APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – A dramatic video from the Appleton Police Department is shining a light on mental health, and how officers deal with those in crisis.
The department shared recent body camera footage of a call involving an individual who was threatening suicide. Behavioral Health Officer, Sergeant Ignacio Enriquez says it’s the relationship the officer had with the man before the video that made the difference.
“It’s important that we see what we don’t see on the video itself, and that’s the ability for officers to establish rapport with folks in the community,” Enriquez told WTAQ News. “Simply having positive interactions allowed Officer Akins just to have a stronger sense of building rapport with them, and getting to a position where he could best intervene and help out. It’s important for us to recognize that.”
The video explains that an officer, who was working overtime, recognized the person’s name as someone he had had contact with before, and went to the scene to convince him not to jump. In the video, the officer coaxes the person down from the ramp and engages with him.
You can watch that entire encounter here:
Enriquez points out that a lot of work goes into connecting with individuals around the community, and that the little things can make a major impact. He thinks the rapport between the officer and citizen played a major role in how that situation was resolved.
“Officers that are involved with these kinds of calls are the best officers to be addressing the needs of consumers when they are in crises…There’s always the opportunity to be empathetic. There’s always the opportunity just to connect with someone at a deeper level, obviously with maintaining safety as a priority,” Enriquez explained. “It’s certainly empathy and getting to a place where where we’re establishing rapport with the individual can allow us more opportunities to help the person come up with different options and actually get un-stuck from the moment…It’s all about that. Something as simple activating our our listening skills and truly being present for that person in that moment can resolve a lot of these complex situations.”
It can often become a case where individuals simply don’t have the access or awareness about where they can reach out for help. Enriquez says if you or someone you know is dealing with a mental health crisis, to not hesitate to call Appleton Police.
“We at the Appleton Police Department have the awareness and training and ability to essentially point people in the right direction as to what services we have locally that they can access,” Enriquez said. “We work consistently with other providers out in the community, and again, we’re all trying to address the same kinds of concerns. Obviously we’re here to help, and if we don’t have the immediate answers, then we connect these individuals to the appropriate services.”
The end of the video contains information on where to find help for those who are experiencing thoughts of suicide.
