Crisis Intervention Team Announces Annual Award Winners
Each year, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) recognizes outstanding work by frontline responders with persons in crisis with a serious mental illness.
2025 Award Winners:
- CIT Officer of the Year: Rachel Thornton- Davidson Police Department
- Veteran CIT Officer of the Year: Wilbur Davis, Jr- CMPD
- Intervention of the Year: Terrell Marshall & Brittany Brown- CMPD’s Community Policing Crisis Response Team
- CIT Team Member of the Year: Chris Peters- Mecklenburg County Criminal Justice Services
- Judy Reiner Advocate of the Year: Melissa Zhiss- Mecklenburg County Criminal Justice Services
- Instructor of the Year: Don Warren- Matthews Police Department
- Dan Johnson Leadership Award: Philip Geiger- Davidson Police Department
- CDCP Officer of the Year: Caitlin Barbour, Thomas Worley – Both CMPD
- CIT Dispatcher/911 Call Taker of the Year: Donna Huggins- CMPD
- First Responder Award: Michael Severance- Charlotte Fire Department
- Community Impact Award: Joyce Engelmann- NAMI Charlotte
View photos from the ceremony.
“Thank you to the 2025 Crisis Intervention Team award recipients for your work to promote and protect mental health and safety in our community,” said Dr. Raynard Washington, Public Health director. “With your help and commitment to the CIT program, we are better able to respond to mental health crises in Mecklenburg County.”
CIT is a community partnership between law enforcement, behavioral healthcare professionals, and individuals and family members impacted by mental illness, substance use disorder, or intellectual and developmental disabilities, to improve community response to behavioral health crises. CIT focuses on improving the crisis response system, advocating for needed services, training first responders, and strengthening partnerships across the community.