Linda Foley, who coordinated the Crisis Intervention Team training for the school resource officers, was almost in tears.
The grant writer for the Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources had just watched 14 officers graduate from the week-long course at Petal High School. She said she felt privileged to be a part of the program.
“This is the culmination of a three-year program,” she said. “I just want to thank the sheriff, the chiefs, the officers, everyone for working together to make this happen. It is not a one-man show. We had 30 instructors working this week.”
Mike Sargent, a Laurel School District SRO
Mike Sargent, a Laurel School District SRO, said the CIT training was a good step in helping juveniles who might have mental health issues.
“I love the training,” he said. “It gave me a new perspective on my job and what I do. It showed me how I can help someone out there, so it opened my eyes on how I can do my job.”
School resource officers already undergo intense training because they deal with schoolchildren. Sargent said the CIT training is necessary.
“Every day, we run into a situation,” he said. “I feel like the training will move us along and make me a better person to be able to handle it.”
Other Laurel School District SROs who undertook the training were Michael Clark and Mark Mitchell. The class included Petal officers, Christy Carona, Clay Johnson, John Myers, Richard Santora, Jamie Sheffield, and Glenn Todd Wilson.
Other CIT graduates were Orrin Berry of Perry County, Dan Pearson, Joshua James, and Glenn Wieck of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Jason Simon of Forrest County Agricultural High School.
Forrest County Youth Court Judge Carol Russell Jones was the featured speaker and gave her experiences involved in dealing with problem juveniles.