Police Have a New Tool in Their Arsenal: Mental-Health Professionals

Police departments nationwide have started teaming up officers with therapists in situations involving the mentally ill, largely in the hope of avoiding the type of incident that recently landed a New York Police Department sergeant on trial for murder.

The move to create what some departments call "co-response teams" of officers and clinicians has been adopted or expanded in recent years in Salt Lake City, Houston, Los Angeles and elsewhere. Officials in these cities say clinicians can bring meaningful insight to delicate situations, and can help prevent mentally ill people from harming themselves or others.