ACTIVISTS JOIN POLICE TO ADDRESS POLICE INTERACTIONS WITH PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS.

In light of recent events, including the fatal tasering of Iman Morales, a 35 year old man with mental illness, by the NYPD, Rights for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disabilities (RIPPD) will be hosting a roundtable discussion on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 from 1:00 PM till 4:00 PM. This roundtable will bring together people with psychiatric disabilities who have first-hand experience with the criminal justice system, the NYPD and police from Westchester County who are using Community Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs) to improve police interactions with people with mental illness. A discussion on the current state of the New York City Police Department and how CITs can be implemented to best service people with psychiatric disabilities will take place.

“The New York City Police Department is in a state of crisis. Police officers have little or no understanding of mental illness and how it can play out in a given situation. Instead officers respond to mental health crisis calls using existing tactics. With no community involvement or accountability, the police response to these calls usually ends in harm to police and more often the person in need of help It is necessary for New York to take example from Westchester, Chicago, Los Angeles and other big cities who are proactively addressing this problem with community crisis intervention teams.” Leah Gitter, member of RIPPD.

According to former training commissioner for the New York City Police Department, James Fyfe, the NYPD responds to a call involving a person with mental illness every 6.5 minutes. The NYPD does not currently have an adequate response system in place to appropriately handle these calls, some of which result in the unnecessary harm of people with mental illness as well as the responding officers. Furthermore there is no system of accountability in place when injury or death occurs.

It is necessary for the entire community to come together to ensure that people in mental health crisis have access to safe diversion and treatment. There are over 80 cities and counties in the United States, including Westchester County, NY, currently employing alternative models such as Community Crisis Intervention Teams. These teams have been noted as decreasing the arrest rate of people with mental illness as well as creating more safety for officers.

The roundtable will take place at 520 8th Ave, #2203 (Manhattan). Police and social workers from Westchester County, NY will share their experiences with CITs, speaking to the effectiveness of such programs and the need for them in NYC.

It is in the best interest of New York City for all involved parties, including those directly affected and police officers, to work closely and collaboratively to ensure appropriate positive change within the NYPD. Please join us as we bring this important change to life.

Please contact RIPPD for more information.

Lisa Ortega at lortega@rippd.org

Mary Dougherty at mdougherty@rippd.org