The Buffalo Police Advisory Board is also speaking their peace.

Like Buffalo Common Council, this group is calling for change within Buffalo Police.

What You Need To Know

  • The Buffalo Police Advisory Board (PAB) believes police shouldn't answer mental-health crisis calls

  • They say mental health professionals, clinical social workers, and people who are trained extensively in relation to behavior and mental health, are the kinds of people these calls should be given to

  • The PAB is also calling for a community police oversight commission

  • They would have independent investigatory ability, full subpoena ability, the ability to discipline BPD officers when appropriate and independent legal counsel, and be separate from city corporation council

"We need local elected officials to go further than they're going," said Erin Carmen, a co-chair of the Buffalo Police Advisory Board.

Buffalo Police should not be involved in mental health crisis calls: that's the message from the Buffalo Police Advisory Board.

"It should be mental health professionals, clinical social workers, people who are trained extensively in relation to behavior and mental health.. are the kinds of people these calls should be given to," explained Carmen.

In addition to taking BPD out of the equation on those calls, the PAB also wants Mayor Byron Brown and the Common Council to give the board greater independence, duties, and power to better evaluate and approve Buffalo Police policy.

PAB co-chair Erin Carmen says they want to also form a 'Community Police Oversight Commission.'

"That would have independent investigatory ability, full subpoena ability, ability to discipline BPD officers when appropriate and independent legal counsel - separate from City Corporation Council," noted Carmen.

This all stems from an incident Saturday. Willie Henley was having a mental health crisis, screaming on Genesee Street for hours. Authorities say the 60-year-old swung a metal baseball bat at an officer, hitting her. That prompted another officer to shoot him.

"People have to completely adjust their lives and re-organize their whole lives because of a decision that an officer makes," said Danielle Johnson, another co-chair for the Buffalo Police Advisory Board.

The advisory board says the incident was preventable.

Danielle Johnson, another Police Advisory Board co-chair, says with the current climate here and across the country, we need serious, deliberate change in the City of Buffalo and that policy changes could reduce violent interactions

"We just call upon our officials to do everything in their power to support a model that's going to give the people in the city of Buffalo accountability and as much fair accountability as possible," said Johnson.

The PAB is still working out specifics, such as how 911 calls would be directed.

Currently, there's a pilot with Crisis Services and Erie County Central Police Services to assess how mental health calls can be re-directed to Crisis Services "Crisis Hotline" when appropriate.