There are calls from community members to review the 911 response to people experiencing a mental health crisis, as the state continues to investigate two fatal police shootings in Hartford.
Mental health professionals have been going on 911 calls with police since 2022.
The 911 call center dispatches the Hartford Emergency Assistance Response team, known as the HEARTeam. It has three partners: the Capitol Region Mental Health Center and its mobile crisis team that helps adults with severe mental illness and substance abuse, the Community Renewal Team that helps adults in emotional distress as long as there is no concern for violence, and the Wheeler Clinic, which helps children ages 3-17.
Two men, both armed, were experiencing mental health emergencies when they were shot by police last month, within eight days of each other.
The families of both men have said they called for help, but not from the police. Frustrations led to fiery moments from family and community members at the mayor’s state of the city address Monday night.
In the case of Everard Walker, two mental health professionals from Capitol Region Mental Health Center requested that police come with them to Walker’s apartment, according to the inspector general’s preliminary report. Walker was shot by an officer after he pulled out a knife during an argument.
Eight days later, a family member of Steven Jones called 911, saying he had cut himself and had a knife. Mental health professionals were not dispatched. Officers told him to drop the knife repeatedly until an officer fired, according to the inspector general.
The officers who fired at the men have been placed on administrative leave, as is customary in officer-involved shootings.
The Connecticut Psychiatric Society, which represents 600 members across the state, is now calling for better training for police officers.
“We want to encourage families and loved ones to not allow this to be a deterrent in getting the help and treatment for their loved ones and for themselves, to be the best version of themselves that they can be,” Dr. Jessica Abellard, the society’s president, said. “These are men of color and it’s important to keep in mind in terms of implicit bias training, in addition to crisis intervention training, to ensure that patients are getting the help they need.”
The society also said in a statement that mental health crises are medical emergencies that require compassion and clinical expertise.
The union representing Hartford police officers has said officers should not be society’s default mental health responders.
Hartford’s mayor, Arunan Arulampalam (D) said he and city council are looking at how mental health coverage city in the city can be expanded.
The city’s inspector general and civilian police review board will look into both cases, following the state’s investigation, according to the mayor.
These cases have received national attention. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing Jones’s family, and civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton is expected to give a eulogy at Jones’s funeral on Thursday.
