About as well as sending out a cop to do a health check on someone with mental problems. Different tools for different situations. No one expects a social worker to roll in and stop a bank heist, and not every call needs a cop. Some calls might need one of each.
Read my prior post.
Large agencies, including NYC, have since the early 90’s, been specially selecting officers to go through intensive training programs that are specifically designed (by crisis counselors, physicians, social workers, etc… most programs are overseen by the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law) to deal with mental health issues, addiction issues, etc…
Dispatch already has the ability to send a CIT team to answer a call… and patrol officers already have the ability to call CIT to a scene if they think the situation warrants it… NYC specifically has 8200 CIT qualified officers on staff..
No agency should ever send someone in to deal with mental health issues that are criminal in nature (911 called because the person is a threat to himself or others or is in the process of committing a crime) without law enforcement present. Doing that puts everyone involved and others in the general vicinity at risk..
Dispatch doesn’t just have patrol officers on tap when a 911 called is made… they have every unit within the police force, the fire department, social services, animal control, the coroner, child protective services, etc.. etc
Unless it is an obvious fire or rescue specific call, they will almost always send a patrol unit first to ensure that the scene is safe prior to sending anyone else in…
The patrol officer will then determine if he needs a dog catcher, a paramedic, a swat team, child social services, CIT, or whatever else might be necessary to solve whatever the problem at hand is..
That process won’t change.. when dispatch gets a 911 call stating some crazy guy is getting ready to jump off a bridge they will send patrol first to secure the scene and assess what is really going on… anything else would put HUGE liability on the city…
Once they get there the patrol officers are going to assess things and call CIT and request back up patrol to help contain things…
All Mandami is saying he’s going to do is trade one person already trained to deal with mental health issues for another person trained to deal with mental health issues..
His case is nothing more than a red herring…