Officials say the New Jersey state police will change how it trains troopers to handle people with mental illness.
NJ.com reports that members of the state police training academy have met with mental health officials in New Jersey to discuss the changes.
Capt. Stephen Jones says that the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Jersey and the Mental Health Association in New Jersey have offered valuable training products.
He says police have made plans for future collaborations to enhance existing scenario-based training and that one of the agencies has offered actors to take part in the trainings.
NJ.com reports that the changes come in response to criticism from a 2008 death of a Newark man on the side of a highway.
NJ.com previously reported that Kenwin Garcia was restrained on the ground for 15 minutes on Interstate 287 in July 2008 before he stopped breathing.
