Civilian advisory committee gives update on Sacramento sheriff's new policy on certain 911 calls
SACRAMENTO — Community members continue to protest the Sacramento County sheriff's decision to no longer respond to certain mental health calls for help.
It's now been three months since the sheriff revealed his office will no longer respond to 911 mental health crisis calls if the person is not committing any crime — even if they have a gun or knife.
The change was made in response to a federal court ruling, but some people say the sheriff's order puts public safety at risk.
"Firefighters and also mental health workers cannot go into a situation if there is a weapon," said Nancy Brynelson, a mental health advocate.
So what, if any, policy adaptions are being made?
Paul Curtis heads the civilian-led Sacramento Sheriff Community Review Commission and said that he's working to address community concerns.
"We've met with the undersheriff, [Mike] Ziegler, and had a very good meeting with him to talk about where they're coming from and also our concerns about the gaps in service where they're needed," he said.
Curtis said one improvement is that 911 calls can now be directly transferred to the 988 mental health crisis line.
"Those systems are working together, and they can do a warm handoff and transfer the calls over, which is a good step in the right progress," he said.
And there could be more changes coming. Ziegler is scheduled to appear before the committee on May 27 and answer questions about what the sheriff's office is doing to ensure the public is still protected.
"The question is, is this window dressing to respond to all the pressure and lawyers who probably have told them that what they are doing is illegal? Because it was," said Mary Ann Bernard, a mental health advocate.
The committee said that of California's 58 counties, only Sacramento and Del Norte counties' sheriffs have made this type of response change.
