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Norfolk recognized for work in helping mentally ill

The city announced Tuesday its joint effort with the police department to help the mentally ill has received statewide recognition.

NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- The City of Norfolk says its joint effort with the police department to help the mentally ill has received statewide recognition.

More than 230 police officers have been certified as part of the Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT. The training allows officers to properly handle someone who is suffering from a mental illness.

As part of the program, the city unveiled its CIT Assessment Center at a Community Service Board facility on Tidewater Drive.

The center is where officers bring someone suffering from a crisis to help assess their needs. The mediation allows people to receive the appropriate medical attention outside of jail.

"Law enforcement, our jails, our prisons have all become the providers of these types of services," said Norfolk Police Chief Michael Goldsmith. "It's very important that we have programs like this, to be able to help us handle them in a better way."

Goldsmith says Norfolk's program also trains police at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University.

Norfolk's CIT program launched in October 2014, a few months after an officer opened fire on David Latham.

Latham's mother says she called police for help in restraining him during one of his psychological breakdowns.

Officer Michael Edington is currently awaiting trial for voluntary manslaughter.

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