(L-R) Dr. Travis Johnson, Lucian Stamps, Sheriff Jerry Turlich, Lt. Eric Becnel

OFFICIAL NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Belle Chasse, LA - With our nation currently dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread civil unrest, Sheriff Gerald A. Turlich, Jr. felt it was imperative to address these issues to better prepare Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office (PPSO) deputies working daily within our community and at the detention center. Therefore, Sheriff Turlich instituted Police Interaction Training which applies additional training that focuses on community-oriented policing, recognizing and identifying mental health issues, multi-cultural competence policing and situational de-escalation training.

In coordination with Asevedo & Associates, Psychologist Dr. Travis Johnson and his associate, Lucian Stamps, presented this crucial training with an emphasis on understanding the public perception caused by social media and perceived racial/cultural disparity and its effect on law enforcement officers in the current social climate. Utilizing recent incidents captured on video along with interactive exercises, Dr. Johnson and Stamps provided PPSO deputies the opportunity to de-escalate situations involving mental health and culturally diverse issues.

"It is necessary to recognize, educate and train our deputies as we see an increase in mental health issues due to circumstances surrounding the ongoing pandemic and a general negative perception against law enforcement because of a couple highly publicized and appalling incidents," said Sheriff Turlich. "We will continue to prepare our employees to identify these types of situations and react in a manner that will protect our deputies and all our residents despite their race, creed or nationality in an effort to effectively de-escalate situations to avoid an unnecessary tragedy."

Along with providing continual education and training classes to better prepare and effectively build a stronger partnership between PPSO personnel and the residents of Plaquemines Parish, Sheriff Turlich and PPSO offers community-oriented programs such as the Citizens Police Academy, Seniors and Law-Enforcement Together (SALT), Junior Deputy Summer Camp, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Program and Young Marines Program. Although these programs have been temporarily postponed out of the abundance of caution due to the COVID-19 pandemic, please continue to follow our social media platforms and at www.ppso.net for future events and dates.

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Contact Information:
Lieutenant Chaun J. Domingue
Public Information Officer
504-934-6785
cdomingue@ppso.net