You are reading

Mental Health Workers Will Replace Police Response to Some 911 Calls in NYC Pilot

Photo: Stock Unsplash @enginakyurt

Nov. 10, 2020 By Allie Griffin

Mental health experts will be sent out next year instead of police officers in response to 911 calls involving non-violent people experiencing mental illness problems, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.

The new plan, which will be piloted in a number of neighborhoods next year, involves dispatching FDNY Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and mental health crisis workers to the scene when non violent mental health episodes take place.

The professionals will replace armed NYPD officers who currently respond to these 911 calls.

“For the first time in our city’s history, health responders will be the default responders for a person in crisis, making sure those struggling with mental illness receive the help they need,” de Blasio said in a statement.

The pilot will launch in two “high-need” precincts in February 2021, de Blasio said — though he didn’t specify which precincts or neighborhoods.

The mental health team will be trained to respond to a variety of mental health calls, such as suicide attempts, substance misuse and serious mental illness episodes — all of which NYPD officers, along with EMTS, currently respond to.

The mental health experts will work to de-escalate the emergency situations to reduce police involvement. However, the mayor said, if there is a situation involving a weapon or risk of harm, the teams will respond along with NYPD officers.

The team members will have ongoing training, technical assistance and support from New York City’s public hospital system, de Blasio said.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Southeast Queens leaders endorse Mark Levine for NYC comptroller

Apr. 17, 2025 By Athena Dawson

Cook cited Levine’s experience and problem-solving skills as a reason for her vote of confidence. “Mark is the clear choice to be our City’s next comptroller, and I am proud to back him today and every day. He has the experience and creative problem-solving skills to tackle some of our city’s most pressing issues while protecting New Yorkers from the dangers of Trump and the federal government,”  she shared in a statement. 

Op-ed: The power of representation in healthcare

Apr. 17, 2025 By Dr. Ifeanyi Oguagha

As physicians of color at Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center (JPAFHC), we regularly witness how representation in healthcare can save lives. Our patients – who, like us, are predominantly people of color – walk through our doors not only with medical concerns but also often carrying the weight of generations of inequities that have shaped their health outcomes.

Teen robbed of necklace at gunpoint while waiting for R train at Elmhurst subway: NYPD

Police from the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst and Transit District 20 are looking for a gunman who allegedly robbed a teenager at the Grand Avenue-Newtown subway station.

The 18-year-old victim was waiting for an R train at around 2 p.m. on Friday, April 10, when a stranger approached him, lifted his sweatshirt to show he had a firearm tucked into his waistband, and demanded the victim’s necklace. The teenager surrendered his necklace, and the armed robber fled the station onto Queens Boulevard at Broadway.