Crisis Intervention Team Honors Exceptional Service and Announces Annual Award Winners

Used for 2023 budget cover

Each year, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) recognizes outstanding work by frontline responders with persons in crisis with a serious mental illness. Each name below represents powerful moments of service, and each organization represents valuable work to help our community. 

CIT will honor exceptional work at its Annual Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 9:30 – 11 a.m. at Valerie C. Woodward Center, 3205 Freedom Drive, Door E. 

2022 Award Recipients: 

Intervention of the Year: Rollin Mackel, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), Nathan Phillips (CMPD), Nathan Sanchez (CMPD) 

CIT Supporter of the Year: Dove’s Nest 

CIT Team Member of the Year: Allen “Scott” Garlow, Susan Crawford 

Judy Reiner Advocate of the Year:  Kenny Robinson (Freedom Fighting Missionaries), Jessica Lefkowitz (Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte Coalition)  

Instructor of the Year: James “JJ” Flowers (CMS Police), Richard Nelson (CMPD), Melinda Plue (The Arc NC), Jacob Plue (The Arc NC)  

Leadership Award: Heather Burch (UNCC Police), Taara McClendon (NCDPS Probation) 

CIT Officer of the Year: Randy Down (Pineville Police), Michael Caskey (CMPD) 

CDCP Officer of the Year: Ashley Brown (CMPD) 

CIT First Responder Award: Kathryn Furphy (Medic), Mary Moore (Medic)  

Community Impact Award: Promise Resource Network, Champion House of Care and Project One  

Keynote Speaker: Michael Hudgens, Pineville Police Chief, will be the keynote speaker. Chief Hudgens values the work of CIT in Pineville. In 2022, Pineville Police also incorporated Child Development Community Policing (CDCP). 

CIT is a community-based collaboration between law enforcement, mental health agencies, consumers and family members, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)-Charlotte, and Central Piedmont. CIT was developed for Law Enforcement Officers who are frequently front-line responders to persons in crisis with a serious mental illness.  

The Three Components of CIT Programs: 

  • Intensive training - Police officers and other first responders receive up to 40 hours of training regarding mental illness, co-occurring disorders, and response strategies. 
  • Strong mental health partnerships – Police and mobile crisis workers who respond to people in crisis seek viable options for linking individuals with mental health treatment in lieu of arrest. 
  • Significant mental health consumer and family involvement - Consumer and family advocates are integrally involved in the design and implementation of local CIT programs. 

CDCP has served as a model for law enforcement-mental health partnerships across the country, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg is proud to have one of the oldest and largest programs in the nation. 

The goals of the CDCP program are to: 

  • Facilitate immediate officer awareness and identification of children exposed to violence and other trauma, and 
  • Increase expert clinical assessment and swift coordinated services for all impacted children and families