More cities adding mental health experts to 911 calls

Police departments across the country looking to dial down the potentially deadly stakes of encounters between officers and the public are adding unarmed mental health experts to 911 calls.
Minneapolis; Los Angeles; Denver; Portland, Oregon; and the District of Columbia are among the cities experimenting with “crisis intervention” programs that trace their roots to a long-standing initiative in Eugene, Oregon. Since 1989, Eugene’s CAHOOTS program, short for Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets, has been sending unarmed teams that include a crisis intervention worker and a medic to handle 911 calls for mental health, addiction or homelessness issues. (Excerpts from the Washington Times)