In what officials are describing as a “long overdue change,” law enforcement officers will take a step back from dealing with mental health patients in crisis at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo when a new plan is implemented in February.
Instead of uniformed correctional officers, clinical safety specialists will work to de-escalate incidents in a non-confrontational approach to “help create a more therapeutic environment for patients while narrowing the scope of police presence to investigations and transport,” said Dr. Robert Werthwein, director of the Colorado Department of Human Services which oversees the state hospital.
In a letter sent out to staff last week, Werthwein outlined the plan to move 45 correctional or ward officers to the reassigned role of clinical safety specialist. Instead of promoting safety from a policing standpoint, the staff reaction will be to “get away from a power struggle, come off as non-threatening and de-escalate the situation before it becomes an incident,” he told The Pueblo Chieftain.