Police combine’s mental-health MO a life-saver – Lowell Sun

Mackenzie Dezieck, who is in training with the Lowell Police Department as a co-response clinician to assist on calls that may need a mental health response, and Lowell police officer Rafael Rivera, one of the officers she will be working with. SUN/Julia Malakie

Another successful mission, a coordinated effort between a local police department and its mental-health partner.

That’s essentially what Tyngsboro Police Chief Richard Howe described in recently announcing that members of the TPD rescued a suicidal man from the Tyngsboro Bridge.

Howe said at approximately 7:45 a.m. Saturday, Tyngsboro Police Communication Specialist Bonney Murray received a call from a suicidal man who said he was on the bridge and needed help.

Sgt. Kenneth Healey, and officers Charles Rubino and Evan Donnelly responded and located the man. They told him they were there to help and would provide him with whatever help and support he needed.

According to police, officers kept in contact with the man until an ambulance arrived. He was then transported to a hospital for proper care.

Following the incident, police said they notified their local mental health partner, the Front-Line Initiative, a regional mental health collaborative that provides resources for police and civilians to deal with mental-health crises and substance-abuse disorders.

That troubled person will now receive the mental-health support he requires.

“This was excellent work by everyone involved and we’re very happy that this gentleman decided to get the help that he needed. I want to commend Sgt. Healey, Officer Rubino and Officer Donnelly for de-escalating the situation and using care and compassion to show this man that help was available,” Howe said.

“I also want to recognize Communication Specialist Murray who stayed on the line with the man for almost the entire time and worked to de-escalate the situation using her training in emergency-medical dispatch, used by dispatchers in these types of high-stress situations,” the chief added.

This wasn’t the first time that Officer Donnelly has helped prevent a possible suicide on the Tyngsboro Bridge.

We know of at least one other occasion. In April 2021, he and Officer Timothy Sullivan were called to the bridge for a report of someone on the outer rail of the span.

As in the most recent instance, the delicate matter of removing that would-be jumper from harm’s way preceded any mental-health assistance.

Officer Sullivan arrived first on the scene and eventually spotted someone, later described as a 19-year-old woman, standing on the outer side of the railing on the north side of the bridge.

According to Sullivan’s incident report, he grabbed the person over the right shoulder across the chest and under the left arm, pinning their shoulder against his torso, before hoisting her up and over the railing, ultimately taking her to the pavement.

Officer Donnelly then arrived, who helped restrain the screaming, suicidal woman.

She was placed in soft restraints on a stretcher and taken to Lowell General Hospital for an involuntary mental-health commitment, according to the police report.

Armed with the training provided by the Front Line Initiative, the first action Officers Sullivan and Donnelly took after rescuing that 19-year-old woman was to notify a mental-health clinician associated with the FLI.

A collaborative program utilized by the Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Tewksbury and Tyngsboro police, the Front Line Initiative could well serve as a national model for how law enforcement should respond to mental-health and substance-abuse crises.

This regional combine has been praised for saving the five communities hundreds of thousands in medical and court costs by diverting troubled individuals from the legal to the mental-health system.

Other area police departments employ equally effective methods to identify mental-health issues in individuals who otherwise would end up in the judicial or prison systems.

The Lowell Police Department’s Co-Response Jail Diversion Program has proved its worth.

The LPD employs two full-time, jail diversion clinicians, who work with officers to divert people from arrest to receive the mental-health assistance they require.

These master’s degree-level clinicians with expertise in mental health needs often ride along with officers to provide on-scene de-escalation, risk assessment, psychiatric evaluations and referrals for levels of care.

Their behavioral knowledge also steers individuals away from unnecessary emergency room visits, at a considerable savings to the health-care system.

But we see real bottom-line savings in the many timely interventions that pre-empt a tragic result.

Police encourage anyone experiencing emotional distress or thoughts of suicide to call 988 to speak to a specialist for support.