Cranberry Township patrolman Michael Weleski celebrated his award with his coworkers at Monarch Place in Butler. Submitted photo

Michael Weleski is helping redefine what it means to respond to behavioral crises.

The Cranberry Township patrol officer has been a driving force behind Butler County’s Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program, helping law enforcement better serve individuals living with behavioral health challenges.

That work has earned him Pennsylvania’s CIT officer of the year award, which he will accept at the Statewide Crisis Intervention Team Conference Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 28-29 in State College.

“When I started in CIT, it essentially justified the way I would like to approach and handle people and gave me the tools to do that,” Weleski said. “I’ve been able to hone those skills over the past 11 years and now I’m training and passing it onto other officers.

“To be recognized for how I do my job is overwhelmingly humbling.”

As the county’s CIT coordinator and a member of the Butler County CIT Steering Committee, he has guided the program while strengthening partnerships between police, the public and mental health professionals.

Over the past 18 months, Weleski has led an initiative to improve how officers document and respond to behavioral health-related encounters. Working with county officials and a regional software vendor he helped develop a new behavioral health tab in the database used by most police departments in Butler County.

The tool allows officers to record critical information — such as known triggers; de-escalation methods that have worked; and behavioral concerns, which can spur safer, more informed interactions in the future.

“I hope this increases officer safety by giving us the ability to understand where people are coming from as we’re encountering them and also helps the crisis system overall,” Weleski said. “I’m hoping to focus resources on that, which sometimes are very limited.”

The system also makes it possible to collect deidentified data for analysis, giving the district attorney’s office and law enforcement agencies a clearer picture of trends and outcomes.

It’s a model of collaboration that other counties have started to reflect in their own departments. Weleski has helped influence that training beyond Butler County.

He’s played a hands-on role in developing CIT programs in neighboring Westmoreland and Greene counties, offering the necessary training and guidance to help officers be more prepared when behavioral health emergencies arise.

His colleagues in Butler County who nominated him for the award described him as a steady presence — compassionate, calm and deeply committed to service.

That same commitment extends to his personal development.

Weleski recently completed the “Power in the Peers” certification class, which equips participants to build peer support programs for individuals with lived mental health experience. His goal is to help build out a peer support network in Butler County and advance a community-based approach to behavioral health care.

His colleagues say he’s known for the ability to de-escalate tense situations and treat every person he encounters with respect.

“Just to be nominated by the teams and counties that I work with is an honor,” he said, “But it’s not what I do it for. I do it because I believe in CIT and the things that I see come out of it.”