Cops Trained to Interact With Returning Veterans in White Plains

Behind a humble facade in the middle of White Plains, New York, lives are being changed for returning combat veterans, thanks to one idea hatched by a former first responder six years ago. 

"Education has been my best weapon, I think, to help veterans coming home fight their way back," said veteran readjustment counselor Liz Ianelli, who has developed a program teaching police how to interact with veterans.

"It's encouraging them to think differently and have a raised level of awareness that veterans are a special population, and they do have distinct needs," she said. 

From traffic stops to chance meetings, the training equips police with tools to recognize if a veteran is struggling with readjustment, depression and even PTSD.

White Plains Police Commissioner David Chong heard about Ianelli's program and immediately had her teach his entire department.

"We can't forget the service that these young men and women have done for our country," he said. "We're a service department. We're out there to help them." 

It's not just about lectures in a classroom. Ianelli and the officers take the classroom out into the field. At a traffic stop training demonstration, an officer practiced telling the driver: "I see on here you're actually a vet." 

The driver said she'd just returned from deployment, and the officers offered to escort her back to the Vet Center in that training session. 

"For that officer reaching out in that moment, it can profoundly change the direction of someone's life," said Ianelli.

The officers can identify how to problem-solve, defuse a situation, or even direct vets to the Vet Center for more help. 

"Veterans want to know that you care," said White Plains police officer Michael Cheeks, who was a Marine serving in the Persian Gulf before he joined the police department. He has seen the positive impact the First Responder Initiative is making.

"It actually helps us do our job better," he said. 

In just six years, Ianelli's idea has spread across Westchester with dozens of police departments receiving the training, and every new recruit going through the class.

Now first responders across the country are starting to take notice of what began in a humble office in White Plains, and on this Memorial Day weekend, Ianelli says listening and offering help is the least we can do for veterans.

"This country is big on the phrase, 'We'll never forget,' but I'd say, we'll never stop learning," said Ianelli. "If you see a need, what are you going to do about it?" 

Contact Us