'Pathway to care': Retiring Toronto police veteran says officers play role in helping people get help

A Toronto police deputy chief who is retiring on Friday says policing has been described as a "pathway to care" for emotionally distressed people and he believes his work has helped to shape that mental health role in the past 45 years.

Mike Federico, 65, married with two children, is set to hand in his badge this week. Currently deputy chief of community safety command, Federico says he would not do anything differently. He said he is proud to be a Toronto police officer.

In an interview with Metro Morning on Tuesday, Federico said public safety and community health have become intertwined. Federico joined the Toronto Police Service in 1972.

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"It's interesting. Policing is now being defined not only as securitybut also community well-being," he said Tuesday.

Federico said a community that is safe can focus on prosperityand social welfare. Police, as public servants, provide "safety, security, guidance and a sense of belonging" in communities, he said.

Has strived to improve interactions with public

Procedures he has helped to implement over the years were designed to improve interaction between police officers and the public, he said.

"We're called many, many times to situations where people are looking for some help or assistance. That includes people who are experiencing some kind of mental distress or disorder at the time," he said.

Federico said he has worked to make sure that "our police officers appreciate that these are opportunities for us to help somebody into a stream of care." Once officers understand they are dealing with people suffering emotional distress, that means they may takeless of an "officious" law enforcement approach to resolve a situation.

"It's a balance," he said.

He said he has also encouraged communities to see the police serviceas an organization that can offer access to community and institutional supports.

Hasprepared officers for situations involving use of force

"We have often been described as a pathway to care and I think that's both an apt description and also a noble one," he said.

When asked what Toronto police aredoing to reduce the number of emotionally distressed people who are shot by officers every year, he said: "Society has to have a capacity to support people before there is an emergency. The police are actively working on helping the community build this capacity.

"At the same time, I was responsible for helping to prepare officers for those eventualities, making sure that when an officer does have to take direct action, sometimes that does include using force, it's force that's proportional, that's necessary to get the job done and nothing more.

"Every effort is taken to reduce the actual need, perhaps, to use force. This is all part of our training, policy and overall preparation."

Tens of thousands of interactions between police and members of the public are resolved safely, he noted.

Says it's time to make 'space' for new leaders

"When the situation does escalate, we have developed very specific evidence-based, more thoughtful approaches to helping the officer attempt to de-escalate," he said.

As for leaving the job at the end of this week, Federico said it's time to make room for new police managers.

"Well, it is time, I have to make space for those young leaders who are prepared to take the service to the next level into the future. I have made my contribution. Plus, I have to admit, on a personal level, I have a family who is quite interested in spending more time with their father, their husband and their grandfather," he said.

Federicosaid he joined the police force because he wanted to do public service.

He has been anofficerin Parkdale, a sergeant in 31 Division, an internal affairs investigator, a fraud squad leader, and thehead of the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS). Hewas involved in the G20 joint command centre in Barrie, Ont.

Federicoalsooversaw the expansion of the Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams when they moved into police divisions and implemented a report following the death of Sammy Yatim.He's on the police board's mental health subcommittee and president of board of Vitanova Foundation, a community-based addiction and mental health treatment centre.

"My family and a circle of friends had been, in their own way, members of the public service, and I found a great ability and calling in that. I always felt, as community members, we ought to be looking for a way to contribute back to the community for overall social welfare," he said.

"And policing offered a fabulous opportunity to do that on all of those aspects."