Establishes a statewide emergency and crisis response council

• Democratic64
• Republican1

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Samra Brouk says this is needed

On March 23, 2020, Mr. Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old African-American man was fatally injured after being physically restrained by police officers in Rochester, NY. Mr. Prude had been suffering from a mental health episode after ingesting PCP and was walking naked in the city's streets. The officers put a spit hood over his head after he began spitting while he sat naked on the ground during winter weather. During the inter- action, officers held him face down on the pavement for two minutes and fifteen seconds, and he stopped breathing. Mr. Prude received CPR on the scene and later died of complications from asphyxia after being taken off life support. Mr. Prude's death first received attention in September 2020, when the police body camera video and written reports were released to the public, along with the autopsy report. Following the report's release, protesters demonstrated outside the Rochester police department's headquarters and many considered the death to be related to Mr. Prude's race. These demonstrations were connected to the broader Black Lives Matter movement and the string of racial unrest events of 2020 following the death of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The situation in Rochester, NY is one of countless examples across the state and country of the consequences of not providing the most appro- priate response to a mental health or substance abuse crisis. New York- ers that are experiencing mental health and substance abuse crises are best served by a public health response that maximizes consent-based care and services, and that minimizes the role of law enforcement and the use of force. The furnishing of consent-based treatment and care to New Yorkers experiencing mental health or substance abuse crisis and delivered by trained, culturally competent responders is a critical component of our state's public health structure. It is the purpose of this legislation to promote the public health, safety and welfare of all citizens by broadly ensuring a public health- based response to anyone in New York experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis; to offer and ensure the most appropriate response to, treatment of, and transport of individuals experiencing crisis due to mental health conditions or substance use; and to deesca- late crisis situations so that as few New Yorkers as possible experience nonconsensual transport, use of force, or criminal consequences as a result of mental health or substance abuse crisis. In Chapter 57 of the New York State Laws of 2023, the Daniel's Law Task Force was established. The charge of the task force was to conduct outreach and engage stakeholders, including but not limited to health- care professionals with experience providing mental health and/or alco- hol use or substance use disorder services; individuals or the primary caregiver for individuals with lived experience with mental health and/or alcohol use or substance use disorder; individuals employed in the mental health or addiction field; crisis response call center personnel, first responders; and individuals employed by not-for-profits with experience in working with individuals experiencing mental health, alcohol use or substance use crises. After over a year of stakeholder engagement sessions, statewide town halls and listening sessions, presentations by crisis response services local, statewide, national, and international, the Daniel's Law Task force released their report in December of 2024. This report further supported the passage of Daniel's Law in its findings, and its major two recommendations of New York establishing a defined response protocol for behavioral health crisis, and establishing a statewide technical assist- ance center. These recommendations are found within Daniel's Law.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.