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Authorizing the Committee on Public Health and Human Services and the Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings examining the intersection of mental health, disability, and police encounters; and to develop strategies and best practices for non-lethal de-escalation, crisis intervention, and restraint of individuals experiencing mental or emotional distress.
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WHEREAS, Between one-quarter and one-half of all people killed by police were experiencing a mental health crisis; and
WHEREAS, On October 26, 2020, Walter Wallace, Jr. was shot multiple times and killed by Philadelphia police officers after receiving a call that a man was armed with a knife. Both the video released on social media and his family indicated that Walter was experiencing a mental health emergency; and
WHEREAS, There have been multiple preventable occasions where people with disabilities were killed by the police, like Laquan McDonald who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and complex mental health problems, Ethan Saylor who had Down syndrome, and Michelle Cusseaux who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; and
WHEREAS, Police have become default responders to mental health calls but are not trained to de-escalate situations and address disability emergencies. Police might presume people with psychiatric disabilities as "dangerous to themselves and others" during police interactions; and
WHEREAS, People with emotional, physical, cognitive, or sensory disabilities are more likely to be arrested. 55% of Black Americans with disabilities will be arrested by the time they reach their late 20s compared to 46% of Latino people with disabilities and 28% of White Americans with disabilities. Youth with mental or physical disabilities are 13% more likely to be arrested than youth without disabilities, while being Black widened the chances of arrest by 17%; and
WHEREAS, On October 9, 2020, the City of Philadelphia announced an initiative to improve police respo...
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