I-Team: Local police ask for additional services as mental health resources strained

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) - A growing need among law enforcement in the Coachella Valley: mental health resources.

News Channel 3 investigated the way police respond to people in crisis. In many cases, these emergencies lead to life-or-death decisions.

"We meet people on their worst day," said RSO Deputy Jose Soto-Barraza.

It's the reality for law enforcement officers across the country. Responding to people experiencing mental health crises have become a nearly daily occurrence, according to Deputy Soto-Barraza.

He knows because he's been there. In late July, with freeway traffic roaring below, he and his partner responded to an overpass crossing over Interstate 10.

The call that crackled over the radio: somebody was on the overpass. Moments later, a more urgent detail: that person had made it over the fence.

Soto-Barraza and his partner were the first deputies on scene. They asked other officers to shut down the freeway below, stopping traffic, as they began talking with the man in distress. Then, a powerful act of compassion: Deputy Soto-Barraza stayed by his side, holding his hand, and listening.

"What was that conversation like?" News Channel 3's Gavin Nguyen asked the deputy.

"He was very distraught. Just a lot of things going on in his life that seemed that there was no there's no solution for him," the deputy answered carefully, remembering the tense moments.

After some time, firefighters brought a ladder truck. With another Spanish-speaking firefighter and the compassion of Deputy Soto-Barraza, the man was brought down safely and transported to a local hospital.

"Ultimately this situation turned out really good. We got him the help he needed. We don't always get there on time, but we always are just doing our job, responding to these calls as best as we can," he said.

"Do you think resources here in the county to help you assist someone who is like this?" we asked.

Thoughtfully, he answered, "I believe we do. We have enough resources. It's just a matter of getting these the help to these people when they are needing it."

What are officers doing now?

In the Coachella Valley, Palm Springs and Indio are considered the two largest hubs for homeless resources. From the Navigation Center to the mental health services the Palm Springs Police Department provides, there's a lot that goes into the department's goal of ensuring the well-being of its community.

News Channel 3 crews followed along as Sgt. Miguel Torres, who oversees the teams responsible for homeless outreach. Under his leadership, four officers are a part of the Impact Team, which handles the enforcement side of the job. Another officer is paired with a clinician from Riverside County as a part of the Community Behavioral Assessment Team (CBAT). Code enforcement also falls under his leadership.

He drove to the hot spots where his teams interact with the most people.

"It's kind of sporadic throughout the city," the sergeant said as he drove out of the access center, adjacent to the police station. It's the first point of entry to the Palm Springs Navigation Center. "Now you'll see smaller patches here and there, whereas before, you'd see full on encampments on the street visible to the public.”

The first stop came at a bus stop along Ramon Road, where he noticed a man sleeping.

The sergeant and one of the officers in the Impact Team made contact with the man. Sgt. Torres put it bluntly: drug overdoses are common, and the team often checks on people like this to make sure they are, in fact, sleeping, and aren't dead.

Thankfully, the man was awake and alert. The officers shared information with him for homeless and mental health resources before driving to the next stop: underneath Ramon Road.

Officers said the wash is a common place for the homeless to seek shade and sleep overnight. Because it's considered trespassing, though, anyone under the bridge typically flee as soon as they hear them coming. That's exactly what happened as Sgt. Torres drove onto the sand – one woman took off running almost immediately.

In the wash, officers often find heaps of trash and dug-out shelters with makeshift bedding. It's an indicator of the limited number of resources there are for the homeless. At the Navigation Center, 50 beds are available. It sounds like a lot, until officers point out just how many homeless are competing for those beds. A good number of them, too, are from out of the area. At the end of the day, they said dozens – if not hundreds – of unhoused people from all over the valley (and beyond) are looking for those services.

Sgt. Torres took our crews to a motel parking lot next. He said many motels around town are hot spots for drug abuse.

"Some of the persons we already kind of know, their mannerisms and how they are when they're normal and when they're on drugs. We can pretty much tell right away because it's not the same person that we've encountered in the past," Sgt. Torres explained.

That's when he noticed a man acting erratically, having trouble standing, in the corner of the parking lot. He and his partner made contact with him to make sure he wasn't having any medical trouble. That's when they recognized him, sat him down, and asked to search his bag. They found what they said was fentanyl, and he was taken into custody.

Sgt. Torres said they had talked with the man many times before, and, as he explained previously, could immediately tell something wasn't right.

These encounters highlighted the different parts of solving homelessness and mental health. Lieutenant Michael Torres put it like this: "We talk about the people that we see very often. A lot of it has to do with a multiple things. ... We look at it from an enforcement side, we look at it from mental health, and we look at it from a substance abuse."

"If we got in front of it and we're proactive with this or our approach to mental health, we believe that that will stop some of these, these moments of crisis that can lead to a very dangerous situation for all people involved, including the officers and the general public," he continued.

The push for more

The top brass at Palm Springs Police Department have been trying to take that proactive approach to the problem, but even then, their resources are being stretched thin.

"Well, we must be honest. We don't have any more resources. We have exhausted our resources pretty quickly," Lt. Torres admitted.

The department's goals are ambitious, but he believed it's possible. In the lieutenant's eyes, the only way to tackle the problem is a large-scale, valley-wide approach, that utilizes on-site and direct care, rather than waiting for those in need to seek care themselves.

Lt. Torres has been in talks with the County of Riverside. An effort led by Dr. Scott Weigold in the western portion of the county has shown success in recent years. It's called Mobile Psychiatric Services (MPS).

The team of doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, and other support personnel seek out the people who most frequently use the county's behavioral health resources. They are able to administer medication on-site.

In lieu of an interview, the county provided impressive information to News Channel 3. According to their numbers, roughly 80% of those who were contacted by MPS are homeless. 58% of those people have a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia or psychosis, and 14% of those people suffer from a substance use disorder.

Their patients tend to be in the program for up to two years. After that, they "graduate" out of the program. It gives them stability and a chance to recover.

"There's been multiple successes. The problem is there's only one team in the whole county that's doing this," said Lt. Torres. He thinks it's the perfect tool to address the needs of the valley. "If these people were able to have the immediate resources and the immediate medication” … “maybe we can help them kind of get where they need to be in mentally in order to put them in the right direction and get the help they need substance abuse."

We asked the county if the team would ever make its way to the Coachella Valley. Their answer was unclear, but they said several existing services are already here.

A spokesperson pointed to a newly-opened 24/7 walk-in crisis center in Indio and other behavioral health resources already in play:

"More broadly, RUHS-BH continues to expand access to behavioral health care throughout the Coachella Valley through more than 10 service locations and facilities, as well as mobile and field-based teams. This includes the recent opening of the 24/7 Indio Crisis Walk-In Center and 24/7 mobile crisis response provided by teams that include clinical and behavioral health professionals and peer support specialists.

These services operate alongside specialized co-response teams, outpatient and substance use treatment, follow-up and intensive case management, peer support, housing and resource linkages, and Full-Service Partnership programs that provide intensive, community-based treatment and support for individuals with significant behavioral health needs. Together, these programs provide a coordinated continuum of care for residents throughout the region."

Spokesperson for Riverside University Health System

Lt. Torres speculated the biggest hurdle to overcome remains funding. Until it arrives in the valley, though, the department's commitment to the community remains steadfast.

"We're not going to give up on these people."