Police officers from as far away as Montana travel to Utah for a week of Crisis Intervention Training, courses on how to respond to emergencies involving the mentally ill.

Yet in-state police agency participation rates with the academy are hit and miss.

Ron Honberg, director of policy and legal affairs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said the goal for police should be to have 15 to 20 percent of officers go through the training so that there would always be a CIT officer available to respond to emergencies.

Statewide, nearly 30 percent of all Utah police, including corrections officers, had gone through the training as of August. But four of Utah's largest police forces are falling below 10 percent in participation. Some smaller departments in the state have no participation.

Donna Brodis, who has experienced mental illness in her family, said the lack of interest among some departments was disappointing.

Her husband was diagnosed with bipolar disorder several years ago, forcing him to leave his medical practice. He struggled with suicidal thoughts and debilitating mood swings. Brodis' 18-year-old son developed many of the same issues as his father as early as first grade.

"It's really important that police understand what they're dealing with," Honberg said. "It's not necessarily dealing with someone who is behaving the way they are because they are criminals, but because they are ill."

The Utah County Sheriff's Office, Utah Highway Patrol and Ogden and West Jordan police departments — which range in size from 100 to more than 400 full-time officers on staff — have a total of 25 CIT officers between them. The Utah County Sheriff's Office has one CIT officer out of roughly 150 on staff, less than one percent. Other smaller or more rural agencies have no trained officers on staff.

"We're doing our best to send people," said Lt. Darren Gilbert, the public information officer for Utah County Sheriff's Office, "but we have had training in this area."

All police academies cover basic symptoms and signs of mental illness. But Ron Bruno, the Utah CIT coordinator, said nothing compares to the in-depth, week-long training that costs departments $75 per officer. CIT hit the 10-year mark in Utah this spring and was officially supported by Gov. Gary Herbert in May when he signed a resolution that encouraged police departments to participate in the program.

Despite 10 years in the state and support from legislators, CIT's voluntary participation still has some officers asking, "What's the point?"

Lt. Troy Burnett of the Ogden Police Department said he felt he got the training he needed in-house and from his time at the police academy.

"We're cops, not doctors," Burnett said.

Departments might opt out of training because of the length of the course, or for budgetary reasons, Bruno said. Even so, some smaller departments have managed to send more than half of their officers through the CIT Academy. The St. George and Roy police departments have roughly 75 percent CIT participation. Sgt. Shane Hubbard from the Roy Police Department said the training is invaluable for any police working on the front lines.

"The reality is that officers are fairly commonly asked to be the first responders with people with mental illness in crisis," Honberg said. "All officers need training on mental illness."

Brodis, who shares her perspective with officers going through CIT in Weber County, said she could see the difference in officers who have gone through CIT, calling the classes an "eye opener" about mental illnesses. Both her husband and son are committed to their treatment, she said, but that doesn't keep her from worrying what one bad episode could mean for their safety.

"It's always in the back of my mind," she said.

Her fear stems from stories like that of Brian Cardall, who suffered from a mental illness and was killed in 2009 after police used a stun gun to subdue him. Cardall's wife first called police for help when her husband started having a bipolar episode and ran from their car onto a state highway.

A report from the Utah Crisis Intervention Team found officers who completed the training were more likely to use less force in situations involving the mentally ill, more likely to reduce the need for psychiatric hospitalization and more likely to get those who needed hospitalization to go voluntarily.

"We can teach about what schizophrenia is," Bruno said, "but until an officer really goes through the CIT Academy and spends time talking to somebody who has schizophrenia ... it's very difficult to just imagine what it's going to be like."

gbarker@sltrib.com

Twitter: @ginabarker —

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