Alissa, Mike, and Godfrey review a new city controller assessment of LAPD’s “armed-first, police-first, patrol-first” response to mental health crisis calls. Plus, what in the world is going on at LAX? The people mover is delayed to June 2026 at least, while billions in public transit investments are about to be undermined by new elevated roadways that are certain to make airport traffic worse.
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The LA City Controller’s office published a comprehensive assessment of LAPD’s Mental Evaluation Unit and Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team (SMART) program
There’s some troubling data: “Only 6% of the incident report narratives describe an attempt to de-escalate by the responding officers and/or SMART; 61% include no description of an attempt to de-escalate, and 33% describe no need for de-escalation”
“When it comes to LAPD mental health crisis response, LAPD requires an armed-first, police-first, patrol-first response to mental health crisis incidents,” Dinah Manning, who also is the controller’s chief of strategic initiatives, told LAist
Compare these efforts to the very successful outcomes of LA’s Unarmed Model of Crisis Response, which we discussed in September: “6,700 calls were diverted from 911 dispatch and fewer than 4.1% of calls required police backup”
The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward
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