Earlier this month, Cleveland's Mental Health Response Advisory Committee introduced Captain James Purcell as the city's first Crisis Intervention Coordinator. Both the advisory committee and the intervention coordinator were formed as a result of the police reform agreement between Cleveland and the U.S. Justice Department.
The coordinator is meant to act as a liaison between the police department and the mental health community. Purcell sat down with ideastream's Sarah Jane Tribble to talk about the work and his qualifications for the job.