The Los Angeles Police Department has said for decades it was doing more to de-escalate confrontations with people struggling with mental illness, but an LAist analysis has found little change in recent years.
Since 2017, 31% of people shot at by police were perceived by officers to be struggling with some kind of mental illness, according to LAPD annual use-of-force reports.
And that percentage has remained largely steady for years, even as initiatives to reduce those encounters have been funded and deployed.
In many of its own reports, LAPD officials cite “tactical de-escalation training” and specially trained response teams as ways to reduce the potential for violence and better serve the community. The department was one of the first in the nation to pair mental health workers with police. But L.A. leaders, including City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who has been vocal about the shootings, acknowledge the city’s investments so far aren’t nearly enough to meet current needs.