A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a lawsuit seeking changes to how Washington, D.C., police respond to mental health crises can go forward, rejecting an attempt by the District to have the case dismissed.
Bread for the City, a nonprofit that provides food, legal assistance, and resources to people in Washington, DC, has sued the city, alleging that police responses to mental health crises often make the situation worse.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of the nonprofit in July 2023, accusing D.C. of violating federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The ACLU said on social media that the ruling was “an important step to ensure that mental health crises are treated with 'care and compassion,' rather than unnecessary law enforcement.”
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A federal judge has rejected Washington, D.C.'s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit seeking changes to how police respond to mental health crises. (iStock)
“They're not trained to respond to people in crisis, and they essentially provoke people in crisis, so you need people who are safe to call, who are trained to respond,” said Ashika Verest, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project. Fox 5DC.
According to the ACLU, when people in Washington, DC, are in a mental health crisis and call 911 for help, police officers are typically dispatched, which can escalate the situation or provoke the person in crisis.
Verrist said the plaintiffs want D.C. to implement changes in where it sends mental health professionals, rather than police, to respond to mental health crises.
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The lawsuit alleges that D.C. violated federal Americans with Disabilities Act. (iStock)
“The problem is, when you call 911, you rarely ever get that kind of response,” Verist said. “Our complaints show that if you look at any given time period, less than 1% of the time you get that kind of response, and even when you do get that response, it's not in a timely manner. You're left waiting for hours.”
The judge stressed that his sentence was not a criticism of police conduct, but that officers were not trained to deal with such mental health situations.
Asked about how mental health professionals would be funded, Verest pointed to resources used by police to respond to mental health crises.
The judge said the officers were not trained in mental health crises. (iStock)
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“Let's think about the amount of taxpayer money that's spent on police officers responding to these incidents, the time that officers spend with people in crisis, the overtime that comes with that, the time that's spent taking people to hospitals and having them wait, and think about whether that money could be better utilized to adequately staff those responses,” Verest said.
Both sides are currently preparing for the case to go to trial.
