By: GISSELE GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
One of the most substantial shifts in public safety since last year’s killing of George Floyd spawned anti-police-brutality protests nationwide. New Mexico’s largest city has instituted a new category.
Elisha Lucero was known in her family as a painter, a fisherwoman, and a caretaker who had put aside her ambitions to nurse relatives through periods of poor health. Although she was also gripped by mental illness, and on a summer night in 2019, the 28-year-old was behaving so carelessly that a cousin called 911 from their Albuquerque home. Sheriff’s deputies banged on the door and demanded that Lucero, who stood 4 feet, 11 inches with her shoes on, come outside. When she did, the deputies shot her 21 times. While the circumstances remain unsolved- authorities say Lucero rushed towards them with a knife, a claim her family denies- the case prompted questions over what would have happened if mental health professionals responded to that call, and others like it, rather than armed officials.
Starting in September, 911 dispatchers had an option beyond the police, with social workers and others in related fields, fielding calls pertaining to mental health, substance abuse, or homelessness that otherwise would have been handled by an armed official.
This would emphasize that they are not there to enforce the law or make arrests. Instead, they are intended to win the trust of the people they are seeking to help.