Mental health and policing combined in Troy response team

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -The Emotionally Distressed Persons Response Team (EDPRT) was created by Troy Police in 2006. It's the second of its kind in New York following Rochester; helping officers better understand mental health crises while responding to calls.

"It wasn't a big influx. It was mainly about situations that were starting to arise in how officers were trained to deal with people," said Captain Matthew Montanino.

Captain Montanino has trained more than 400 officers from across the Capital Region at Hudson Valley Community College. He says the biggest lesson is in de-escalation. "The key factors are listening, slowing the conversation down, trying to slow the situation down at hand, and showing some empathy to people."

"Every call we go to has some sort or some level of trauma. Someone's been victimized by something. Whether it's violent crime or potentially something that is minor to the system but is major to the person in that life," added Assistant Chief Steven Barker.

And taking the time to have these conversations has also taught officers to better take care of their own mental health. "This is a stressful job even though you may not feel it but sometimes your backpack overfills and you have to take a step back and realize maybe something's wrong. Maybe I need to talk to somebody," explained Captain Montanino.

Officers outside of Troy interested in attending EDPRT training can email Captain Matthew Montanino at matt.montanino@troyny.gov.