By Kara Fohner
ASHEVILLE — On July 23, officers with the Asheville Police Department went to the Walmart on Bleachery Boulevard. Neil Caddell, a qualified mental health professional, went with them.
They were responding to a person who was in distress because their car was towed, Caddell told the Citizen Times July 29.
Caddell, who works for RHA Health Services, was able to connect the person with mental health care.
He was there as part of Asheville Police Department’s new co-responder unit, which launched July 21.
“The main point of contact doesn’t always have to be someone in uniform,” APD Capt. Evan Coward said.
The Asheville Police Department’s co-responder program was launched jointly with a similar program at the Asheville Fire Department, Coward said.
Caddell rides with police officers on calls where officers may be encountering people in crisis ― These calls can come in the form of welfare checks, a threat of self-harm or even calls involving trespassing, Coward said.