>>An ‘alternative to law enforcement:’ Stockton’s new care team on the streets full-time

Of the three people who died after encounters with Stockton police this past year, all three were reportedly experiencing mental health or drug-related crises.

One Sacramento grandmother was allegedly in a mental health crisis when a Stockton officer shot her after a car chase in February 2022. A former dancer who police claim lost consciousness in custody and later died in July had methamphetamine in his system. And a veteran shot by police last month had PTSD and may have been having a mental health episode.

Stories like theirs are part of what has motivated Stockton and other cities across the country to create mobile teams to respond to certain mental health calls in addition to, or instead of, police.

As of January, Stockton’s new team is on the streets full-time responding to calls for help.

What is the new care team?

The care team is meant to be “…an alternative response to law enforcement,” said Alfonso Apu, director of behavioral health at Community Medical Centers. CMC is partnering with the city on the pilot project.

“We want to avert those calls, and make a presence where (the person) feels that someone who’s attending to the call is not necessarily focusing on law enforcement issues, but is truly focusing on that moment for them.”

Cities across the country including Oakland and San Francisco are creating similar units in response to pressure by Black communities and anti-police violence activists to overhaul or abolish policing.

As part of that movement, organizers have called for mental health workers to respond to mental health emergencies instead of police. As many as 50% of fatal encounters with law enforcement may involve someone with a mental illness, according to a 2016 study covered by USA Today.

Members of one of the oldest care team programs — started in 1989 in Eugene, Oregon — are helping train Stockton’s care workers, Apu said. Stockton’s team includes a social worker, case manager, health worker and medical assistant, and travels across the city in a van equipped with basic medical supplies, water and snacks.

After calming the person who needs assistance, the team might schedule the person an appointment with a doctor or mental health specialist, or help connect them with other social services.

“The key word there is trauma-informed,” Apu said. “And within trauma-informed, part of the definition is meeting people where they’re at. (Having a) compassionate, whole person (interaction).”

What kind of calls will the care team answer?

Traditionally, police officers might respond to 911 calls about a person who seems disoriented, intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. But as the care team project grows, care workers will answer more and more of those calls, according to Apu.

Other situations they will respond to include:

• Someone needs non-medical care or treatment for a mental illness
• Someone needs shelter or housing services
• Welfare checks
• Minor medical complaints
• Transportation to non-emergency medical, mental health, shelter or substance abuse services
• Non-violent family disputes

So far, the care team has typically gone to about six calls a day, Apu said. About 65% of all calls have been to assist homeless residents. Many have come from a chunk of downtown Stockton that includes the crosstown overpass and sections of Mormon Slough, where there are multiple homeless encampments, Apu said.

The team won’t respond to calls where there’s a clear risk to care workers’ safety, or where someone appears to be carrying out a serious crime, he said. However, in the future, police may ask the care team to come to certain calls where there is a crime in progress, according to a police statement.

Otherwise, whether police officers accompany care workers on calls will be decided on a case-by-case basis, the statement said.

What’s next?

Although there’s only one team on the streets currently, CMC aims to create another team within the next few months to respond to calls after-hours, Apu said. The current team is working Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Within the next few years, CMC plans to have two “primary response” vans, with interiors designed for basic medical aid, and two transport vans, he said.

The care team and the police department are still figuring out how to divide the workload, the police statement said.

“It’s going to be a culture shift, right?” Apu said of the department. “In terms of, now we (police officers) have this other tool that will help me, that is to assist us, and at the end of the day to assist the community member.”

Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers public safety. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: An ‘alternative’ to police: Stockton care team on the streets full-time