Richmond Heights hosts police officer think tank

Dec. 18—Richmond Heights Police Department is hosting an areawide training and think tank on Police Officer Wellness.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Jan. 4, at the Richmond Heights Community Center.

"Officer wellness is a critical concern for police departments across the country, and our department regularly has guest speakers provide roll call training to our personnel to help them regarding officer wellness," Police Chief Thomas Wetzel said. "We have had speakers discuss topics like healthy eating, stretching, and tips for mental health wellness."

The event is free and open to police officers as well as retired police officers.

The agenda includes a variety of speakers with various accolades in police service and psychology who will be donating their time to provide presentations.

"We will have so many talented professionals to help our officers succeed," Wetzel said. "These are some of the best of the best when it comes to psychological wellness and we are so excited they are donating their time to us."

Among the speakers will be Dr. Michael Faust giving a presentation on Free Psychology and wellness; a presentation on mentoring police officers will be given by retired Cleveland Police Officer Cliff Kime; and a presentation on how to deal with PTSD will be given by former combat veteran and current RHPD Detective Sean Lawlor.

Wetzel said that one of the most important parts of the event will be the think tank at the end of the event where officers share and discuss what they do in each of their departments regarding officer wellness.

He said this provides a nice opportunity for officers to learn from one another and potentially come up with new ideas to increase morale, build upon community policing and improve upon their current methods.

If anyone is interested in registering for the event they can call RHPD at 216-383 6305 or email chief.admin@richmondheights.org.