Chief Doug Roberts

Missouri S&T University Police Department

Chief Doug Roberts has been very active in the South Central CIT since he came to the Missouri S&T University Police Department. Chief Roberts is one of the first officers to assist The Rolla Mission when there is an individual in crisis. Chief Roberts also assists the Rolla Police Department on a regular basis to make sure the community is safe. Chief Roberts assists individuals personally to make sure that they get to the hospital or to counseling when they are in crisis. Chief Roberts make sure that his officers wellbeing is always taken care of and Chief Roberts also takes a personal interest in making sure that area homeless population is always taken care of. There was one situation in particular that I remember, where he had found out that someone with dementia had been dropped off at a homeless shelter with nothing but the clothes he was wearing, (his family would not take care of him). Chief Roberts took special care of this man and even took him shopping for Christmas. I still remember how the gentleman’s face lit up when he showed me his new boots and pants. Chief Robert is an asset to our team.

Detective Crystal Kent

Fulton Police Department

Detective Crystal Kent exemplifies through her actions what it means to be a CIT advocate.  Not only is she very involved in CIT in her community as a CIT officer and local council chair (Callaway County CIT Council) she also serves on the 13th Circuit Callaway County Treatment Court Team, informally provides peer support to other LE all while executing her role as a detective at the Fulton Police Department.   At the state level, Detective Kent serves as the MO CIT Council Training Coordinator where she develops trainings for local council use and assists local councils with POST CLEE certification for law enforcement officers state-wide.  Detective Kent also serves as a member of the State Council Working Committee (Training Committee) and on the annual CIT Conference Committee.  In 2019, Detective Kent co-presented at the CIT International Conference on the strides Missouri has taken to expand and train CIT.  She is extremely passionate about crisis intervention and working to improve lives of individuals who experience behavioral health crises. 

Lorya Knox

Sikeston Department of Public Safety

Officer Lorya Knox has worked as an officer with Sikeston Department of Public Safety for over twenty years. She’s served as a school resource officer, a DARE officer and is currently assigned to patrol division working the streets and answering calls. She has always gone beyond the call of duty in serving her community. Most recently she has been assisting a young pregnant woman who became involved with law enforcement after having to stop her psychotropic medication due to the pregnancy. She has assisted the local sheriff in working with this young lady, working on her time off or weekends to help in de-escalating, supporting and encouraging the young lady and her family in continuing treatment. Thank you, Officer Knox, for your empathy and service!

Corporal Jarren Ratliff

Rolla Police Department

Corporal Jarren Ratliff is a very motivated corporal. He always makes sure that his officers are taken care of after difficult calls. He also is very aware of his resources and making sure that people in his community get help. This past September, he received a call for a female that was possibly driving while intoxicated.  He was able to locate the individual and then learned that it was an elderly female that was new to the area that was unable to care for herself but also fallen earlier and struck her head.  He not only connected her with the resources in the community but pushed the female in the wheelchair to the local hospital to make sure that she received the proper treatment.  Corporal Ratliff is an incredible example of our South Central CIT Team!

Spotlight Double Feature

Deputy Greg Stegall

St. Francois County Sheriffs Department

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Jennifer Beard, CMHL

BJC Behavioral Health

Deputy Greg Stegall | St. Francois County Sheriffs Department and Jennifer Beard, CMHL | BJC Behavioral Health - Farmington, MO

While out on a check the well-being call November 12th, the Community Mental Health Liaison (CMHL) Jennifer Beard snuck this picture of Deputy Greg Stegall channeling his inner Gordon Ramsey. While at the home, the two learned the individual was recovering from surgery and had not eaten in a couple of days, so while Jennifer began making calls to get the individual some assistance, Deputy Stegall prepared something to eat. The individual declared it the best omelette they had ever eaten!

Not pictured are the dog, cats and horses that Deputy Stegall and Jennifer made sure were fed and watered before their departure

Article and photo courtesy St. Francois County Sheriffs Department

Officer Kodie Schmitt

Nevada Police Department

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Officer Schmitt along with the Community Mental Health Liaison (CMHL) developed a routine to follow up with referrals from the PD in person.  Officer Schmitt is able to connect with citizens when they are in a crisis.  He always makes sure to give the individuals his phone number so they can reach him as well if they need him. It is rewarding to see individuals recognize that the police department cares about their wellbeing.  One situation involved someone being concerned that their property had been stolen.  Because Officer Schmitt was there to explain what the department had done in regards to their case and validate their concerns, they were more open to hearing about services from the CMHL.  They also stopped calling the police department.

Sergeant Phillip Rippinger

DOC CIT Officer - South Central Corrections Center

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Sergeant Phillip Rippinger is a Missouri Department of Corrections CIT Officer at South Central Corrections Center.  Recently he was able to utilize de-escalation and communication skills he learned in Crisis Intervention Teams certification class to potentially prevent a civilian from taking their own life. This is the second time that Sergeant Rippinger was able to assist this individual to seek psychiatric help and prevent self-harming actions. The civilian and Sergeant Rippinger are members of the same church. The civilian sometimes suffers from suicidal thoughts and has bouts of depression when not taking his prescribed medication. Sergeant Rippinger was able to keep this civilian on the phone and talking while also alerting the authorities of the situation. Sergeant Rippinger communicated with the local county sheriff department where they were able to take the civilian into custody and provide further assistance.

Corporal Jason Copeland

Rolla Police Department

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Cpl. Copeland and his shift were working one weekend, and during that time they had two year old die from a heroin over dose, one of the officers neighbors died by suicide. Cpl. Copeland has been an officer for quite a while and he was worried that the officers on his shift were being overwhelmed with all of the tragedy they had experienced. Cpl. Copeland recognized the need and called for assistance to help the officers deal with these tragic events.

Kyle Dooley

Director of CIT Community Policing Programs NAMI-St. Louis

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Kyle Dooley began his law enforcement career in 1999. In 2010 he became the CIT Liaison for Lake St. Louis PD and served as the Training Coordinator for Great Rivers CIT Council from 2012-2016. In December 2016 Kyle accepted a full-time position with NAMI-STL. He facilitates Training Council and Coordinating Council meetings for Great Rivers CIT Council, Franklin County CIT Council, and Jefferson County CIT Council as well as the Training Council for St. Louis Area CIT Council. Kyle serves seven Missouri Counties in the Eastern Region and has helped to facilitate more than 60, 40-hour basic CIT Training Courses that have ultimately trained over 2800 police officers and sheriff’s deputies. Not only does Kyle facilitate these CIT programs, he teaches the Officer Wellness block during these training programs which brings an emotional and personal touch to this block that helps Police Officers know that its ok to ask for help and they do, sometimes calling him immediately after class is dismissed for the day. Kyle travels nationally to facilitate training's and share his lived experience. His ability to connect with officers, mental health professionals and the public has helped countless individuals. Always ready for a hug, Kyle quickly makes friends with everyone he meets. Kyle has helped to normalize mental health, wellness, and has saved lives doing so. The relationships and connections that Kyle has established truly makes CIT training possible in the St. Louis Region. He is a true credit to not only the Councils that he serves directly but also Missouri CIT overall as well. We are blessed to have Kyle and beyond thankful for all of the hard work he puts into the Eastern Region CIT programs. We are proud to nominate Kyle for the first, First Responder Spotlight.