YARMOUTH – From Yarmouth Police: Dispatcher Maria Curtis was awarded the Yarmouth Police Letter of Commendation by Chief Kevin Lennon for her actions in response to a Involuntary Mental Health Hospitalization (Section 12) Service regarding a suicidal male on September 12, 2024.
The Yarmouth Police Dispatch Center received a call from the Veteran Affairs Police at 1:48 p.m. requesting service of a Section 12 on an intoxicated, suicidal veteran who was in immediate crisis. The whereabouts of the suicidal veteran or his connection to Cape Cod were unknown at the time of the call. Dispatcher Curtis quickly dispatched patrol officers to the area of a phone ping that Veteran Affairs had provided. Officers could not locate the veteran or his motor vehicle. Dispatcher Curtis began to tenaciously research any connections the veteran had to
Cape Cod and eventually located his mother’s address in West Yarmouth. Officers were able to locate the veteran in crisis, who was transported to the hospital to receive treatment.
Dispatcher Curtis’ initiative to use her years of experience to track down information directly resulted in bringing this incident to a successful conclusion. She represented herself and the Yarmouth Police Department with great competency and professionalism.
We are proud of the work all of our dispatchers do on a daily basis and honored to have Dispatcher Curtis here at YPD.
If you or someone you know are in crisis or having suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day. Call 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
