Improving Officer Safety in Interactions With Citizens Suffering From Mental Illness

Cara Altimus, former ASSS Fellow with NIJ, discusses the importance of law enforcement and first responders understanding mental illness, its causes, and how it affects the brain. She speaks about the correlation between drug addiction and mental illness.

Altimus also addresses establishing procedures and systems so that police officers and first responders can safely and successfully interact with individuals with drug addiction and/or mental illness.