Sacramento sheriff explains new policy to turn away certain calls for help
SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper on Tuesday gave more details about a new policy not to respond to non-criminal mental health calls.
The policy changes are in response to a July 2024 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, headquartered in San Francisco. The ruling, Scott v. Smith, was the result of an overturned lower decision centered on non-criminal mental health calls for service.
The case came from a 2019 incident in Las Vegas when Roy Scott, who was experiencing hallucinations, called 911 for help. Two officers responded to the call and used force that led to Scott losing consciousness. He later died.
The court found that the use of force by the officers was deemed unreasonable given that the call was a non-criminal mental health request. The court questioned whether any force was appropriate because a crime had not been committed.
Ultimately, the decision removed qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in cases where no crime is committed.
We are committed to finding solutions that will allow us to continue providing the necessary services to those who need us most, whether in emergency situations involving crime, mental health, or other critical matters.
This result is what prompted Sheriff Cooper to change policy, and deputies will not respond to non-criminal mental health calls anymore.
"We deal with crime, not mental health crises," Cooper said on Tuesday.
The immediate policy changes, first reported by CBS13, include specific and direct questions from the sheriff's office communications center to the caller on whether there is a criminal element or the suspect is a danger to others.
The communications supervisor also has the authority under these changes not to dispatch the call. They also have the right not to respond to a request from the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District for "standby" calls where there is no crime committed.
"For far too long, when someone calls us, it's not a crime. Why have we been doing this all along? Being mentally ill is not a crime. But being here, being forced to be there and be that person. I'm at the point as sheriff, enough is enough," Cooper said.
Cooper said there are some policy changes that are still in progress, including moving protocol that instead of referring callers requesting mental health support to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, they will transfer calls. This change, Cooper explained, would allow callers to stay on the phone with someone and be directly connected to resources over the phone, including a trained mental health professional.
Concerns over changes
Sacramento Metro Fire is already feeling the impacts of this policy change. Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn previously told CBS13 that firefighters were already responding to calls where there was no law enforcement on scene and taking on more risk than if deputies were at a call.
Wilbourn is not pointing fingers at the sheriff's office, but rather, at the court decision itself.
"On these types of calls, we need backup. We're not getting that backup anymore. That's unfortunate. That's not something that law enforcement is necessarily on the hook for. This is a bad court ruling that's having ripple effects," Wilbourn said.
CBS13 took those concerns to Cooper, asking about what the conversations between the sheriff's office and fire were like.
"Someone's got a wound on their foot in their bedroom not coming out, no weapons. They want us to come there. What do they expect us to do? I'll be honest. There's no crime. We're not the bodyguards for everybody," Cooper said. "We love our brothers and sisters in the fire service, but some of these calls, we should not be going to."
Wilbourn told CBS13 that as it stands now, firefighters are increasingly put in harm's way.
"At the end of the day, if our company officers are not comfortable going in on an incident because there's a potential somebody is going to get hurt or killed. We're not going to be able to make entry. That's going to hurt the community," Wilbourn said.
CBS13 has contacted other law enforcement agencies across the region and the majority are still working out the details on their own plans.