Marietta police partner cops and clinicians for mental health crises

• Since officers traditionally are not trained in how to respond to these distress calls, encounters can turn violent — sometimes fatal — and a person might wind up facing criminal charges rather than getting the help they need.
• About 1 in 5 people who were fatally shot by police had a mental illness, according to a Washington Post database.

What they're saying: Police spokesperson Chuck McPhilamy told Axios the unit, established two months ago and first reported by Fresh Take Georgia, came to fruition because the agency has seen a steady increase in mental health calls — a phenomenon he said accelerated during the pandemic.

• "The trauma, the experience from all of that is still bubbling up to the surface," he said. "It manifests itself in different ways for different people."

How it works: A Marietta officer pairs up with a licensed clinician from Highland Rivers Behavioral Health and responds to calls regarding mental illness.

• The clinician makes an evaluation to determine if the person needs to be hospitalized, treated at a clinic or given medication.
• The team, which responds to calls from 10am to 6pm, also conducts follow-up visits.

Yes, and: Officer Jacob King is assigned to the Cobb County Police Department Partnership for Assistance Treatment & Health Team, which started in 2020. King said the unit has nearly 90 cases between the two officers and two clinicians who make up the team.

• The PATH Team's primary goal is to reduce incarcerations and hospitalizations “because we didn't want to just replace hauling somebody off to jail on misdemeanor charges with hauling them off to the hospital for no reason."
• "Most of the people that we interact with on a monthly basis [are] very appreciative of us coming out to check on them and talking to them," King told Axios.

Context: Before House Bill 1013 became law in 2022, officers could not transport anyone suffering from a mental crisis to get treatment unless they charged that person with a criminal offense, McPhilamy told Axios.

• "Our goal here is to try and help the people where they’re at and get that help where they need,” he said.

Zoom out: Cities such as Minneapolis, Denver and Columbus have been trying a similar approach, Axios’ Nick Halter reports.

• In Georgia, co-responder programs are in place in Savannah, Athens-Clarke County, Brookhaven and Cobb County.

What we're watching: Whether more Georgia departments invest in co-responder units.

• Senate Bill 403, passed last year, offers support for law enforcement agencies who wish to establish such units but does not require them to do so.