‘A symptom of much deeper problems’: Grass Valley officers focus on issues of mental illness, drug abuse, poverty
As Grass Valley Police Officer Zach LaFerriere drove away from Hospitality House after responding to a call for service at the homeless shelter, something was clearly on his mind.
The 16-year police veteran appeared agitated, shaking his head and flashing a grimace as he drove away.
LaFerriere responds to hundreds of calls for service a year, dealing with hundreds of different faces, but for him, all too many of these faces share the same sad stories.
“The majority of my job is dealing with people who are on drugs or who are mentally ill,” LaFerriere said.
A lifelong Grass Valley resident himself, LaFerriere said that arresting the same people repeatedly is extremely demoralizing. And he’s also the first to admit that he doesn’t have the answers.
“The issues — substance abuse, mental illness, are so entrenched, often generational — how do you break that cycle?”
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