Police officers aren’t mental health counselors.
Still, they are daily asked to intervene in mental health crises, which could mean anything from violent outbursts to alien-conspiracy-theory mania crises for which police get only limited training, Alpena County Sheriff Steven Kieliszewski said.
If a crime has been committed, officers can choose to make an arrest or take someone to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.
Other times, though, the person in crisis isn’t altered enough to go to the hospital, doesn’t qualify for services through Community Mental Health, and hasn’t committed a crime.
Police are left with no options but to calm the situation and then leave, frustrated they have little more to offer, Kieliszewski said.