on budgets for social service agencies and programs that help the mentally ill.

“With the reduction of these preemptive programs, there is a chance the increase in events comes from lack of intervention before a major police incident,” he added.

Kendall said one of the greatest benefits of having CIT trained O’Fallon police officers, is being able to provide families of those suffering from mental illness with information and resources to find help.

“Often when an officer encounters a person affected by mental illness, they find that the family of that individual has been greatly affected and may be overwhelmed and in need of assistance themselves,” he said.

Kendall said the police department CIT program has received welcoming response from the O’Fallon community.

“I’ve gotten calls from parents thanking us for taking the time and guidance for who to contact,” Kendall said.

Kendall encourages residents who have a family member in crisis to call the O’Fallon Police Department.

“Mental illness is something that for a long time was swept under the door,” he said. “But I think everyone knows someone who suffers from something. It touches someone we know at some point in our lives.” 


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