Latest in a series of posts in the wake of the George Floyd murder

Councilwoman Negron made the Lehigh Valley Good Neighbors Alliance social media when she remarked that 9-1-1 wasn’t working well, a remark that was taken to mean she is suggesting that the 9-1-1 system be abolished. Which caused some alarm. And which is not true.

Here’s the idea Councilwoman Negron was referencing in a new bill introduced by Senator Casey: “The HELP Act would divert non-criminal, non-fire and non-medical emergency calls from 9-1-1 systems to state and regional 2-1-1 systems [United Way], while providing resources and funding to improve 2-1-1 referral systems.”

The idea is to exercise some “discrimination” (pun intended) about what calls police respond to.

Such systems are already in operation as Gadfly learned when he was reviewing programs in cities that were re-imagining how they do public safety and reporting on them here.

In fact, Philadelphia has such a pilot program, but the mental health person was unfortunately not in the dispatch center when the call that would eventuate in the death of Walter Wallace came in.

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Selections from “Casey to introduce Police Overhaul that Would Reform the Way Law Enforcement Interacts with People with Disabilities”

Following Spate of Encounters in PA and Across the Nation, Casey’s Bill Would Enhance State and Regional 2-1-1 Call System.

As the Nation reckons with the high profile killings of Black Americans at the hands of police officers and growing calls for policy changes to prevent future violence, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is launching the Law Enforcement Education and Accountability for People with Disabilities (LEAD) Initiative, to help bring about racial justice and address the high incidence rate of police violence involving people with disabilities.

The LEAD Initiative is comprised of two bills – the Safe Interactions Act and the Human-services Emergency Logistic Program (HELP) Act – which would reduce calls to 9-1-1 call systems regarding non-criminal emergencies and provide robust training to law enforcement on interacting with people with disabilities, including those experiencing a mental health crisis.

“The families of Walter Wallace, Jr., Ricardo Munoz and Osaze Osagie needed mental health crisis support and they didn’t get it,” said Senator Casey. “We must take action to ensure that someone’s ethnicity or mental ability does not preclude them from receiving protection and fair treatment. My LEAD initiative aims to protect the promise of liberty and justice for all by reforming our emergency systems so that people and police are connected with the resources they need.”

“United Way and the 211 network are deeply grateful to Senator Casey for introducing the HELP Act,” said Suzanne McCormick, U.S. President, United Way Worldwide. “211 is a vital resource supporting over 95 percent of communities in the U.S. and this expansion of coverage means that more people can get the help they need, particularly those with mental health illnesses and other disabilities. United Way looks forward to working with Senator Casey to expand critical services to the American people during these difficult times.”

The Washington Post database of police shootings estimates that at least 25 percent of shootings involve a person with a mental health disability. A 2016 Ruderman Foundation report estimated that between one-third and half of 2015 shootings involving a law enforcement officer included a person with a disability.

The HELP Act would divert non-criminal, non-fire and non-medical emergency calls from 9-1-1 systems to state and regional 2-1-1 systems, while providing resources and funding to improve 2-1-1 referral systems. The bill would create an oversight system for the 2-1-1 networks comprised of community members who represent older adults, people with disabilities, ethnic and racial community members and members of other communities.

The Safe Interactions Act would provide grants to enable non-profit disability organizations to develop training programs that support safe interactions between law enforcement officers and people with disabilities. The training would be directed to both new and veteran officers and would include people with disabilities in the training as instructors.

Latest in a series of posts in the wake of the George Floyd murder

Gadfly keeping an eye on what’s happening in Minneapolis. The George Floyd ground zero. Very complicated.

Selections from Liz Navratil, “Divided Minneapolis City Council votes to cut $8 million from police budget.” Star Tribune, December 10, 2020.

The Minneapolis council preserved a plan to hire more officers in future years, avoiding a political showdown with Mayor Jacob Frey.

The late change to the department’s staffing projections, passed along a narrow 7-6 vote, does not change the number of officers who will work in 2021. The move, instead, avoided a political showdown with Mayor Jacob Frey.

The city expects a monthly average of 770 police officers will work in 2021, if council agrees to release funding for some recruit classes.

The City Council had initially planned to drop the force’s authorized size to 750 officers starting in 2022, but reversed course late Wednesday. Frey, who sought to keep the current target level of 888, had said he was considering vetoing the budget because he was concerned about “the massive permanent cut to officer capacity” in future years.

