BUFFALO, N.Y. — The city of Buffalo is already getting some pushback after Mayor Byron Brown announced this week the department plans to soon allow social workers to partner with police when they respond to mental health calls. Some mental health advocates are now saying that's not the answer. 

On the steps of City Hall, social workers and mental health professionals held a press conference Thursday to express a message they hope is heard by Mayor Brown and the Common Council.

What You Need To Know

  • Social workers pen an open letter to city leaders voicing opposition to responding to mental health calls with police

  • They prefer to respond to those calls independent of police 

  • Mayor Brown says it's important to have both parties on scene to diffuse those situations

"We as social workers coming in to assist police officers is not the solution," said one of the speakers.

"We cannot have one more of these incidences," said another.

After Buffalo Police shot a bat-wielding man during a mental health call last weekend, Brown announced the formation of a behavioral health team that will allow police and mental health professionals to work together to respond to mental and behavioral health crisis calls.

But some think that isn't the way to go due to problems within the social work community and law enforcement. Some believe improvements need to be made within both systems before they consider working together.

"The tragedy that could ensue is something that I think none of us are actually prepared for," said another speaker at the press conference.

In less than 24 hours, more than 150 social workers and mental health professionals signed an open letter to Brown and the Common Council urging them to rethink the partnership between police and social workers.

The letter demands the city ratify Daniel's Law, which would ban police from responding to mental health calls. They recommend the Common Council create a behavioral health advisory council that would identify the best practices for non-police crisis intervention. They also want the creation of a mobile emergency first responder system that would operate fully independent of the BPD to respond to mental health calls.

"Social workers need to be an independent solution, an independent mental health response team and we would be very happy to talk about ways we can restructure systems but to work within a system that has as many problems as police do, we certainly need to get it right at this point in time going forward," said Nancy Smyth, who is a social worker.

The letter also mentions the notion that a police presence during a mental health crisis call can potentially cause more harm than good.

"The presence on sight of the uniform, the fact that they are carrying weapons, the tone of voice they use when they give directives can really escalate a situation," said social worker Nicolalita Rodriguez. 

Common Council President Darius Pridgen says it's clear there's a push for mental health calls to not be treated as criminal situations and they'll have to work out whether or not mental health professionals arrive on scene with police. But he says city leaders can't wait anymore to address the issue.

"Whether they're with police or not police is not really my greatest concern, what my greatest concern is, is getting the people who know how to handle mental health crises to a scene as quickly as possible," he said.

Mayor Brown released the following statement::

“From research it is clear there is a place for cooperation between social workers and law enforcement when we are responding to people experiencing emotional distress. Many situations require both a trauma informed care approach by a social worker and the presence of police because the individual may still be a danger to themselves or others, including the social worker who is responding. It is important to note that mental health professionals routinely request assistance from the Buffalo Police Department when they receive a call for service for a situation involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis. This joint approach to assisting people in distress has been most recently endorsed by the National Association of Social Workers in an op-ed the organization published in the Wall Street Journal on June 15th of this year.

The officers and social workers of the BHT aim to get people in distress the assistance they need, produce a better outcome for that individual, and ensure the safety of everyone involved. The funding for this new initiative went to Endeavor Health Services and not to the Buffalo Police Department, so it cannot be allocated for a different purpose or to a different organization. And most importantly, the BHT will mean more social workers in the field helping people and more tools for police to peacefully resolve these situations, which are goals we all want to achieve.”​

You can find the full letter below. 

SW Sign-On Letter by Adam Penale on Scribd