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Lee's Summit police describe co-responder mental-health program aimed at de-escalation and diversion
Summary
Police Chief Travis Forbes and co-responder staff outlined a program that pairs specially trained officers with licensed behavioral-health professionals to respond to mental-health related calls, emphasizing on-scene de-escalation, safety planning and diversion from emergency rooms and jails.
City officials described Lee's Summit's co-responder program during the meeting, outlining how specially trained officers and behavioral-health professionals respond together to crisis calls to de-escalate situations and connect residents with services on-scene.
Chief Travis Forbes explained the city cannot approve liquor licenses within certain buffers (separate hearing topic) and later presented a broader public-safety context in which the co-responder program operates. A co-responder in plain clothes described daily operations: listening for crisis-related dispatches, self-dispatching when appropriate, making contact after officers secure a scene, conducting safety planning (including family and social supports), and providing linkages to urgent care or medication assessment.
Program staff emphasized diversion goals—reducing unnecessary emergency-room visits and arrests—and described outcomes from individual follow-ups where the co-responder helped connect a person with weekly services and immediate supports. Officers and co-responders said the approach changes community perception of police and helps people feel supported during crises.
What happens next: Program continues as part of police operations; the council acknowledged the program as part of broader public-safety and community-response efforts.
