Program aims to boost response to mental health crises

By The Associated Press
July 9, 2021 | 11:29 AM

TOWSON, Md. — Mobile crisis teams in Baltimore County respond to fewer than half of calls to help people having mental health crises.

But The Baltimore Sun reports that a pilot program aims to add more behavioral health professionals and set up a system to redirect some 911 calls from police to behavioral health resources.

When teams aren’t available — about 57% of the time — Police Chief Melissa Hyatt says call-takers route the requests for aid to patrol officers.

There are 20 part-time and full-time clinicians, and 12 officers with 40 hours of crisis intervention training in the county of nearly 830,000 residents. Police say officials begin meeting next month to plan the program’s rollout.

Bowie mother shot in the head while holding her baby, another child tried to intervene, police say

By Thomas Robertson
August 21, 2026 | 8:29 PM

The Bowie, Maryland, mother who was shot in the head by her romantic partner Thursday was holding the couple’s 2-month-old baby as they argued about school supplies, according to charging documents. The woman was rushed into surgery and, as of Friday afternoon, remained in critical condition, police said. Her partner, Kimball Hinton Jr., 41, has been charged with first- and second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, three counts of reckless endangerment and other firearm-related charges in connection with the shooting. One of the couple’s six children, who were all in the house on Myrtle Avenue in Bowie when the shooting happened, called police at 4:16 p.m. Thursday and said her mother had just been shot by her father, the documents state. Hinton himself called police two minutes later, according to the documents, and admitted shooting her.

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