Mental Health Crisis Calls to Police Disproportionately Kill Black Americans

Studies show people experiencing mental health crises are 16 times more likely to be killed during police encounters than others. Between 2018 and 2020, police killed at least 1,400 people with identified mental illness, disproportionately Black. Cities including Denver and Eugene piloted unarmed mental health crisis response teams; evaluations showed reductions in arrests with no increase in safety incidents.