Civil rights advocates are turning up the pressure on San Jose, accusing the city of routinely routing mental health 911 calls to police instead of to non-police crisis teams and warning that the practice may violate federal disability law. In a letter sent earlier this month, the ACLU and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law fault the city for how it runs the local 911 dispatch center and say a pause in talks with Santa Clara County has stalled efforts to grow civilian crisis response. The groups caution that if cooperation does not resume, their dispute could move into court.
As reported by San José Spotlight, the letter was signed by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, including its local chapter, and the Bazelon Center. It presses city leaders to divert more appropriate calls away from armed officers. Susan Mizner, director emeritus of the ACLU’s disability rights program, told San José Spotlight, “We are hoping that the letter will prompt the city to send the experts within the city on its emergency response system to join our conversation and our negotiations with the county.” The outlet notes this latest warning follows earlier demands and that the city pulled out of interagency talks in December.
County Teams And TRUST
Santa Clara County launched the Trusted Response Urgent Support Team, known as TRUST, in 2022 as a non-police mobile crisis response staffed by clinicians and peer specialists. Callers can reach teams in the field through 988 or a dedicated TRUST phone line. According to Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services, TRUST is designed to de-escalate psychiatric and substance use crises without sending armed officers and to connect people to follow-up care. County materials describe multi-person teams operating in vans across the county.
What The Data Shows…