Robert Sorrell

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The Bristol Tennessee City Council last week approved an agreement to expand the city’s Police Co-Response Team Program, adding a second mental health clinician through a partnership with Frontier Health.

The program, launched in collaboration with the Bristol Tennessee Police Department, pairs a clinician with officers to respond to calls involving individuals in mental health crisis, according to Police Chief Matt Austin.

Bristol Tennessee Police Department to align with social workers

The clinician can evaluate people on scene and, when appropriate, facilitate direct admission to treatment facilities, helping divert individuals from jail or hospital emergency departments, he said.

The police chief said the program, which passed by resolution at last

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