LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Louisville Metro Police are facing renewed scrutiny over how the city responds to mental health crisis calls after two officers shot and killed 28-year-old Katelyn Hall.
At a weekend rally, Hall’s family and supporters called for more resources for people in crisis and questioned whether police should be the primary responders when someone is experiencing a mental health emergency.
Licensed clinical counselor Laquisha Moore said she was shocked after watching the body-camera video from the incident, saying what she expected to see did not match what played out. Moore argues the case underscores the need to re-evaluate who responds to these calls and says non-lethal options should be exhausted before deadly force is used.
“To me, all non-lethal methods need to be exhausted before you shoot someone. And I just can’t believe that they shot her in her chest five times,” said Moore.
Louisville does have a Crisis Call Diversion program, which allows MetroSafe call takers to redirect some 911 mental health calls to behavioral health experts. But those calls can only be diverted if the person has not already taken steps to harm themselves or others. In Hall’s case, the call did not meet the criteria for diversion, so it was dispatched to LMPD.
Lyndon Pryor, president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League, said pairing mental health professionals with officers is a step in the right direction—but he believes trained clinicians should be leading the response when mental health is the central issue.
LMPD has said the responding officers, Robert Baker and Robert Gabbard, had received Crisis Intervention Training.
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