BRAUN: Police ill-equipped to deal with people in mental health crises

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Taresh Bobby Ramroop was in a mental health crisis when he fell to his death from his North York skyscraper in the presence of several police officers earlier this month.

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Toronto Police responded to 911 calls about objects thrown from a balcony, including an air conditioner, saying in a statement that Ramroop barricaded himself in a room.

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Chief James Ramer said last week that this was not a situation where the mobile crisis intervention team would be deployed due to the “high risk of harm.

Now, Ramroop’s devastated family wants answers.

This is exactly the tragic outcome that mental health advocates and crisis workers in this city are trying to prevent.

And it’s a topic addressed in a new documentary from award-winning filmmaker Luke Galati called When we communicate, who should respond??

The film asks: Who should be the first to respond to crisis calls when people are experiencing mental health issues in the GTA?

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Galati’s film opens with his own bipolar episode from several years ago, and his mother’s call for help to 911 while running down the middle of Danforth Ave. The police responded and Galati was taken away in an ambulance, but not before hearing to his mother to thank the officers. for not shooting him.

The film addresses incidents well known to most in Toronto: the 2021 death of Ejaz Choudry62, father of four children shot dead by Peel Regional Police; sammy yatimthe 18-year-old killed by Toronto police on a streetcar in 2013; Regis Korchinski-Paquetwho fell to his death in 2020 during a confrontation with police in his apartment.

The film includes interviews with politicians, activists, and crisis workers, all of whom discuss alternative ways of responding to crisis calls.

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Other problems with police response: Black Canadians are 20 times more likely to be killed by police; 70% of those killed by the police have mental health or addiction problems.

And for many people in distress, the officers’ own uniform and armed status create immediate problems.

When we communicate, who should respond? makes it clear that most police officers are not trained for this type of work and have limited resources in such situations.

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After Yatim’s death, former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci wrote a report on how police interact with people in crisis and made 84 recommendations to prevent deaths.

The police fully supported Iacobucci and his recommendations.

Iacobucci is interviewed in When we communicate, who should respond? and he says in the film that his biggest disappointment in the process of making the recommendations is that the Minister of Health was not involved.

For this viewer, the most interesting interview in the film is with Chelsea Swift, a community worker from Eugene, Oregon, who works with a group called the Cahoots. Her city sends a crisis worker and a doctor in times of mental health crisis, with no restrictions or weapons; in 32 years, no one has been seriously injured.

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“There are no injuries because we showed up unarmed,” says Swift. “We are not bringing a punitive dynamic.”

His city receives 24,000 calls a year. Toronto receives around 33,000.

When we communicate, who should respond, is a hopeful film and includes an interview with Denise Campbell, executive director of social development for the city of Toronto. She explains the creation of an alternative response team and how the City Council is totally on board.

In March, Mayor John Tory announced the launch of that alternative crisis response model: The Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS), a community-led solution for responding to mental health crisis calls and wellness checks. The focus is harm reduction and the teams work with community partners, such as the Gerstein Crisis Center.

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Two more pilot projects were added in July. TCCS underscores the City’s commitment to treating mental health crises as a public health issue, not a public safety issue. Now, the teams work in four areas of the city where they are most needed; The data from the first months of the pilot project are very promising.

A full evaluation will be ready for City Council review in October 2023.

“Change is possible,” says Galati in his film. “Progress is possible.”

When we communicate, who should respond? It’s Toronto closing night movie Film Festival Date with madness on November 5 at the CAMH Theater, 1025 Queen W.

The movie is also streaming now until November 6. Visit the Rendezvous With Madness website.

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