Mental health calls challenge LAPD as shootings persist

Nearly a third of shootings by the Los Angeles Police Department since 2017 have involved a person officers perceived to be dealing with mental illness or experiencing a mental health crisis, according to an LAist analysis of annual LAPD use-of-force reports. Between 2017 and 2023, 31% of police shootings fell into this category.

The percentage has remained largely steady in recent years, despite LAPD initiatives to reduce such encounters through training and specialized response teams. In 2021, the department reported the highest percentage during this period at 41% (15 of 37 shootings).

"We will continue to see these preventable shootings unless we invest in community based mental health services and alternate crisis response teams at the scale needed at both the City and County level," said City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in a statement to LAist.

LAPD has touted its Mental Evaluation Unit, which pairs officers with county mental health clinicians to respond to crisis calls. However, officials say the unit is severely understaffed, able to handle less than a third of mental health calls as of early 2023 according to former Chief Michel Moore.

The department says it has increased training in de-escalation tactics for incidents involving mental illness. But use-of-force experts argue having any armed officers respond can escalate tensions for someone in crisis before sufficient de-escalation occurs.

"You can't go in there like a cowboy and exacerbate a problem that could be de-escalated," said Timothy Williams, a former LAPD officer and use-of-force consultant.

Recent high-profile incidents drew criticism from Mayor Karen Bass and activists. These include the January 2023 fatal shootings of Takar Smith, who had schizophrenia, and Oscar Leon Sanchez, an immigrant whose family said he struggled after his mother's death.

The civilian Police Commission faulted officers in the Smith shooting for not calling a specialized mental health team. But it found no policy violations in Leon Sanchez's death, though a use-of-force expert said the case showed the need for mental health responders.

While Bass and community groups have pushed alternative crisis response models, many say more systemic investments are needed in housing, treatment facilities, and non-police mental health services to prevent violent encounters.

"If you say you can train [officers] to be less violent in how to deal with these situations, then maybe you should pay for them to become social workers," said Alejandro Villalpando of the group Community Alternatives to 911.

LAPD data shows no records indicating how often its mental health teams responded before an officer shooting occurred in the last several years.