Congresswoman Kendra Horn (D-OK) introduced a bipartisan bill Thursday to establish grants that would fund training to help law enforcement respond to behavioral health crises.
According to a study by the Treatment Advocacy Center, law enforcement agencies are the most common first responders to behavioral health crises – one in 10 police calls involve a person experiencing mental illness, while one in four people killed by police die while they are in crisis.
“The training gap puts both the officers and those experiencing crisis in danger,” Horn said in a press release. “This commonsense, bipartisan legislation makes our communities safer, and it helps protect our most vulnerable.”
The bill has garnered support from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the National Tactical Officers Association, a non-profit serving the law enforcement community, according to the press release.
“Our police officers are faced with an increasing number of calls related to mental health issues and people suffering from opioid use and addiction,” Congressman Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), who helped introduce the bill, said in the press release. “Providing our local law enforcement with better resources and training to handle these situations will help both our police force and our community safe.”
The bill follows the shooting death of Edmond teen Isaiah Lewis in late April, who is believed to have been under mental distress.
In a January 2018 incident in Norman, Marconia Kessee – whose family says he dealt with mental illness – was found dead in police custody after police detained him for allegedly causing a disturbance in the waiting area of Norman Regional Hospital.
Body camera footage released by the Norman Police Department afterward showed officers taunting Kessee and dragging him across the sidewalk by his arms before detaining him.
