A Nashville production company films the ETSU Roving Artists during a Johnson City Police Department training session. The course allows participants to take cooperative projects onto campus and into the community.
JOHNSON CITY -- Officers with local law enforcement agencies are called upon to serve all members of their communities, which requires them to gain an understanding of a wide range of behaviors. They receivespecialized training to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary when dealing with individuals who suffer from mental illness.
Recently, law enforcement officers from East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Washington County, Elizabethton, Bristol and Carter County participated in such a training session, with assistance from ETSUstudents in the Arts Scholars Program within the Honors College. Arts Scholars are talented students carefully selected for a specialized curriculum, including a unique Roving Artist course that allows participants to take cooperative projects onto campus and into the community.
With their instructor, Pat Cronin, who is the program director and a professional actor, ETSU's Roving Artists conducted scenarios creating dilemmas the police officers might face in the field. The officers were able to improve their communication skills and their ability to de-escalate potentially difficult situations. Cronin and the university students then joined in discussion and feedback about the scenarios.
This particular role-playing session was filmed by a Nashville production company, on behalf of the National Alliance for Mental Illness, for distribution to all law enforcement agencies in Tennessee to encourage more of this type of training.
For further information about the ETSU Roving Artists, contact Cronin at (423) 439-6513 or via croninp@etsu.edu.
