On November 21, 2016, a 24 year-old Lake County resident was present in Lake County Court for a mental health hearing. The Lake County resident suffers from several mental health issues. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office previously responded to over 20 calls for service at the man’s home in response to the man being in mental crisis. During one of the previous calls at the man’s home he attempted to disarm a sheriff’s deputy.

During the court hearing on November 21^st, the man’s family was present and working with the court to seek a mental health assessment, due to concerns they were having with the man’s mental wellbeing. Prior to the conclusion of the hearing, the man fled the courthouse. Initially, an arrest warrant was issued for the man by a Lake County Judge along with a Mental Health Writ. As there was a major concern for the man’s safety and mental wellbeing, the Lake County Sheriff’s Warrants Team immediately began searching for him.

In the early morning hours of November 22^nd, the Lake County Sheriff’s Warrants Team developed information indicating the man was at a hotel in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Team and Civil Process Team worked with Kenosha Police Department to take the man into custody at the hotel.

When the man was successfully taken into custody, members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Adult Probation, Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, and Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office worked together to quash the active arrest warrant. Following the arrest warrant being quashed, the man was transported to a local Lake County hospital for a mental wellbeing evaluation and treatment, based on the Mental Health Writ.

Sheriff Mark Curran said, “I simply can’t emphasize it enough, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training is crucial for police officers. This situation could have resulted in a very different outcome if it weren’t for our CIT team working together to help this man.”

Undersheriff Ray Rose said, “This is a perfect example of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office working with other stakeholders to break the cycle. Someone experiencing a mental health crisis does not belong in jail, they should instead be receiving proper mental health treatment. This successful ending was possible because of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training and processes we’ve implemented in Lake County.”