The result, say service providers, is that individuals in deep crisis lack access to an imperfect, but essential, safety valve to keep them from hurting themselves or others.
Officials with the Seattle Police Department, meanwhile, said the decline reflects uncertainty within the department about what type of force is allowed and what’s not under the state’s new laws. That has led to a reluctance among officers to engage, they said.
The decline comes at a time when elected officials, activists, service providers and even some in law enforcement are casting about for new ways to respond to mental health crises without sending an armed officer. But absent scaled-up alternatives, the change
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