Los Angeles police union proposes limits to 911 responses

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The proposal announced Wednesday by the Los Angeles Police Protective League lists 28 kinds of 911 calls where other city agencies or nonprofit organizations would be sent first. We should be focused on responding to emergencies, saving lives property, and of course, engaging in community policing.” Cities including San Francisco, San Diego and New York — as well as Los Angeles — have already implemented programs where clinicians are either paired with officers or work in civilian teams to respond to 911 calls involving someone who is having a mental health crisis. Activists have long called for Los Angeles police to stop responding to certain mental health calls, minor traffic collisions and encounters in homeless encampments, pointing to times when officers have fatally shot people during the response. Hugh Esten, a spokesperson for City Council President Paul Krekorian, said the union's proposal will be given serious consideration as city officials work to “ensure that sworn personnel are deployed where they are truly needed and that unarmed responders address those situations where an armed response is unnecessary.” With decreased staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the union said its proposal would free up officers to respond to more important calls — such as violent crime — and allow cops to engage in more community policing to build better relationships with the city's residents.