Oxford police complete crisis intervention training to aid mental health calls

Oxford police officers completed crisis intervention training in July. The training is meant to help officers slow down encounters, use de-escalation skills and get more people connected to treatment instead of ending up in jail.

Crisis Intervention Teams are partnerships that bring law enforcement together with community mental health centers, primary health providers and other behavioral health professionals. Their goal is to divert people in crisis to treatment when possible. In Oxford, officers are often first on scene at apartments, schools, downtown businesses and other places where a call can turn volatile in seconds.

Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen said Communicare’s role in that work is hands-on, with officers and mental-health professionals standing "hip to hip" during a crisis. Communicare serves Oxford and surrounding North Mississippi counties, including Lafayette County, and its services include emergency crisis support that can take over once officers have stabilized a scene.

The local impact of that approach was clear in January 2024, when Oxford Police Officer Roman Sones used crisis intervention skills during a suicidal-person call at the Oxford Parking Garage. Mississippi Department of Mental Health Executive Director Wendy Bailey later said the person was alive because the officer had been trained in CIT. In April, officers Johns and Dauler completed CIT training the previous week, and in July Cameron Chunn, Tray LeSueur, Sheffield Anthony and Zach Hatcher graduated through the North Central Mississippi CIT program with Communicare. The Mississippi CIT Association's mission is to strengthen the partnership between law enforcement and mental health professionals and advance training and resources that promote safety, dignity and respect.