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Texas ranks last in access to mental health care, but one Colorado County sheriff’s deputy is working to improve the odds.
Deputy Andrew Lopez took on the role of the county’s only active mental health deputy three years ago after the community raised money through the Colorado Valley Wellness Council to support this specialized position in law enforcement. Now his goal is to ensure that people with mental health issues get the care they need rather than being sent to jail.
Even if it means he has to work seven days a week.
“Sometimes, I’ve actually worked 19 hours a day,” Lopez said. “If I had to do a mental health transport to a psychiatric facility or, you know, handling someone in crisis, my hours fluctuate so much. I’ll never forget this one time. I actually just came home after working a 13hour shift, and I got called out not even 30 minutes after I just made my dinner.”
Mental health deputies have been around for decades, but only 9% of Texas peace officers carry the special certification, according to records obtained from the Texas Commission on Continued from 1
Crisis
Law Enforcement by Texas Community Health News. The goal of the program is to divert people in need of mental health services away from hospitals and jails and into the most cost-effective community-based treatment, according to Texas Health and Human Services.
Lopez said it’s a goal that makes sense.
“We can actually start diverting people from becoming a number within the criminal justice system and give them the help that they need,” Lopez said. “And it’s funny because I tell my people that it’s actually cheaper for us to provide services to these people than it is for incarceration.”
Although state records show Colorado County technically has three certified mental health officers, two in the sheriff’s office and one with Eagle Lake Police Department, only Lopez serves in an active mental health capacity. Lopez explained that while another sheriff’s deputy holds the mental health certification, they do not perform the same duties as he does, leaving him as the only officer dedicated to responding to mental health crises across the county.
In answering a mental health crisis call, Lopez often works with the Texana Center, the state-funded Local Mental Health Authority (LMHA) to help with calls. Texana serves Colorado County, along with Matagorda, Waller, Wharton, Austin, and Fort Bend counties. Together, these counties have a combined population of about 1 million residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The process of dealing with some mental crises involves an emergency detention, a legal process that allows law enforcement to detain an individual temporarily believed to be a danger to themselves or others due to a mental health crisis.
“Once we determine (their state), we call our Texana MCOT team, which is their Mobile Crisis Outreach Team,” Lopez said. “Either they come to us, to the office, we can bring them to our clinic in Columbus, or I can have an evaluation done on an iPad via Zoom.”
Every job has its highs and lows, but for Lopez, being a mental health deputy comes with its own mental health challenges.
“It’s not an easy job emotionally, mentally and even spiritually,” Lopez said. “I’ve seen normal people you would’ve never guessed go down the decline of their mental health or general well-being. You ask yourself, ‘What happened?’” For many law enforcement officers, mental health relief policies or resources are needed, as mental health problems within the department are a legitimate concern, according to Lopez.
“Our county does offer insurance for free therapy or wellness days,” Lopez said. “These are just general things that can help alleviate the depression, anxiety or PTSD regarding law enforcement, in whatever capacity that you have. So, we have a set policy to make sure that our guys are doing good.”
Although many mental health challenges come with being a mental health deputy, Lopez described his job as being the voice of reason for citizens going through a crisis.
“You’re pretty much negotiating every day,” Lopez said. “How can we resolve this situation peacefully without anyone having to have any use of force issues? Supporting the family members and providing resources is just such a blessing job.”
In rural Texas counties, limited resources can mean residents in need of care end up behind bars instead of in treatment facilities, according to Greg Hansch, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Health in Texas.
“Oftentimes, the path of least resistance for (law enforcement officers) is choosing to arrest rather than choosing to do emergency detention and emergency mental health detention because the county jail is much more accessible for them than a treatment facility,” Hansch said.
Jaron Von Runnen is a journalism major at Texas State University and a contributor to Texas Community Health News, a collaboration between the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the university’s Translational Health Research Center.
