Thursday Afternoon Focus: Policing in America

Posted: Oct 22, 2020 / 07:42 PM CDT / Updated: Oct 22, 2020 / 07:42 PM CDT

People confront police officers during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Chicago, Saturday, May 30, 2020. Protests across the country have escalated over the death of George Floyd who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day, May 25. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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The Thursday Afternoon Focus brings you a deep look into news stories, and issues from different points of view. 2020 has been a challenging one for law enforcement across the country, so this week we are looking at policing in America.

Full Interview: ‘Bank The Blue’

Attorney Dan Herbert, who is a former CPD officer along with former cop Jeff Salvetti are the founders of Bank The Blue, a police-focused mental health program aimed to help officers who may have experience mental trauma.

Full Interview: Mental health specialists will be responding with police in new pilot program

Dave Gomel, president of Rosecrance Health Network, joins Steve Bertrand on Chicago’s Afternoon News to talk about a program launching in November that pairs crisis-intervention specialists from Rosecrance with Winnebago County sheriff’s deputies and Rockford police officers responding to emergency psychiatric and suicidal situations. The three-month pilot program is aimed at diverting people in crises away from the criminal justice system and into mental health treatment.