ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF Police Chief Carl Metzger walks through the halls and streets of the University of Central Florida campus proudly carrying a “Crisis Intervention Training” certification pin. He says the training has made a tremendous impact across his agency. “I’m proudest of the way we at the UCF Police Department handle these types of calls,” the Chief said.
The journey hasn’t been easy, however, and Chief Metzger has a unique perspective about mental health concerns. He lost his son, Daniel, in 2023 due to a mental illness. Even before that, though, the 28-year-old had many runs with law enforcement. “We felt like we had gotten him into a good place, and unfortunately, things did not work out, and it’s been a rough road for mom and dad,” Chief Metzger said. “Daniel ultimately was Baker-acted eight times. And I saw those law enforcement officers who were CIT, Crisis Intervention Team, trained and those who weren’t. And the difference between the response was stark.”
There’s a high volume of mental health crisis-related calls across our counties. In Sumter County, for example, the sheriff’s office tracked 1,054 calls between 2023 and 2024. In Seminole County, the sheriff’s office responded 3,351 just last year. In Orange County, that number jumped to 5,309 calls in the same time period.
So far this year, Orange County has already responded to nearly 1,700 mental health-related calls - two of those calls ended with a person killed; one of them was Antonio Scippio, who called 911 himself. “I am about to kill myself,” the 911 recording stated.
Scippio’s mother, Gail Reed, said the 33-year-old had mental illnesses for years. “Schizophrenia, bipolar, paranoia. You name it,” she said. “It’s still very hard for me to step back into this house and every time I step I see him lying there in a pile of blood that was uncalled for.”
The Sheriff told us, right after the shooting, that this outcome was unusual. “He continues to walk toward the deputies with the knife, including refusing several commands,” Sheriff John Mina said on the evening of February 21st, 2024, when the shooting happened.
The Orange County sheriff’s office says their Behavioral Response Units – which includes a clinician and a deputy – do not directly respond to calls when the person is armed, which is why only deputies showed up at Antonio Scippio’s home.
Chief Metzger says law enforcement officers walk a thin line between protecting the person who’s having a mental crisis and protecting themselves… and that’s why Crisis Intervention Training is so important. “We need to keep our officers sharp and their skills sharp and ready to go out there and save lives,” the Chief said.
That’s why mental health advocates with the National Alliance on Mental Illness say the state of Florida should require training for all law enforcement officers. “I think all departments across the country are struggling to put officers on the street, and I think that it’s a it’s, you know, adding 40 hours of Academy time. You know, is taken away from officers being on the streets,” said Freddie Morello, executive director of NAMI. “There are funding concerns. There are some departments that don’t believe in the crisis intervention training.”
NAMI partners with law enforcement agencies to help train its officers on how to best respond to calls involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis. Chief Metzger - who is now a board member at the organization - uses his own story to help others. “Do you think the work you do right now is the legacy of your son?,” Channel 9’s Geovany Dias asked. “I do. We miss him, we love him, but we’re going to continue to help others, and that helps u,” the chief said.
NAMI said she trained more than 1,500 law enforcement officers just in the past two years across Orange, Osceola, Brevard, and Seminole counties. They are now pushing and hoping their training will become a requirement for all law enforcement agencies across the state.
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