Grassley-backed bill funds mental health training for law enforcement

Aug. 19—OSKALOOSA — A bill championed by Senator Chuck Grassley will ensure that specialized training focused on situations involving people suffering from mental health crises will be made available to law enforcement — and Mahaska County's local law enforcement officers are 100% on board.

Law enforcement has been signaling for decades for better resources for handling people suffering from traumatic brain injuries, post traumatic stress disorder or any mental health issues, says Oskaloosa Police Chief Ben Boeke. The department is in contact daily with individuals who show symptoms of a mental health crisis.

"Funding for better solutions will be very welcome by many of the police associations across the nation," he said. "Police officers are often the default point of contact for a person suffering from a mental health crisis. We need additional tools to help us deal effectively with these individuals."

The recently signed law allocates $54 million for the Department of Justice to develop specialized training to prepare law enforcement officers in handling individuals suffering from mental illnesses. It will be a welcome boost for an already high-priority issue in Iowa law enforcement, according to Mahaska County Sheriff Russell Van Renterghem.

Already, all peace officers in Iowa must successfully complete mandatory service training in the area of mental illness, which includes TBI and PTSD issues. Van Renterghem went on to say that many current members of Mahaska County law enforcement have undergone more extensive, specialized training in the area of mental health. This training is called Critical Incident Training and has been completed by several Mahaska County law enforcement officers.

Dealing with mental health crises is a high-priority issue in law enforcement in a post-pandemic world, where mental illness is on the rise. Boeke also says that approximately 50% of the Oskaloosa Police Department has participated in Crisis Intervention Team training. De-escalation training is department-wide and occurs annually.

For small-town law enforcement agencies where specialized departments can't be formed to handle mental illness-related calls, all officers must be trained and equipped to handle all kinds of cases each day.

"Unlike your major Law Enforcement Agencies, the Mahaska County Sheriff's Office does not have a specialized unit that only deals with persons suffering from mental illness. All of the deputies with the Mahaska County Sheriff's Office come into contact with persons suffering from some form of mental illness on a regular basis. Any additional training, provided by the Federal Government, would be welcome. This training would only improve the service that they provide to the residents of Mahaska County who are suffering from TBI or PTSD," Van Renterghem said.

The issue is still a prominent one, but law enforcement officials hope this additional funding and continued support to local law enforcement will help.

"No law can solve all of the problems that law enforcement has in dealing with mental health crises," Boeke said, "but additional training and resources will certainly help to save lives."

Channing Rucks can be reached at crucks@oskyherald.com.