People can choose to fill out a form from the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office if they want responding deputies to know about any special needs or mental conditions. They can put a sticker at their home or on their vehicle.
When law enforcement deals with people with special needs or mental health conditions, it sometimes can take a tragic turn.
An effort that began in DeSoto Parish and just started in Grant Parish intends to prevent that, though. And there’s now a push to take it statewide.
Sheriff Steven McCain announced on April 3 his department was starting the Friends of the Grant Parish Sheriff, a database citizens can register with to alert deputies about special needs or mental health issues when responding to a call.
People can register with the department so their addresses and information about those needs go into the database. It also allows people to list what triggers conditions, how to calm someone and more. People also can provide vehicle information, if they wish.
The program is voluntary. Those who register are given a free sticker for their home or car.
McCain said if someone is in the program and has their information — home address or vehicle license — pulled up by a deputy, it will display on a dispatcher’s screen.
The response has been fantastic, both from the public and his staff, he said. He said his office has received calls, emails and letters from people who tell them how helpful it will be.
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He briefed his patrol deputies, detectives and dispatchers the day before going public with the program. He said one person interrupted him to ask why they hadn’t thought of this years before.
“So they’re excited. They know it’s going to help them do their jobs better,” he said.
McCain said he has people on staff who have gone through Critical Incident Training (CIT), and those skills can be used in some instances. Or he said seeing the information in their database will allow deputies to call an ambulance or other first responders while still enroute to a scene.
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He said there’s “no limit to whatever the unique needs are,” listing hearing loss, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder as just some of the conditions people can list.
People can list mental-health conditions, like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and more, too. The form also provides a space for people to explain what might trigger a person’s condition.
“What is sometimes as important is what triggers you,” said McCain. “So that’s one of the questions that we ask you.
“We’ll try to prevent a problem and provide a better service.”
He said the information is not shared or sold to any third party. He said he hasn’t heard any privacy concerns from people and that he was the one who initially had to be reassured about that.
The sheriff said the idea originated with his DeSoto Parish counterpart, Sheriff Jayson Richardson.
In 2021, Louisiana began allowing people to have an autism designator placed on their driver’s licenses. But McCain said, to know the person an officer is dealing with has autism, an interaction likely already is underway.
He said Richardson advocated for something more proactive so any first responder could be better prepared for an interaction before it started, spawning the program that now is active in four parishes — DeSoto, Grant, Bossier and Lincoln.
Sabine Parish is about to come online with it, said Richardson.
He said it’s been “a pretty big deal” in DeSoto, but he said the entire special-needs community in his parish is extraordinary.
Richardson has an aunt with Downs Syndrome and said his family always has been involved with Special Olympics. When he took over as sheriff in 2018, he began a special-needs awareness program.
It was the forerunner of the current program.
Richardson said, at the time, his department didn’t have the capability to attach information about special needs to vehicles, only physical addresses. When that changed, the program transitioned and grew.
McCain said Grant tweaked the program so it would fit the needs in his area. But he said the possibilities with it are “truly limitless.”
He recalled hearing from the parent of a deaf child a few days ago who asked if the child could be signed up through the program. He told them they absolutely could.
“It’s whatever the need is to help us do our job better.”
State Sen. Barry Milligan, a Republican who represents Caddo and DeSoto parishes, said he’s trying to find a little cash in the state’s budget so the program can spread to other parishes.
Milligan called Richardson is a good friend who “has the biggest heart.” And he understands how helpful the program could be for almost any family.
He recalled an incident with his own father-in-law who, in the later stages of dementia, drove away from home. It was a law enforcement officer who spotted the man’s car and found him in a store.
He said he agrees most everyone has a family member or friend who could be helped through the program.
“We love the program. We want to be able to push it statewide,” said Milligan.
He believes $25,000 to $30,000 would be a tremendous help to move the program across Louisiana. He said he may offer a resolution soon so that other legislator can show their support.
But McCain believes it already will make a difference in his parish.
“I think it’s going to give us an opportunity to be more compassionate and more professional with somebody who’s got these needs,” McCain said.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Program in Grant Parish seeks to soothe cop-special needs interactions
