By Richard Cowen
nj.com
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Jersey City on Monday became the latest municipality to join a state program that pairs mental health professionals with police officers responding to 911 calls involving emotionally disturbed persons.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced that Jersey City will be participate in the ARRIVE Together program, the statewide initiative that is designed to deescalate encounters between police and citizens – and ultimately prevent the use of deadly force.
“ARRIVE Together is a national model with a proven track record of improving outcomes for individuals who encounter law enforcement while in need of mental health services, and implementing the program gives Jersey City’s law enforcement officers an important tool for responding to calls with a mental health element,” Platkin said in a prepared statement. “We are building a safer, more compassionate New Jersey with every community that adopts the initiative, and I’m happy that Jersey City will be a part of that.”
With 290,000 residents, Jersey City is the state’s second-largest city. In August of 2023, Jersey City police killed a schizophrenic man, Andrew Washington, at his home on Randolph Avenue following a standoff.
Body-worn camera footage showed cops talking to a barricaded Washington for about 30 minutes before they kicked the door down and shot the man, who was holding a knife. Washington’s family subsequently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Jersey City Police Department.
“Since its inception, ARRIVE Together has enhanced New Jersey law enforcement officers’ response to mental health emergencies,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “This model has proven to be a valuable tool in our efforts to quickly and efficiently connect our residents with help during times of mental distress. Now operating in Jersey City – our state’s second largest city – this program will continue to make a difference for those in need and save lives.”
ARRIVE Together began in 2021 as the Attorney General’s Office sought to reduce the number of fatal encounters between police and citizens suffering from mental illness or drug-induced psychosis. Police departments in all 21 counties are participating in ARRIVE Together, with Jersey City among the last of the big city departments to sign on.
Jersey City Public Safety Director James Shea favored the new approach, but cautioned that it would take a coordinated effort.
“We are always willing to explore all possible avenues to improve services for individuals in crisis,” Shea said. “With that in mind, it is crucial for the public to understand that this program still requires police officers to respond and secure the scene first before the ARRIVE Together personnel can begin to engage with any person in crisis. This ensures the safety of everyone involved, including the individual in crisis, social services personnel, EMTs, and police officers.”
The Jersey City Police will team up with mental health professionals from Jersey City Medical Center. Initially, the program will operate two to three days a week but will expand as the medical center adds staff, the AG’s office said.
Bringing mental health professionals into the 911 response is an approach that community activists have been calling for following a series of high-profile police-involved shootings. In March 2023, Paterson police shot and killed Najee Seabrooks, a anti-violence activist who held police at bay for five hours.
Just two months ago, police in Fort Lee killed Victoria Lee, 25, after the woman’s family called 911 to report she was in crisis. That response remains under investigation by the Attorney General.
The AG’s Office says that since its inception, there have been over 5,000 police responses using the ARRIVE Together model. There have been fewer arrests and fewer uses of force under the program, the AG’s Office says.
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