CIT Officers of the Quarter - Q1 2020
Congratulations to Officer T. Williams, Officer Z. Alikhan, and Officer H. Price for winning the CIT Officer of the Quarter Award for Quarter 1 of 2020.
Pictured above: Neal Sarahan, Ph.D., the Executive Director of NAMI Greater Houston, presents the awards to Officer Z. Alikhan (left) and Officer H. Price (right) with Commander B. Bennett (Middle)
Officer T. Williams and Officer Z. Alikhan were dispatched to a “Suicide In Progress” call late one night in central Houston. Officer H. Price responded to the scene as well. Officers Williams and Alikhan were informed by a reportee that her friend, the identified suicidal consumer, had phoned from the top of a five story parking garage stating she was preparing to commit suicide by jumping from the ledge.
Units proceeded to locate the consumer on the roof and breached a section of protective fencing to find the consumer perched on the edge of the wall. Officers Williams and Alikhan initially located the consumer and began communication to calm her and used their flashlights to have her remain focused on them. The consumer repeatedly made statements of wanting to end her life, saying she had “reached [her] breaking point” and had “hit the end.”
When Officer H. Price arrived, he also attempted to reason with the consumer in an attempt to have her leave the wall. The on-scene supervisor arrive, diverting the consumer’s attention and attempted dialogue affording Officer Price the opportunity to incrementally reposition closer to the consumer’s right side. As the consumer focused on the supervisor approaching to the left, and while still threatening to jump, she indicated the lights disturbed her. As the supervisor motioned for the officers to turn off the lights, Officer Price quickly grabbed her from the ledge as the consumer was attempting to adjust to the darkness. The supervisor and the remaining officers assisted in securing the consumer and placed her safely in a patrol vehicle. A CIRT unit was dispatched and the consumer was transported safely from the scene and admitted for evaluation under an Emergency Detention Order.
If not for the coordinated and decisive actions of Officers Price, Williams, and Alikhan, the consumer would have invariably ended her life that evening. The precarious situation of conducting these actions on a dark, uneven rooftop five stories above the ground are above the scope of normal patrol activities and reflect great credit upon the officers, the Central Division and the Houston Police Department.
