North Adams Police Block Houghton Street for Crisis Intervention
Houghton was blocked off between North and School streets, frustrating neighbors trying to get home.
Update: Early this morning, the Police Department posted that the situation "has been resolved" and the road reopened. Officers may still be in the area to complete their investigation.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The upper section of Houghton Street was blocked off for hours on Wednesday night as authorities sought to deal with an individual reportedly having a mental health issue.
In a Facebook post, police described it as a "critical incident" unfolding in the area and alerted people to avoid the upper Houghton "and allow first responders the space they need to safely manage the situation."
It started at about 9 p.m., said Police Chief Mark Bailey, speaking at about 12:30 a.m. He said no neighbors were evacuated and that mediators had been conversing with the individual. He declined to go into detail.
He said further information would be provided either through him or through the mayor's office later in the morning.
Members of the Berkshire County Special Response Team, including officers from Lenox and Pittsfield, were staged along the top of Brooklyn Street and Houghton was closed between School Street and North Street.
Two ambulances were staged at the intersection with Brooklyn and Houghton, though one left before midnight. State Police stepped in to help patrol the city.
Drones could be seen hovering over; Bailey said, "everything in the sky is ours at this time."
At a Finance Committee meeting earlier this week, the chief spoke about the rising number of mental health calls.
"We deal with about 300 mental health calls a year," Bailey said. "So you could say that's about five to six people per week that we go to. These are people that are in mental health crisis."
The department currently has 18 officers certified in crisis intervention training, a program designed to teach first responders how to manage and de-escalate people in crisis, as well as seven dispatchers.
The Brien Center also will dispatch a mental health worker to aid police and Bailey said the department is looking to apply for a grant with Adams and Williamstown to create a regional mental health corresponder program.
In January, the Hinsdale Police were criticized for their handling of Biagio Kauvil, 27, who was armed and in crisis. Kauvil was killed and two officers were injured.
