SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Reno Police Deputy Chief Mike Whan on March 30 presented Randee Hill and Lisa Leatham the Chief’s Certificate of Commendation for their selfless actions.
On January 24, 2011, as part of the Reno Police Department’s Mobile Outreach Safety Team (MOST), Hill and Leatham responded to the Sands Regency Casino Hotel to assist officers with a suicidal person threatening to jump out of the ninth story window. Both counselors engaged the individual in a three hour dialogue that resulted in him voluntarily seeking medical assistance. By engaging the individual immediately and working with officers, this incident had a peaceful resolution.
The selfless actions from both Randee Hill and Lisa Leatham that day epitomize the Reno Police Department’s core values of respect, fairness, integrity and service. The leadership that both of them exhibited during this incident are a model for others to follow and the respect they showed to the individual created an atmosphere of trust and helped to maintain his dignity.
MOST is a collaborative effort between the Reno Police Department and Northern Nevada Mental Health Services. The mission of MOST includes:
• Complete regular/maintenance welfare checks on problematic frequent users of services to promote medication compliance and wellness to reduce calls for service and frequent hospitalizations.
• Provide skilled assessment to encourage voluntary use of community resources to prevent future crises.
• Provide skilled intervention capabilities for situations required a “diagnostic” legal 2000 where officers and/or paramedics do not have the necessary training and background to complete a legal hold.
• Provide educational resources for law enforcement to expand the body of knowledge about mental illness and techniques available to address the phenomenon.
• Work episodic situations involving individuals who through their illness are causing increased calls for service and or a danger to the community or themselves.
