The Los Angeles City Council greenlighted taking steps to replace police officers with unarmed emergency responders for nonviolent calls on Tuesday.
The move would instruct the Los Angeles Police Department to cooperate with the county’s Mental Health Department, LA Homeless Services Authority, and other government agencies when responding to nonviolent incidents, which include drug abuse and mental health-related incidents, according to Fox 11 of Los Angeles.
The motion would also divert nonviolent calls for services, including neighbor disputes, from the LAPD to other agencies.
“This is the dawn of a new era of public safety in Los Angeles,” said Councilman Herb Wesson, who co-authored the motion. “The bottom line is that the way things have been going is not working for our communities. This last month has made that crystal clear. We have a responsibility to listen to our people, and our people have spoken.”
Wesson added the motion would mark a sea change in the city’s approach to public safety and said he hoped other municipalities would follow the city’s lead.
Police reforms have been a topic of interest following the May 25 killing of a Minneapolis man, George Floyd, who died at the hands of local police. Minneapolis was the first city to agree to form a new system of public safety to replace its police department.
