Gwinnett County Police Sgt. David Smith had already spent a better part of his career working in the homicide and special victims units when he was asked to help start the Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) in 2021.
“My reputation has shown I really want to help people,” Smith said. “I have a 33-year-old brother with Down syndrome, so anybody with any type of disability, mental illness, anything is very important to me.”
The BHU consists of a single police officer and a licensed mental health clinician at each police precinct, who work side-by-side to try to help people get the mental health treatment and services they need before they get caught in the criminal justice system.
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