Shining the Light on Mental Illness, Trauma and Suicide
Captain Jeremy Romo
Executive Director
Jeremy Romo is a Captain with the St. Louis County, Missouri Police Department where he has served since 1999. He has held numerous positions within the department including, patrol officer, member of the tactical operations unit, patrol sergeant, supervisor of the crisis intervention team unit, patrol watch commander, deputy commander of the bureau of tactical support and commander of the criminal intelligence unit. He is currently the Commander of the Bureau of Communications.
From 2013 to 2018 Jeremy supervised the St. Louis County Police Departments Crisis Intervention Team Unit. In this role Jeremy worked with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) St. Louis to provide a 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team Training to law enforcement officers, as well as: 24-hour Youth CIT Training, 24-hour Veterans CIT Training, 16-hour Dispatch/Telecommunication CIT Training and an 8-hour advanced CIT training. In addition, he collaborated with community behavioral health providers within St. Louis County to divert individuals living with mental health and substance use disorders away from the criminal justice system and into treatment. From 2016 to 2018 Jeremy had the opportunity to become the first Missouri State Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator. As the Missouri State CIT Coordinator, he helped expand the Crisis Intervention Team Model throughout the State of Missouri.
Jeremy is a National Trainer for the internationally recognized Mental Health First Aid Program (MHFA). He conducts training and has presented at conferences throughout the United States to law enforcement officers and non-law enforcement audiences on de-escalation, how to properly respond to individuals in behavioral health crisis and first responder wellness.
Jeremy was an instructor for the batterer’s intervention program, Alternatives to Violence and Abuse from 2002 to 2012 and served as an adjunct instructor in the criminal justice program at Sanford Brown College from 2011 to 2015.
Jeremy is on the Board of Directors of the Independence Center in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also a member of the Greater St. Louis Critical Incident Stress Management Team (CISM) where he serves as a law enforcement peer and assists with the facilitation of Critical Incident Stress Debriefings for first responders.
Jeremy was the recipient of a 2013 John J. McAtee Police Recognition Award, 2014 St. Louis County Crisis Intervention Team Leadership Award, 2016 CIT International Coordinator of the Year Award, 2016 Southeast Missouri CIT Appreciation Award, a 2018 John J. McAtee Police Recognition Award and a 2023 Dr. Rick Gowdy Legacy Award.
Jeremy holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration from Western Illinois University and a Master of Arts Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri St. Louis.