Require Mandatory Mental Health Crisis Training and Crisis Response Units in all Police Departments

The numbers of US citizens diagnosed with mental illness and/or a developmental disability such as Autism/Aspergers is increasing in epidemic proportions. Currently, 1 in 68 children are being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Despite the alarming statistics, few police departments across the country have trained police units available to respond to a citizen in a crisis. Since techniques required to de-escalate a person in a crisis are opposite from the techniques police usually employ when responding to an average citizen perceived as "hostile" or "aggressive," this lack of training and knowledge often results in the unnecessary death of a disabled person. This petition is for mandatory training of all police depts and a crisis response unit available in all departments 24/7.