Read Full Article | View Source
AUSTIN, TX — In the latest example of a new city function created with funds reallocated from the police budget, Austin 911 operators have begun testing a fourth triage option for mental health services as part of their script.
“Austin 9-1-1, do you need police, fire, EMS, or mental health services?” callers now hear when making an emergency call. Austin is believed to be the first city in the U.S. to offer the option, an added service that is an offshoot of continual reform on the local police department after officers’ reactions to protesters in May and June of last year when some demonstrators were seriously hurt by non-lethal projectiles fired into crowds of protesters.
