YORK COUNTY, S.C. — There's a push for more training within law enforcement, but not in the traditional sense. Members of the York County Sheriff's Office underwent crisis intervention training (CIT). It's another set of skills the department hopes will save lives.
Editor's Note: The following story discusses suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
Becca Day-Craft loves helping people. She's been with the York County Sheriff's Department for the last two years as a victim advocate, and is always looking for another way to lend a helping hand.
“It’s really rewarding," Day-Craft said. "When it came up I knew I wanted to sign up for it.”
This week, Day-Craft is just one of many within the department that signed up for the CIT course. It's a 40-hour optional course, and the goal is to expand horizons on how law enforcement respond to situations.
Many speakers presented information to those in attendance. Lynn Terry shared a story close to her heart.
“It’s easy to talk about his life," Lynn Terry said. "Bryan died in front of the Spartanburg Police Department.”
At 24-years-old, her son Bryan Terry died by suicide, after 14 years of managing bipolar disorder.
Remembering Bryan Terry
For 19 years, Lynn Terry has traveled across the Palmetto State and has worked with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Thursday, Lynn Terry shared her son Bryan's story with a group of officers because interacting with people like Bryan might be different from other calls.
"One officer approached him when we had an episode at our home," Lynn Terry said. "When our son finally came around and sat up, the officer approached him in a negative way, saying, 'You know, I see your kind every night. You need to grow up and act your age.'"
Day-Craft said this training is a tool to use so she can do do her job even better.
"[If there's a] man with a knife and they go out and they need to deal with it, might not be a man trying to cause trouble, it might be a man in a crisis," Day-Craft said. "It helps us fill that toolbox and learn a new language.”
For Lynn Terry, it's not an easy story to share, but she knows it could help save lives.
"We’ve had officers call us to say, 'We can't give you details, but we wanted you to know because of what we learned, two lives were saved,'" Lynn Terry said.
Peter Farrell with NAMI South Carolina said he has seen firsthand officers walk away with moments of clarity and understanding.
"You have that 25-year veteran in the back saying, 'I wish I had this training 10 years ago, 15 year ago,'" Farrell said.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
If you or a loved one are facing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, there is help readily available. You can call Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat with them online. There are also resources in North Carolina available here and in South Carolina available here.