A little more than a week after the city of Rochester, New York, launched a program to de-escalate police interventions with residents suffering from mental health issues, it failed the first big test. A 9-year-old girl who police say family told them may harm herself or others was handcuffed, pepper-sprayed and manhandled by officers instead of receiving aid from mental health professionals.
Although the Person In Crisis Team hasn’t been in action for long, the guidelines were set up late last year. What perplexes many is why this new tool wasn’t utilized during an incident that seemed to be tailor-made for it. Mental health professionals and civil rights advocates throughout the city are outraged.