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What's the mystery here? Why do the media continually act like police are being willfully ignorant at best or conniving and anti-CATC at worst. Simply put CATC will NOT take people who are a danger to themselves or others. Police are called to put holds on people experiencing mental crisis who ARE a danger to themselves or others. CATC only takes stabilized patients (stabilized in emergency rooms or equivalent) needing extended help before release. Thus CATC does not do a single thing for the officer who has to find a safe place for the person in crisis standing before him or her who needs a safe place to be admitted.

Yes, occasionally there is a person who just wants a ride somewhere to get help, and police could take that person to CATC --spending a vastly longer period of time ($$$) than it takes to simply drive that person to the front doors of an emergency room-- but why are we asking police to be taxi cabs for the mentally ill? This is the sort of interaction with law enforcement we should be trying to minimize.

The CATC does great, necessary work, but paying for it with police bureau funds makes about as much sense as water bureau money going to bike lanes.

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