U.S. Justice Department Files Statement in Lawsuit Concerning Unnecessary Law Enforcement Responses to Mental Health Emergencies
Asserts ADA requires public entities provide appropriate response to mental health crises other than or in addition to law enforcement - Carbon County is working to comply and meet needs
By Denise Rivette
The Justice Department on February 22 filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that the District’s reliance on police officers as the default responders to mental health emergencies violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The statement explains that the ADA requires public entities to afford people with mental health disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from emergency response systems. This may require dispatching a different type of response to mental health emergencies when appropriate, such as mobile crisis teams staffed with behavioral health professionals, to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability.
“Sending mobile crisis response teams to mental health emergencies when appropriate is akin to sending EMTs to a reported heart attack,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Relying on a less effective, potentially harmful response to people experiencing mental health emergencies may deprive people with mental health disabilities of an equal opportunity to benefit from a critical public service. People with mental health disabilities must have an equal opportunity to benefit from a city’s emergency response system. We are committed to fully enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act and ensuring that people with mental health disabilities are not subjected to discrimination.”
The department’s statement of interest clarifies that Title II of the ADA applies to all services, programs and activities provided or made available by public entities, including emergency response systems. Public entities must make reasonable modifications to afford people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from their programs, services and activities, including dispatching a different type of response to an emergency call when necessary to avoid discrimination based on disability. The statement also addresses other arguments made by the District of Columbia concerning the claims in this case.
Agencies within Carbon County are working diligently to create a crisis response protocol. Sheriff Josh McQuillan has been working to address the needs of Carbon County within the confines of his resources by training his team in conflict de-escalation and mental health issues as well as building relationships with other agencies.
The Justice Department plays a central role in advancing the ADA’s goals of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. In May 2023, the Justice Department and Department of Health & Human Services issued guidance for Emergency Responses to People with Behavioral Health or Other Disabilities. In addition, the department recently concluded investigations in Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, in which it found, in part, that the emergency response systems discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to calls for assistance.