Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mental-health professionals urge city to stop sending federal 'Unsafe Task Force' to crisis calls
Summary
Mental-health providers and advocates told council that federal HSI or an "Unsafe Task Force" has been responding to mental-health calls, resulting in dangerous outcomes; they urged investment in local crisis-response alternatives and accountability from MPD leadership.
Several licensed mental-health professionals and advocates addressed the council during public comment, asking why the city allows federal or specialized task-force units to respond to mental-health crises instead of local crisis teams.
Reagan Murray, a licensed mental-health professional, said the city’s Unsafe Task Force and HSI have responded to mental-health calls and cited several deaths she attributes to those responses. "Who are my clients supposed to call in their time of need when they don't know if it's going to be an untrained federal agent or an actual mental health professional at their door?" she asked. Another commenter described a call where HSI agents forced entry, handcuffed a person and transported them without a warrant.
Advocates urged the council to invest tax dollars in improving local crisis-response capacity rather than funding federal enforcement responses; they also asked for accountability for specific incidents mentioned in public testimony.
