In Spokane and across the country, first responders are getting more and more calls for behavioral health crises—sometimes drug-induced, sometimes not.
To address the shift, Spokane now deploys eight co-response teams, pairing mental health experts with officers from the fire department, police department, and sheriff’s office.
These teams offer certain advantages for the public and the vulnerable populations they serve, but they’re a small part of a system peppered with gaps…