NYPD sued over response to mental health crises

A coalition of New Yorkers with mental disabilities has sued the New York Police Department claiming that its continued use of police officers as first responders to mental health crises is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The class-action lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said the plaintiffs were “unlawfully seized and forced into unconstitutional confinement in violation of their constitutional rights” and “injured physically and emotionally, while being involuntarily committed to a hospital against their will” after cops responded to their mental health crises.

One of the plaintiffs, Sarah Arvio, alleged she was forcibly detained and involuntarily hospitalized by NYPD officers and EMS personnel after she told her doctor’s office she was “so frustrated with you all that I feel like jumping off the bridge,” according to the complaint.

Another plaintiff, Giovanna Sanchez-Esquivel, said she was involuntarily committed to a hospital by armed NYPD officers after her boyfriend allegedly called 911 and claimed she was having a “manic episode,” the complaint said.

The New York City Law Department is reviewing the case.

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, a not-for-profit civil rights law firm that represents the plaintiffs, said in a statement that it wants the city to implement a new crisis-response program that is independent of the NYPD and staffed with trained crisis counselors with mental health experience. The group also called for a dedicated hotline for crisis calls that can serve as an alternative to 911.

The Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health was created under the de Blasio administration to help coordinate an all-government approach to mental health that spans city agencies.

“We have placed clinicians in high-need locations they have never been before – including family shelters, residences and drop-in centers for homeless and runaway youth, senior centers – to expand prevention and early intervention,” said a City Hall official. “And, we have dramatically expanded services for New Yorkers living with serious mental illness, including through more supportive housing, new mobile treatment teams, expanded mobile crisis teams, health engagement teams, and increased membership at clubhouses.”

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In June of 2021, the city launched a pilot program where mental and physical health professionals would respond to 911 mental health emergency calls. The approach, called the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division, or B-HEARD, was launched in Harlem and planning is underway for citywide expansion, with operations beginning in the south Bronx early next year. During the first six months of operation, 46% of people assisted by B-HEARD were transported to a hospital for additional care, compared to 87% of traditional 911 calls, according to data from the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health.

B-HEARD teams are deployed via 911, but a caller cannot specifically request a B-HEARD team member. The 911 operator is responsible for recognizing and assigning calls to B-HEARD based on the call location, dispatch criteria, and availability.

This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain's New York Business.