A Colorado police department is sending mental health experts instead of cops to some 911 calls

A police officer stands on-duty.
In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder in 2020, people have begun to rethink the role that armed police officers have in society. Does every problem need to be addressed by someone with the power to administer lethal force?
The Aurora Police Department in Colorado launched a six-month program last year that led to the creation of two mental health crisis response teams. The first pairs an officer with a mental health professional. The other pairs a mental health professional and a paramedic to handle mental health crisis situations where there is no apparent danger.
“When someone calls in to report either themselves or an individual in crisis, or maybe they just see someone who might need some resources and help, dispatch will put that in a call, and my team is able to click on the call, review everything and see if it meets criteria," Courtney Tassin, program manager for the Aurora Mobile Response Team, told 9News.
The Aurora Mobile Response Team's van is stocked full of food, water and hygiene products to help the people they encounter on the streets.
Over the first three months, the team went on 116 calls.
The Aurora Mobile Response Team launched in September
Today Aurora and partners officially launched the Aurora Mobile Response Team. This pilot program is an alternative response program in handling behavioral health crises related to mental health, depression, homelessness, and more. Learn more at https://AuroraGov.org/MobileResponse\u00a0.pic.twitter.com/hl88w6gUMb— City of Aurora, CO (@City of Aurora, CO) 1631129666
One study found that up to 10% of 911 calls nationwide could involve mental health issues. So it makes complete sense for police departments to respond to these situations with counselors trained in helping people with mental health issues instead of the knee-jerk reaction to send somebody with a gun.
Further, it allows police to do the work they’re trained to do instead of forcing them to act as mental health counselors. It also frees up the police so they can correctly respond to situations that may turn violent.
"A lot of times it's not appropriate for our officers to have to go to these calls, and you know, to possibly escalate the situation when it doesn't need to be so," Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson told CBS News.
The unarmed response teams are also less intimidating to people already on the edge.
"We always focus on what's least restrictive," Tassin told CBS News. "How do we keep from further traumatizing this person who's already in a very vulnerable state?"
The response team could reduce police shootings
The response team is a humane way to deal with people having mental health issues and it may also save lives. According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter than other civilians approached or stopped by law enforcement.
“By dismantling the mental illness treatment system, we have turned mental health crisis from a medical issue into a police matter,” said John Snook, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center. “This is patently unfair, illogical, and is proving harmful both to the individual in desperate need of care and the officer who is forced to respond.”
The Aurora Police Department’s new program is a welcome challenge to the status quo that’s been in place in America for decades. For too long we’ve tacitly agreed that the state’s only response to civil disturbances should be sending a person with a gun. Now, thanks to the calls for justice that happened after the death of George Floyd, people are waking up to the idea that cops can’t and shouldn’t solve everything.
"We have calls for people that are in mental health crisis every day," Sergeant Aaron Bunch said. "Police officers are trained to do a lot of things. What they don't have are Master's degrees in social work."
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.