The Problem with Police involved with mental health
People with disabilities or mental illness are 16 times more likely to die from a police encounter. “Many police departments do not provide sufficient training on how to respectfully and safely interact with people in crisis”. Many crisis response units have been popping up as an alternative to policing. The Mental Health First Oakland was […]
Crisis Response Team, an Alternative to Police for Mental Health Emergencies
(Chicago, IL) The “Treatment for Trauma” proposal focuses on alternatives to policing for those with mental health emergencies. In Chicago the police exclusively deals with these emergencies and as a result, “the largest mental health provider in this city is Cook County Jail.” “The crisis response team would be staffed by paramedics and social workers […]
Police Handcuffed 10-year old with Autism and Fractured his Arm
(Worcester, MA) JT. is a 10-year old with autism, and was getting upset after he stopped taking his medication. JT’s mom, Beshai Torres, called 911 to ask for medical assistance. While an ambulance was on there way, two police officers arrived first. After Beshai told the officers her son was autistic, the officers approached JT […]
Utah Police Shot 13-year old with Autism
(Salt Lake City, UT) Linden Cameron was 13-years old diagnosed with autism. Linden was having a mental health episode, so his mother called the police. She told police that Linden was “unarmed” and suffering “anxiety”. Two police officers arrived at the scene and within 5 minutes, Linden was shot multiple times. The police said 13-year […]
Alternatives to Police Response for Psychiatric Disabilities
(San Mateo, CA) Police responded to a 9-1-1 call about a person walking through traffic. When police arrived, they found Chinedu Okobi who was an unarmed 36-year old Black man with a psychiatric disability. Shortly after police confronted Chinedu, he was forced to the ground by 5 officers and tased a total of 7 times. […]