Sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Salt Lake, Utah Black Roundtable, Better Utah Institute, ACLU of Utah, NAACP Salt Lake Branch
Next week, a group of Utah organizations will host a virtual panel on the issue of police reform and mental health at 7PM. The panel will include speakers from the Utah Substance Use and Mental Health Advisory, Salt Lake City Police Department Mental Health and Substance Abuse Unit, University of Utah Safety, and Journey of Hope, and will be moderated by Emily Salisbury, Ph.D., from the University of Utah’s College of Social Work.
According to the Washington Post, since 2015, nearly one-fourth of all people killed by police officers in the United States have had a known mental illness. Panelists will discuss the scope of this challenge in Utah and consider policy and funding solutions to better help citizens facing mental health crises.
This is the second panel in a series about police reform, and comes after months of civil rights protests in Utah and across the globe in response to the treatment of Black people and other people of color by police. The protests first began following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minnesota. In recent months, the shooting of 13-year-old Linden Cameron by the Salt Lake City Police has shone a light on police response to mental health-related emergency calls. Cameron’s mother had called for a crisis intervention team when her son, who has an autism spectrum disorder, was experiencing what she called a “mental breakdown.” Cameron was shot eleven times by police.
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What: |
Panel: “Coming Together on Police Reform: The Intersection of Mental Health” |
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Who: |
Moderator: · Emily Salisbury, Ph.D. Director, Utah Criminal Justice Center, University of Utah College of Social Work Panelists:
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When: |
Monday, December 14, 7:00PM |
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Where: |
Zoom – RSVP https://abu.buzz/PoliceReform. |
