The Roanoke Police Department's Crisis Intervention Unit, or CIU, is already having an impact on residents and officers after launching in April 2025.
The unit pairs Addie Duck, a crisis response specialist, with Mike Sciarrillo, a CIU detective, to handle calls that involve a mental health concern.
Duck said the new CIU program provides wraparound care, from the first call to case management follow-up with individuals. That, in turn, led to fewer repeat calls for similar situations, Roanoke Sgt. Ryan Otero said.
“It’s hard for them to really specialize in something as in-depth as what our CIU team deals with,” Otero said. “Now we have those resources. They’re able to lean on the CIU teams to help resolve these situations in the most peaceful manner possible. [It's] a real long-term solution.”
Zooming in
Otero said once a 911 call comes in with a caller describing a mental health issue, the CIU team is notified of the situation, no matter the time of day.
Duck, a licensed mental health professional, said the CIU team works with her, making phone calls to the person’s emergency contact and talking to family members to gather information. The CIU detective works the scene to assess the safety information.
Duck said a recent call was from a family member describing their relative as “crazy,” and they were not sure what was happening.
“That person had sepsis, and our ability to recognize that and divert them to a medical hospital instead of a mental health facility was a life-saving decision,” Duck said. “That individual probably could have died had he not gotten the correct care.”
She said having the training and knowing the difference between a panic attack, bipolar disorder or something else, rather than a shotgun approach, helps in situations.
Otero, a 15-year veteran in law enforcement, said this is more than a Band-Aid solution, especially with repeat calls from the same addresses.
“They’re able to do those follow-ups and make sure these people stay on their medication or whatever it is,” Otero said. “Sometimes, they just need somebody to talk to. There have been times when certain people would call and request an officer just because they wanted someone to talk with. When this unit is doing their follow-ups, it frees up our officers from those types of repeat calls.”
The details
Duck said that since the program started, there are more than 100 clients under the CIU’s case management system. She said that includes visits to homes, talking to family members, working closely with the criminal justice system, judges and probation officers. The program also helps clients receive the medicine they need.
Another aspect to the program is peer support for the mental health of the officers and staff members through free counseling.
Duck said officers involved in major incidents, such as death or officer-involved shootings, can seek help through CIU initiatives.
According to the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, suicide is the leading cause of death for officials in the line of duty in Texas in 2022. The institute started the Texas Blue Chip Program to support officers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area following a shooting at the Allen Premium Outlet in 2023, according to its website.
“It’s a national trend that helps in our response officers, because if they are in a better headspace, their response is better and our community receives better service from us,” Duck said. “They’re making that connection that the trauma [from the job] is going to be more related to those suicides. Officers typically want to brush that stuff under the rug, but now that it is being less stigmatized, we can talk about it to prevent those tragedies.”
Editor's note: The story was upated to reflect the date the CIU unit launched.
