CALERA, Ala. ( WBRC ) - Police in Calera helped de-escalate a situation Wednesday night, Sept. 17, when someone was having a mental health crisis. It was one of the first few interactions for Shelby County’s new mental health officer.

“I think it’s pretty well known that law enforcement is really not set up with the tools to deal with mental health issues,” said Calera Police Chief David Hyche.

When police officers arrive on a scene, their initial response will be to neutralize threats and help any potential victims.

“You arrive and people are acting irrational, maybe damaging things and breaking things, or even hurting themselves officers can’t really tell they just have to deal with the situation at hand,” said Chief Hyche.

But sometimes it’s hard to diagnose the situation, to dete

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