Nashville Standard

The MNPD and Mental Health Cooperative will host a media availability tomorrow, June 27, to recognize the second anniversary of the Partners in Care program. The co-response model has seen success across the city as persons in distress are taken to medical resources rather than into custody.

Since it began as a pilot program, clinicians have been hired to support trained officers in five of MNPD’s eight precincts (Hermitage, South, Central, North, and Midtown Hills) on various shifts. Madison Precinct is expected to join the program in November.

So far, 189 officers, including 52 supervisors, have received an additional 40 hours of crisis response training since June 2021, with 153 of those assigned to patrol.

As of last week, the co-response model has responded to 12,724 calls for service, and of those less than 4% resulted in arrest.

Tomorrow’s availability will begin at 1 p.m. in the MNPD Headquarters Media Room, 600 Murfreesboro Pike. Mental Health Cooperative’s Michael Randolph, Office of Alternative Policing Strategies Lt. Michael Gooch, South Precinct Officer John Walden with Counselor Jody Babb, and Central Precinct Officer Roy Sain with Counselor Malvina Dye, will be attending.

Original source can be found here.