Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis praised Sheriff David Thoroughman’s handling of the recent standoff in Wheelersburg involving a man in the midst of a mental health crisis.
“Our local law enforcement responded quickly and were able to diffuse that situation quickly, which was great. But you clearly had an individual in the midst of crisis at that point. No one was hurt. We’re thankful for that.”
Davis says he was with the sheriff when the call came in. “I will tell you that seeing how fast they moved was very heartening. Every second counts.” He said the SCSO was better equipped than ever before to handle situations like that, thanks to new equipment provided by the county and by grants.
Davis said the situation highlighted the area’s mental health crisis. “Mental health is real.” He reminded citizens that the county has a 988 Mental Health Crisis Hotline.
“We have that in our area. It’s very confidential, a third party handles it all.
“We’ve had in the first six months of this year over 100 calls of people that were in crisis in Scioto County. Between Scioto, Adams, and Lawrence Counties, maybe double that number. There were some emergency rescues as a result of that.”
Davis reminded people that if they are in a crisis, they can dial #988, and they will immediately be connected with a counselor.