GAMBIER — One of the hardest days Mount Vernon Police Chief Robert Morgan had as an officer was in 2015. He knocked on a family’s door at 2 a.m. to tell them their son was found dead in Columbus from a suspected drug overdose.
That resonated with him then and through the years since. It also led him to champion crisis intervention team (CIT) training for the Mount Vernon Police Department.
CIT is a nationally recognized approach that equips officers with practical skills to recognize behavioral health processes, de-escalate tense situations and connect individuals with appropriate resources.
It also diverts people from the criminal justice system and toward treatment and recovery whenever possible.
On Tuesday, the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Licking and Knox Counties presented its inaugural Commitment to Service Award to Morgan for his commitment to ensuring every sworn officer in the department completed CIT training.
MHRB Executive Director Kay Spergel said Morgan demonstrated that supporting officer safety and community well-being are not competing priorities.
“People think we just arrest people, throw them in jail. But there are many people that jail is not the answer,” Morgan said. “Pretty much every dealing we have with the general public, our customers, has some type of mental health or substance abuse component to it.
“It might be large, it might be small.”
He credited his officers’ commitment and support as well as the Mount Vernon Police Chaplains program.
“I just want you folks to know that our people do a good job out there,” Morgan said. “We at the police department … are committed to helping folks that need help. So, thank you very much.”
A lasting impact
Spergel said the accomplishment did not happen by accident.
“It takes time away from patrol, it requires resources, it requires a willingness to invest in professional development,” she said.
“Most of all, it requires leadership that believes this training matters. Not just because it’s required, but because it is the right thing to do.”
Spergel said the MVPD’s achievement will have a lasting impact on the community.
“It means families can have greater confidence that when they call for help during a behavioral health crisis, the responding officer has additional tools to de-escalate, communicate, and connect people with the help that they need,” she said.
“It reflects a department that understands that public safety and behavioral health go hand-in-hand.”
Spergel also said it reflects a department that’s compassionate, caring, and committed to its community.
The person behind the crisis
When split-second decisions can change lives forever, a CIT member can make a difference.
“Here in our community, we know that law enforcement and other officers are often the first people called when someone is having the worst day of their life,” Spergel said.
“They arrive when families don’t know where else to turn, when someone is very, very frightened, confused or in a crisis.”
That, Spergel said, is why CIT matters.
“Perhaps even more importantly, it represents a commitment to seeing the person behind the crisis,” she said.
The CIT model was created in 1988 in Memphis, Tennessee, following a tragic encounter involving a person experiencing a mental-health crisis.
The late Dodie Melvin and the late Sheriff David Barber introduced CIT to Knox County. Melvin was the former director of Knox County’s National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
It launched in 2009 with 21 people in the first graduating class. The class included 15 law enforcement officers and other first responders.
Since then, more than 275 people have received some form of CIT training. Participants include dispatchers, fire/EMS, every county law enforcement agency, and campus and hospital security, and court personnel.
“It’s quite a legacy that has been shared throughout our community with this process and this program for many, many years,” Spergel said.
Spergel presented the award to Morgan at the 2026 Communities Coming Together conference held at Kenyon College.
