Far too many emergency calls to 911 for issues ranging from family disturbances to mental health matters to wellness checks turn deadly or result in unnecessary injuries or arrests. Police show up, situations escalate, and before long, violence or arrests break out. But Missouri Rep. Cori Bush is hoping to break that vicious and tragic cycle. Bush has introduced the new “People’s Response Act” to the House in an effort to limit the public’s interactions with police during emergency calls and save lives as a result.
Biba Adams of The Grio has reported that the bill “could transform the way American police officers work in their communities” because it “would fund community systems to respond to mental health emergencies, led by health officials rather than law enforcement.”
“According to Cori Bush’s office, the People’s Response Act would, in part, create a new public safety division within the Department of Health and Human Services to fund and coordinate research, technical assistance and grant programs that would make investments in public safety through approaches that don’t require incarceration,” Adams reported.
