‘We can’t police the way we used to’: Lafayette police to form new mental health crisis intervention unit
Local law enforcement agencies say they’re ill-equipped to handle mental health calls. So they’re trying a new approach.
Local law enforcement agencies say they’re ill-equipped to handle mental health calls. So they’re trying a new approach.
Consisting of two mental health professionals, the team has already assisted on 29 emergency calls. Sheriff Mark Garber hopes the program will save lives and improve public safety.
The resolution authorizing the mayor-president to seek a deal with a private financier is before the Parish Council Tuesday night. M-P Josh Guillory said the approach could pay for a new jail without new taxes.
Guillory said he is asking the Parish Council to approve a resolution supporting a plan to replace the aging Lafayette Parish Correctional Center without raising taxes.
He is proposing a “public-private partnership model” which “does not call for the privatization of the jail. This will not be a private prison.”
Source: The Advertiser
The gist: There are two tax renewals on the May 4 ballot — one that supports pumping fresh water into the Vermilion River and the other pays one-third of the sheriff’s budget.
Aguillard’s decision caps off an anguished and twisting run-up to Saturday’s vote on the controversial tax. Where once the chief appeared to disagree with his rank and file, he now finds their interests aligned against the sheriff.
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