A recent report by the Attorney General’s office shows that only one-quarter of Barre’s police officers have participated in training, offered by the Vermont Police Academy, that covers interactions with persons exhibiting mental health conditions.

The training has been available since 2006. The training program was created following several high-profile incidents where police used deadly force to subdue persons with mental illness.

Ten of Barre’s 44 full-time and part-time officers, or 23 percent, have taken the training, the AG’s report shows. Participation by departments around the state ranges widely. Nearby departments have rates over 50 percent — Montpelier, 84 percent and Northfield, 57 percent. Vermont State Police have a 59 percent training rate.

The report does not detail which officers in a department have been trained, so it is impossible to tell if Cpl. Henry Duhaime — the Barre officer involved in the tasing of a 58-year-old woman outside a convenience store two weeks ago — has taken the training course.

The store owner wanted the woman off the store property, according to Duhaime. When she refused to comply when confronted by Duhaime, the officer pulled the Taser and used it repeatedly to subdue her so he could handcuff her and forcibly remove her.

The woman, homeless and known to police, was taken to the Vermont State Hospital to determine her competency to face criminal charges lodged against her.

The Attorney General received money in the 2004 state budget “to establish a training program for law enforcement officers in their interactions with persons exhibiting mental health conditions.” A working group made up of police, state officials, and mental health advocates was created to design and implement the program. It meets regularly and issues an annual report. The figures quoted above come from the 2010 report, which was submitted to the Legislature in February.

The mental health training is different from the training Barre officers are supposed to receive before they use the department’s Tasers. That training is carried out on the local level, and participation is not tracked by the AG’s office.