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Former NYPD detective provides crisis training for cops BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR et. Sgt. Ron Martin often uses a popular Star Trek anecdote to make a point about making difficult changes when the current ways aren’t netting the best results. When Starfleet Academy cadet James Kirk did the Kobayashi Maru training exercise — one that is considered a “no-win scenario” test — he failed the first two times. But the third time, he did what no one else had thought to do; he reprogrammed the test simulator so he could meet the challenge without having to face the consequences. It was essentially cheating, but in the end he was the first person to beat the test and was commended for “original thinking” that saved the civilian vessel from the Klingons. It probably didn’t seem like the right or the popular thing to do, but the soon-to-be Capt. Kirk did it anyway and turned a certain loss into a win-win situation. That’s what needs to happen within the criminal justice system, Martin said. “If we want a different result, we have to do things differently,” he said. Martin has more than 20 years of experience as a law enforcement officer, including his time working for the New York Police Department. At the NYPD, he trained officers to a highly proficient level of community patrol, enforcement and public security. He supervised narcotics teams conducting street level buy and sell operations and warrant executions, and managed mid- to high-level narcotic cases involving pen wires leading to extensive criminal prosecution. He also consulted directly with the chief of police and the mayor of New York City on issues of internal misconduct and worked as a narcotics supervisor for the last three years with the department. Martin said something shifted after Sept. 11, 2001. As New York City and the rest of the nation tried collectively to pick up the pieces, priorities among law enforcement and other first responders in the city had to change. He said it became clear to him that policing practices also needed to change in response to that change. “I had an epiphany I guess, that there needed to be a better balance between living and dying,” he said. “We needed to reprioritize who we arrest and ask ourselves what’s more important than the value of lives.” Knowing his expertise in law enforcement and also his willingness to re-evaluate how law enforcement reacts to issues of addiction and homelessness, Martin said his wife put his name forward to someone working to ramp up harm reduction programs in North Carolina. While the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition was already up and running with programs happening in the more urban areas, Martin could bring more credibility to convincing others of the positive outcomes of these programs, especially Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for fellow law enforcement.
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“My voice in the matter is just heard differently. Some (harm reduction advocates) may get push back from first responders and law enforcement officers but it’s easier coming from me,” he said. That’s been true in Haywood County lately. Even though Haywood is one of a few counties in the state with full-time harm reduction boots on the ground, these advocates have been unable to convince some residents and a couple of county leaders of the benefits of programs, with the syringe program being the most controversial. After many months of discussion and debate over the effectiveness of harm-reduction measures — including impassioned pleas from NCHRC representatives Jesse-Lee Dunlap and Becca Goldstein — Haywood
Det. Sgt. Ron Martin. County commissioners finally voted to extend its contract with the coalition for another six months. However, Republican Commissioners Brandon Rogers and Mark Pless (who is running for state representative) voted against it. Through this contract to utilize federal grant money, the coalition works to link people to resources for substance use disorder and temporary housing. Martin admits it can be a hard sell because people think providing clean needles to addicts is enabling them to use, creating more dirty needle pollution in the community and leading to more crime, even though the data shows otherwise. But if he can get in front of a room of law enforcement and share his experiences, it can bring about a greater opportunity for police buy-in when it comes to using harm reduction models. “Some of that comes from me selling myself and being credible, but also it has to do with common sense and getting them to understand the consequences of what we do,” Martin said. “When you arrest someone at the scene there’s a ripple effect throughout the entire community.” It’s understandable for officers to focus solely on their obligation
