Last March, 19-year-old Win Rozario called 911 himself from his apartment in Ozono Park, Queens, in the midst of an extreme mental health crisis. Two New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers responded to the scene. Within minutes, it all ended with the young man shot dead several times after he allegedly threatened the officers and his family with scissors. His mother and brother were at the scene.
The above story, still under investigation, involving a family of Bangladeshi migrants, is the most recent fateful testimony that has forced New York City to pay more attention to the uniformed police when they respond to emergency calls involving domestic or street situations of people with psychiatric disorders.
For this reason, on Monday a commission of the Municipal Council began consultations and hearings to approve a bill that would force municipal authorities to share with greater precision every three months how, when and where these specific types of emergencies are handled.
“Enough of the criminalization of our city’s most vulnerable. These patients need humane, professional, compassionate interaction, not police force. We are obliged to examine what the City is doing to address these emergencies,” demanded Harlem Councilman Yusef Salaam, who heads the Public Safety Committee.
The legislation would require much greater oversight of New York City’s Behavioral Health Emergency Response Division (B-HEARD), a pilot plan drawn up in 2021 in select police precincts to more clearly identify when a more professional, rather than police-based, approach is required behind a 911 call.
This is an interagency collaboration between the Fire Department (FDNY) and the Public Hospitals Corporation (NYC Health + Hospitals) with oversight from the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health (OCMH).
So far, this strategy only works at certain times and in part in some counties.
In response to reports of cases that end up being placed in the files of “police brutality,” the municipal government argues that it has implemented modifications over the last three years to strengthen these operations, such as the development of a “new algorithm to automate calls” and more effectively identify which emergencies require a B-HEARD response.
In parallel, they report the hiring of more 911 special agents this year.
“It became too small”
In addition, the bill would force the NYPD and FDNY to create clearer criteria to identify in advance and more precisely whether a call is an emergency associated with a mental health crisis, where weapons are not involved, and to provide evidence that a specialized B-HEARD team was indeed involved in resolving the “novelty.”
According to activists and local legislators, this plan has fallen “small” in the face of the enormous mental health crisis that is taking place in the Big Apple, because in fact, it continues to leave a large part of these types of emergencies in the hands of the police.
Meanwhile, activists from the Crisis Intervention Today (CCIT-NYC) coalition are pushing for even more radical changes to this initiative, including the incorporation of more trained workers with experience in the mental health system into these response teams.
They also criticise the City’s failure to share public data on B-HEARD for a year.
In its own reports, CCIT-NYC shows that only 6% of people served under this plan have ended up in community health care centers or social services, while 60% of people were taken to hospitals.
Little by little
In contrast, the City released official data stating that during 2024, B-HEARD teams responded to 14,900 calls, representing 73% of all eligible mental health calls, in the pilot area, during program operating hours.
In November 2021, this program was expanded to respond to 911 calls for extreme emotional disturbances from East Harlem to the Hudson River. In March 2022, it expanded to Washington Heights, Inwood, and parts of the South Bronx. Then in June 2022, it expanded to two additional police precincts in the South Bronx.
In October 2022, it was implemented in the rest of the South Bronx and East New York and Brownsville.
In March 2023, Mayor Eric Adams announced a commitment to bring this initiative citywide as part of his Mental Health Plan. That same month, B-HEARD covered parts of Queens for the first time and additional neighborhoods in Brooklyn. As of October 2023, it covers the entire borough.
However, councilors of the mental health commission and leaders of community organizations are pushing for resources and actions to be taken to ensure that, given the magnitude of this “tragedy” that continues to claim lives, it becomes a comprehensive municipal policy that includes more prevention strategies.
“It’s a 24-hour affair”
“It is time for the police to completely remove their hands from any approach to these types of patients. They are not prepared to escalate these situations. This type of action should be available 24 hours a day, every day. In every county. In every school. I don’t even understand why we should still be discussing this issue,” cried Peggy Herrera, an activist with the organization ‘Freedom Agenda’ that demands that the municipal government give a “real” response to the mental health crisis.
This activist and counselor has “marks” on her own skin of what disproportionate police intervention can mean in extreme moments. And how, in her opinion, the judicial and police system continues to punish thousands of people who require mental health care with prison, but they only find the “fury” of justice.
Peggy recalled that on August 25, 2019, from her home in Jamaica, she called 911 to ask for help for her son who was going through a mental health crisis. She was expecting an ambulance and to her surprise, NYPD officers arrived. She stood in front of the door, to prevent their access. She ended up handcuffed and detained for one night, for obstructing justice.
Spokespeople for the CCIT-NYC alliance argue that traumatic encounters between police and people in crisis are a result of a deficient public health and social support system.
“The City must provide assistance to people before a 911 call or other communication is made in extreme situations, by transferring the response of more than 200,000 calls to this line per year to a response system driven by professionals who provide support after an encounter with emergency services, regardless of location,” they said in a statement.
What the City says
Data from the City’s Office of Community Health (OCMH) shows that B-HEARD is helping New Yorkers access mental health care options through the 911 system, an option that was not previously possible.
“People can receive treatment from a mental health professional within minutes. In fiscal year 2024, of the 3,691 people who received a behavioral health assessment by a B-HEARD team, 43% were able to remain in the community, potentially reducing the number of trips to emergency rooms,” officials said.
OCMH Director Eva Wong concludes that these data highlight the significant progress of this program and the positive impact of New York City’s health-focused “first response” to mental health emergencies.
“We are prioritizing fully classified calls and removing existing limits,” he concluded.
When should I call 911 for a mental health crisis?
- According to a guide published by the City:
- An emergency is a situation that requires an immediate, in-person response from emergency services. If someone is at immediate risk of harming themselves or someone else, call 911.
- In addition to 911, New York City also offers other options for people experiencing a behavioral health crisis, which is defined as a situation that is not immediately life-threatening. In this case, call NYC Well at 1-888-NYC-WELL (1-888-692-9355), text “WELL” to 65173, or chat online at nyc.gov/nycwell to get help with a crisis that does not require an immediate in-person response.
- The person may be at risk of harming themselves or others, disoriented or out of touch with reality, agitated and unable to calm down. If this crisis is not treated or calmed, it could result in an emergency.
- NYC Well Advocates are available to provide free, confidential support 24/7 by phone, text, or chat.
- If you are unsure whether 911 or NYC Well is more appropriate, contact NYC Well and a trained counselor will help you evaluate the most appropriate steps, including connecting with 911 or the City’s full range of urgent mental health services.