Inhofe, Brown, Boozman, Tillis, Rounds, Tester to Introduce Bill to Increase Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Training

Press Release

U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) announced their intent to introduce the Law Enforcement Training For Mental Health Crisis Response Act of 2021, bipartisan legislation to improve police training.

"Law enforcement officers deserve the best training available so they can continue to serve their communities with excellence and honor," Inhofe said. "When responding to calls, officers need to be prepared to respond to all possible scenarios and, too often, that involves individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. By improving training for these types of responses, we can better help officers and our entire community. I am proud to introduce the Law Enforcement Training For Mental Health Crisis Response Act of 2021 today alongside Sens. Brown, Boozman, Tillis, Rounds and Tester."

"When our law enforcement officers have the training and resources they need to respond to mental health crises, we can better ensure the safety of our first responders, individuals in crisis, and members of our communities," said Brown.

"Improved training will allow law enforcement to be better prepared when responding to emergencies involving individuals living with mental illness," Boozman said. "Providing access to additional resources will enable officers to identify how to best serve the needs of the entire community."

"Law enforcement officers deserve the best possible training and resources to protect themselves and their communities," said Tillis. "I'm proud to co-sponsor this legislation which ensures our officers have the proper training to respond to mental health crises."

"Our law enforcement officers regularly put themselves in harm's way to protect our communities," Rounds said. "They deserve the best possible training so that they can appropriately respond to individuals in crisis. We recognize that more Americans are suffering from behavioral health issues. This bill would improve the behavioral health crisis response training our officers receive in order to protect officer and community outcomes."

"Montana law enforcement officers are often called to respond to mental and behavioral health crises," said Tester. "This commonsense, bipartisan bill will provide the needed tools and resources to boost training that will help keep officers, individuals in crisis, and the public safe during during potentially dangerous calls."

The Law Enforcement Training For Mental Health Crisis Response Act of 2021 would:
better train law enforcement officers to resolve behavioral health crisis situations;
reduce the number of law enforcement officers killed or injured while responding to a behavioral health crisis; and
reduce the number of individuals killed or injured during a behavioral health crisis in which a law enforcement officer responds.
Key Statistics show that mental health training is critical:

1 in every 10 police response calls involve a person suffering from a mental illness.
1 in every 4 people killed in a police response incident suffer from a mental health illness.
1 in 3 people transported to a hospital emergency room for psychiatric reasons are taken there by police.
The legislation was praised by law enforcement leaders:

"An ever-increasing number of police calls involve individuals experiencing a behavioral or mental health crisis, so it is critical that our officers have access to needed resources and training so they can respond effectively," said Luke Sherman, Chairman of the National Tactical Officers Association. "We need more legislation and solutions like this -- that focuses on providing effective and safe solutions which will result in the saving of both civilian and law enforcement life alike"

"Every day, officers are called to respond to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis and must handle each unique situation with care, compassion, knowledge and professionalism," said Mark Nelson, Vice President of Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police. "Training and resources for law enforcement help departments answer these calls safely and effectively, but budgets are tight. This legislation will give departments the resources they need to prioritize mental health training for all officers, which is why the Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police proudly support it."

"When our community needs help, people call us--law enforcement--because they know we're here to serve," said Tulsa Country Sheriff Vic Regalado. "As more and more of our police calls involve individuals suffering from a mental health crisis, we need to make sure our deputies have the tools to respond. Law enforcement budgets are already stretched too thin--this legislation from Sen. Inhofe will ensure that departments in Oklahoma and across the country can access the in-depth training we need."