Seattle Councilmember Proposes Alternative 911 Response Plan

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle will be considering a proposal to change how 911 calls are dispatched, one which would allow dispatchers to send medics and mental health professionals in lieu of armed police officers.

The proposal, announced Monday by Seattle City Councilmember Andrew Lewis, would create a new mental health and substance addiction first-responder program based on a similar program currently in use in Eugene, Oregon.

Eugene's program, called Crisis Assistance Helping Out On the Streets, or CAHOOTS, allows 911 dispatchers to send unarmed outreach teams, comprised of a medic and a mental health expert, to calls where victims are suffering a mental health or substance abuse emergency. CAHOOTS teams then offer counseling, first aid or other social services.

Lewis says a similar program could work in Seattle, especially as the city grapples with issues of police violence and biased policing.

“When a building is on fire we send the fire department. When someone has a stroke we send an ambulance," said Lewis in a statement. "Why do we send armed police to help someone in a mental health or drug-related crisis? By the most conservative estimates one in every four people fatally shot by a police officer has a mental illness. This has to stop."

According to the councilmember's office, CAHOOTS has been in place since 1989 and responds to nearly 24,000 calls every year. Out of those thousands of incidents, their teams only called for police backup 150 times in 2019. Lewis says Seattle's program would work similarly, allowing for first responders to call for police in extreme circumstances, but not as the first option.

The council will consider Lewis' proposal as part of the Select Budget Committee. On July 8, the committee is slated to discuss the Seattle Police Department's budget, which several council members have publicly supported defunding by up to 50 percent. Lewis' CAHOOTS proposal would be paid for using money defunded from the police department if that comes to pass.

“In Eugene, CAHOOTS responds to 20 percent of all calls. It makes sense that if we significantly reduce SPD’s caseload we should reduce their funding as well,” said Lewis.