The Oklahoma City Police Department said it will “cooperate” with the Department of Justice after the law enforcement arm of the Biden administration announced Thursday it is investigating the state and department’s response to mental health crises.
“The Oklahoma City Police Department was notified this morning that the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) is opening an investigation into how we, as a police department, handle calls involving citizens with behavioral health disabilities,” Oklahoma City police Sgt. Dillon Quirk told the Washington Examiner on Thursday, noting specific information as to what prompted the investigation wasn’t provided by the federal government.
“We intend to cooperate with the USDOJ and look forward to working with them toward the goal of providing the safest and most effective ways of responding to these types of calls,” Police Chief Wade Gourley added in a separate statement.
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Officials in the DOJ are slated to investigate whether the state and the Oklahoma City Police Department have failed to provide community-based mental health services to people in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by relying on psychiatric institutions to serve adults with behavioral health problems instead of utilizing community-based services, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said during a news conference.
Not only is the investigation being conducted pursuant to Title II of the ADA, which specifically prohibits disability discrimination by state and local governments, but it is also being conducted pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the DOJ noted in a press release.
“Community-based mental health services, which are proven effective in transforming people’s lives, are critical to preventing a cycle of unnecessary institutionalization and avoidable contacts with law enforcement,” Clarke, who heads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
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As part of the investigation, the DOJ said it will contact community groups and members of the public to better learn about their experiences with state mental health services and the police department’s response to mental health crises.
The Washington Examiner contacted the DOJ for a response.
