The Hyattsville Police Department recently gained national attention over how well officers recently handled a man’s mental health crisis earlier this month.

Officers Edgar Andrickson-Franco and Mancini Gaskill were called to the convenience store at the Sunoco gas station on East West Highway after an employee reported that a customer who was possibly intoxicated was acting disorderly.

But when they arrived, they realized that he was actually psychologically distressed.

When the man sat down on the floor, Officer Andrickson-Franko sat down with him and convinced him to let him see his phone. He called the most recently dialed number and reached family members, who were able to come to the scene to help.

As it turned out, the man was not intoxicated, but had mixed up his medication after a recent surgery.

“The family was incredibly grateful and shared thanks for how the officer handled the situation,” Adrienne Augustus, the department’s mental health and wellness program manager told a reporter.

The story has already been covered on local NBC, CBS and ABC affiliates and was featured on MSNBC.

The police department just kicked off phase 1 of its Mental Health and Wellness Program initiative last week to help build compassion among its department to better serve the community.

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