In a statement early Thursday, Frey lauded the council’s vote on the budget.

“My colleagues were right to leave the targeted staffing level unchanged from 888 and continue moving forward with our shared priorities,” Frey said. “The additional funding for new public safety solutions will also allow the City to continue upscaling important mental health, non-police response, and social service components in our emergency response system.”

The 2021 budget served as the latest venue for debates on changing the police department after George Floyd’s death and a subsequent pledge by a majority of council members to end the department. As the talks unfolded, city leaders deliberated whether they should leave the department mostly intact while building out new services, or cut the department to fund them.

While the city is seeking to change its public safety system, it is also experiencing a crime wave that includes more than 500 shootings.

Frey pitched a $1.5 billion spending plan that included about $179 million for the police department, down from about $193 million initially approved for it in 2020.

The council cut an additional $7.7 million from the police department. That money will fund mental health crisis teams, train dispatchers to assess mental health calls and have other employees handle theft and property damage reports.

The council also placed $11.4 million in a reserve fund they created. That fund will include about $6.4 million that was included in Frey’s plan to hire two police recruit classes, and about $5 million that could be used to offset cuts council members made to police overtime. To access that money, the police department will need additional approval from City Council in votes next year.

Arradondo said the department — which had 874 officers at the beginning of the year — is effectively down 166 officers, between officers who have resigned and officers who are on leave. The department’s leave figures are far higher than average this year, in part because a large number of officers filed PTSD claims after the summer rioting.

In recent days, the negotiations focused on a different budget provision. The City Council, in a meeting Monday, voted to reduce the authorized force size to about 750 officers in 2022 and future years.The mayor, though, hoped to keep the target level at 888, its authorized size, which he said would make it easier for them to hire back amid the shortage.

The council voted 7-6 Wednesday night to restore that level to 888, with Vice President Andrea Jenkins as the swing vote.

Jenkins said it was a difficult decision. She had voted the opposite way earlier in the week.

“The reality right now is that Chief Arradondo is woefully understaffed for a variety of reasons,” Jenkins said. “Do I believe that this effort will resolve all of our problems, all of our crime issues overnight? Absolutely not. Neither will all of the social service programs and initiatives. It’s going to take all of these things together to lower the crime rate.”

If Frey approves the budget, the discussion next year will be about whether to cut or add to a department authorized to employ 888 officers. Had the council’s earlier plan remained in place, the discussion would have been about whether to cut or add to a department designed for 750 officers.

Latest in a series of posts in the wake of the George Floyd murder

Tip o’ the hat to follower M.D.

Mapping Police Violence

Very often discussions of police violence involves battles of statistics.

You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.

There is a ton of statistics in this web project.

Lots to chew on here.

Gadfly is not sure what you might want to look at.

Would somebody better at this than he is want to focus us on what you think is a meaningful or contested statistic?

We should know something about the source of the site. A Wikipedia article says it’s “a project affiliated with Black Lives Matter.” It is used and referenced many places with authority as Gadfly discovered browsing the web.

See also the Washington Post database: Fatal Force.

Mapping Police Violence

Latest in series of posts in the wake of the George Floyd murder

re: “Do not let lethal force be the means by which you de-escalate the situation”

Gadfly:

Does BPD’s training compare to or include anything similar to ICAT?

I think I recall considerable efforts to improve the Dept, especially since the failed, lethal siege of some two decades ago. This is not to say, angrily, defensively, or otherwise, that BPD is near perfect or imperfect. That’s why we must look inward. To serve ALL.

Thankfully, Philly Councilman Gauthier used the phrase “sanctity of life,” which I don’t hear much anymore. Does it ever end? WHEN does one’s conflict with another’s?

While we all want to keep things simple — such as “When someone threatens another’s life,” recent and  historical events show us otherwise. And it’s not always the same for different people. So many scenarios involving the mentally ill (and not just among the poor). And then there’s systemic and personal bias which relate to lack of socio-cultural understandings, and others, as well as early childhood education that takes place in the home.

Clearly, our system — our paradigm — of justice needs correction. I am grateful for the protection I have received thanks to police and also for the actions demanded to reevaluate Bethlehem’s approach to policing and, more broadly, to strengthening community through uniting and using our resources to help HEAL ALL of its subgroups.

To me it is a MUST. Many have called for it. You might want to see no change. Then express that. Hopefully all will do so open-mindedly.

We owe ALL our brothers and sisters no less.

Greg Zahm