SMPD Mental Health Unit helps residents

More than 2,700 communities in the United States have crisis intervention teams to respond to mental health emergencies, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. San Marcos is one of those communities.

The San Marcos Police Department’s Mental Health Unit is available to respond when needed.

“Calls to the Mental Health Unit can come directly from citizens,” SMPD Assistant Chief Brandon Winkenwerder said. “Most of the time mental health units will self-dispatch to a mental health call when it happens. All of the officers at SMPD have been trained in the state’s 40-hour Mental Health Officer Course.”