Brooklyn Center police to send social workers, paramedics on mental health-related 911 calls

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — Another Twin Cities police department will soon partner with social workers and mental health professionals on 911 calls.

Brooklyn Center approved an expanded response pilot program last week. Later this month, a social worker and paramedic will be dispatched to mental health-related 911 calls.

Next year, licensed mental health practitioners will join the team.

"Armed and angry, already-on-edge officers are showing up to a situation that's a mental health crisis," said Amity Dimock, a police reform advocate. "That's not going to help anything," Dimock said.

Dimock has a personal connection to the Brooklyn Center Police Department. She lost her son, Kobe Dimock-Heisler , at the age of 21 when officers shot and killed him.

Dimock-Heisler, who lived with autism, was holding a knife during a mental health crisis in 2019.

Dimock's pushed for police reforms for years, and she says she's excited about Brooklyn Center adding an alternative 911 response.

"Any of them are going to be better than the police. They are more trained, they're more prone to deescalation and they deal with this stuff every day," she said.

In a statement, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Garett Flesland said in part, "Our goal is not to replace any part of our services, but to expand them… By offering new ways to address challenges, we can better serve all residents, ensuring that everyone has access to the most appropriate support in any situation."

The city says the expanded response will free officers up to focus on what they're best trained for, and that other communities with similar programs have seen less violence and fewer arrests as a result, which ends up saving the city money long-term.

"The fact that we got anything passed is definitely a testament to our tenacity," Dimock said.

She has some misgivings about the program, like that it's not 24/7, but she's cautiously optimistic.

"We have to accept the baby steps and we have to like kind of celebrate them, because essentially that's how this progress is made," she said.

Minneapolis , Brooklyn Park and Ramsey County all have alternative 911 response teams for mental health calls.