Exclusive | LAPD chief sounds alarm over citys mental health crisis, pitches plan to take burden off cops

The LAPD needs more mental health professionals to help respond to 911 calls, Chief Jim McDonnell told the California Post in an exclusive interview — a tactic mayor-elect Nithya Raman has pledged to support as the two try to bury the hatchet and address the city’s mental-health crisis.The chief met with Raman Thursday for a “get to know each other” session as they hunted for common ground on policing and public safety, finding a place for agreement on the point that too many cops are wasting their time trying to help out the city’s mentally ill. McDonnell has said that roughly “one-third” of the LAPD’s 1.45 million calls per year are now for people suffering a mental health crisis, sucking precious police resources into the endless cycle of mental illness and homelessness plaguing the city.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story “The mayor is in alignment with the way we’re doing business, as far as trying to be able to get increased civilianization and expertise to deal with issues such as people experiencing a mental health crisis,” McDonnell told The Post.

The chief is trying to hang onto his job after Raman pledged to replace him on the campaign trail.McDonnell said he’s completely behind the socialist mayor’s plan for “increased civilianization” of the department.The idea has had support from the rank and file, with the LAPD union first coming out in favor of unarmed responders helping out cops on mental health calls in 2020.Mayor Bass has expanded such effort significantly.In 2022 Bass began a program called CIRCLE, which stands for Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement.

The 24/7 unarmed response program that deploys trained teams to address non-urgent LAPD calls related to the homeless.California Post Ne...