RITA COOK / Freelance Writer
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ELLIS COUNTY – There have been about two-thirds of the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department deputies who have now successfully completed Mental Health Peace Officer Certification from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
This totals about 65 deputies to date.
Overall, the sheriff’s department employs about 100 full-time deputies, and the remainder of the 35 deputies are on track to become certified this year.
Ellis County Sheriff Brad Norman said the department, “began aggressively getting out deputies through the program at the beginning of 2022, and it is ongoing as we speak.”
The certification program consists of several classes consisting of 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Training, 24 hours of Mental Health Officer, eight hours of first aid or CPR, and eight hours of deescalation training.
Through this training, Norman said his department will be more readily able to identify those in need of mental health intervention or those experiencing a mental health crisis.
“The Mental Health Peace Officer Certification program will train our folks on how to recognize when a person is in a mental health crisis, and give them the tools they need to deal with that crisis – when they need it – on the street.”
Norman said the Wayne McCollum Detention Center in Ellis County is “full of folks that have and need mental health services.
“Not every offender needs to go to jail – there are truly some folks that need mental health help rather than to be jailed.
“I have a passion to help those in need of mental health help, and believe this to be a viable way to assist those in need of such assistance with this type of training.”
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