Boulder County emphasizes mental health services for offenders
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At the Boulder County Jail, incarceration means an immediate mental health evaluation, and it begins at the booking desk.
Read MoreNo security blanket: Rural Colorado jails struggle to provide mental health treatment
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When a detainee is suffering a mental health crisis, Rio Grande county deputies and staff keep watch from a desk just steps outside the holding cells. Periodically, they enter the cell to check on the person and offer calming words. But they are not trained mental health professionals.
Read MoreThe never-ending cycle of the mental health hold: How many M-1 holds does it take before a person in crisis can get real help?
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Forrest Williams spent more than a year in the Arapahoe County jail -- not for any crime, but awaiting mental health treatment so the 25-year-old could be deemed competent to face charges of threatening Judith Wilson, Williams' mother.
Read MoreBehind bars, a threat looms: Deputy nearly dies after attack by mentally ill inmate
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A jail deputy suffered permanent injuries and lost his career after an attack by a mentally ill inmate. But remarkably, he says he holds no grudge against the man who nearly killed him and never wanted him to be prosecuted.
Read MoreWoman who injured deputy during mental health crisis says arrest saved her life
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A woman who attacked a deputy while suffering through a mental health crisis said the incident saved her life by giving her access to the treatment she needed.
Read MoreA broken system: Colorado struggles to uphold laws requiring timely mental competency service for detainees, despite losing lawsuits and years of failure
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Hundreds of people are in Colorado jails, presumed innocent while awaiting trial, but are stuck there because the state has failed for nearly a decade to provide mental health services, including mental competency evaluations.
Read MoreDramatic video shows Pueblo officer saving suicidal veteran
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A Pueblo police officer used his crisis intervention training to save an armed man who seemed determined to die in a suicide-by-cop.
Read MoreColorado deputies involved in shootings with mentally ill gunmen ask whether incidents could have been prevented
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Both men agreed to interviews with the Rocky Mountain PBS “Insight with John Ferrugia” team as part of a year-long investigation into how the state’s lack of access to mental health treatment often leave police and jails on the front lines of handling people in crisis.
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