Donations fund officer crisis training

BROOKLIN One Hancock County deputy will be more prepared for incidents involving mentally ill people thanks to a donation for training from friends of the late Chris Angell.

Brooklin resident Angell, who had schizophrenia, had succumbed to injuries he suffered while trying to commit suicide in April 2012.

Friends from Hunterdon County, N.J., where Angell had worked as a tennis professional, have donated $830.

Angells parents, Chip and Gail, who own The Brooklin Inn, have donated the funds to the Hancock County Sheriffs Department to send a deputy for Crisis Intervention Training (CIT).

The CIT training is a 20-year-old program that originated in Memphis, Tenn., said Jenna Mehnert, executive director of the Maine chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. CIT is supported by the U.S. Department of Justice.

NAMI provides the 40-hour training for free with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

However, the expense of hiring an officer to replace the officer while hes away during the weeklong training can be an issue for smaller, rural departments. Thats why the Angell donation has been so valuable.

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Donations fund officer crisis training