A STUDENT who felt “blamed, shamed, and ridiculed” by officers after he was arrested for affray is now helping train recruits at the Metropolitan Police.
António Ferreira, who is a second-year psychology student at Essex University, was arrested for affray as a teenager after experiencing a serious mental health episode, and tried to end his own life whilst in sixth form college.
But the 25-year-old, who launched the HearMeSpeak campaign, is now using his lived experience to shape guidance for police officers and improve their training for when they help people in mental health crises.
Recently, he attended the police, public and safety training at the Metropolitan Police Academy where he spoke with Superintendent Mark Gallacher, lead for learning and development at Hendon Policing College.
Mr Ferreira said: “Attending the training day was a privilege.
“I asked to be heard and Supt Mark Gallacher was keen to hear me speak and learn from my experience.
“Hopefully this is the start of diligently seeking the input of those with lived experience.”
Supt Gallacher added: “These inputs have proved highly effective and relevant to the recruits training [and] we are planning to use Antonio’s story in our upcoming training for all front-line police concerning the implementation of the right care, right person model.”
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