For the Miami Valley Today

MIAMI VALLEY — Seventeen officers from Miami, Darke, and Shelby counties completed the Tri-County Crisis Intervention Team Academy, which was recently held April 11-14.

During the four-day training, officers heard from a variety of professionals who work with persons with mental illness, substance use disorders and other special populations. Officers learned techniques for safely engaging with special populations and learned about resources available in the community with the goal of getting people the help they need and preventing unnecessary incarceration or other legal matters,

The April 2022 Academy is the 20th class in 17 years of the Tri-County Board’s program. More than 345 officers have completed the Tri-County CIT Academy, with more than 240 still active on local law enforcement rosters.

The officers completing the training are Rick Genovesi and Amber Richardson, Probation Officers with Darke County Adult Probation; Chief Bruce Jamison and Brooke Dunlevy, Edison State Community College Police and Public Safety; Officers Benjamin Conley and James Santo, Greenville Police Department; Officer Rick Beasley, Piqua Police Department; Sergeant Joel Howell and Deputies Frank Bleigh, Bryan Doak, Dave Egbert, and Justin Tidwell, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office; Captain Jeff Kunkleman and Officers Jason Lay, Tracy Long, and Brian Ross, Troy Police Department; and Officer Nathan Nolte, Versailles Police Department. Officers in the April 2022 Academy class ranged in experience from three months to 35 years in law enforcement.

For more information about the CIT Academy, see www.tcbmds.org/cit-academy.