Sheriff’s Office Visit to Highland Focuses on Recovery Resources, Police Training
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 28, 2025)
Highland Township, MI – Oakland County Sheriff’s Office team members visited Highland on Saturday, hosting a community conversation at Cornerstone Church to help let members of the public know about resources and to experience some aspects of training for themselves.
The event included a driving simulator trailer where attendees were able to sit in a mock driver’s seat and experience different scenarios that those in law enforcement might encounter, such as vehicles fleeing traffic stops and chasing down suspects while trying to avoid other drivers on the road. The simulator takes video of the “driver” so they can see themselves react during instant replays, which gives officers a chance to practice remaining calm under stress and shows the public how stressful parts of police work can be.
Deputies also had Virtual Reality goggles to show visitors other examples of situations that police might find themselves in on the job, such as searching an apartment for a suspect or engaging with an armed robber.
The event also gave deputies a chance to share resources, including free gun locks and free Narcan. Narcan is a nasal spray that can be used on someone having an opioid overdose to potentially save their life. OCSO partners with the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities on substance use prevention and on distributing Narcan (Naloxone) throughout the county. There are Save-A-Life stations in many communities where people can obtain the medicine, as well as testing supplies to check for fentanyl, at no cost and no questions asked. The Save-A-Life stations seem to be working as overdose deaths are down, but there is still much work to be done.
Pepper Catt is a Peer Navigator and Case Manager for the Alliance. She attended the April 26 event to help answer questions. Cat recalled that in the past she had struggled with addiction. “In 2016 I did not have any help. I was very lonely and very isolated,” she said. “I do this because I don’t want people to feel that loneliness. The hardest challenge is people who have lost faith in themselves and don’t believe there is a second chance.”
When she encounters people who are struggling, she lets them know that she’s there. “Not everybody is going to want help, but I let them know that when they do, I am here,” Catt said.
Trust is also a challenge for people in recovery. “The scariest and hardest decision I made is trusting someone else. I’ve been hurt so many times it’s hard to believe someone wants to help,” she said. The Alliance works with people who have had “lived experience” because they know what it is like, and, Catt said, “because we have a passion for what we do.”
Sgt. Chris Miller, who is a Unit Commander for the OCSO overseeing the Crisis Response Unit, also does prevention work because of real-world experiences. He’s been in law enforcement for over 35 years, with the past two dedicated to crisis response. One moment early in his career has stuck with him.
He was off duty when he and his wife attended a concert, and a stranger sitting near him began to overdose. “Now I carry Narcan with me wherever I go,” Sgt. Miller said. “But back then I didn’t have any on me. And the concert venue didn’t have any either. So that person had to suffer until paramedics got there and revived him.”
Overdoses can happen anywhere, and they’re not necessarily tied to recreational drug use. “We see people that don’t have insurance buying pills off the internet they think are medicine but are laced with fentanyl. We see students that think they’re buying aspirin from a friend, or maybe Adderall because they think it will help them stay up to study, and it’s really fentanyl. It’s happening at all ages, and in all communities.”
Years after the eye-opening concert experience, Miller also saw a friend struggle with addiction. The man had owned a construction business and gotten injured on a job. Without good health coverage the man turned to buying pain pills off the street, and eventually moved on to heroin which was even easier to obtain.
“People have ideas of what addiction looks like, but really it can happen to anyone,” he said.
Miller said that Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Alliance to get people help, because “we know that we can’t just arrest our way out of this.” Prevention, education, and sharing life-saving resources means that at least some people can be saved from the opioid crisis.
Many of the event’s attendees were members of Cornerstone Church. Administrator Sue Cone helped welcome Deputies to the space, saying they aim to be a place where the community can come together. “We honor our police,” she said, “and we do what we can to help.”
Learn more about the Alliance of Community Coalitions, including local groups and locations for Save-A-Life Stations at The Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities website at https://alliancemi.org/. Learn more about OCSO at https://www.oakgov.com/government/sheriff.
