Batts wants to deploy mental health teams

Feb. 20--Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said Friday he would like to deploy 18 teams -- each made up of a police officer and a mental health professional -- to deal with incidents involving disturbed individuals.

Batts said he's been looking for funding for such a program for the last 2 1/2 years that he's been commissioner, but hasn't yet found it.

"Having an officer and a clinician in a car -- that's a big thing," he said.

Batts said that ideally he would have two teams for each of the city's nine police districts -- one for the day shift and one for the night shift. He said such teams could make a big difference in dealing with people who are homeless, suicidal or off their medications.

The commissioner said Long Beach, Calif., where he used to work, has had such a program for 12 to 15 years.

Batts was in Annapolis Friday for a meeting of the Baltimore House delegation. In a wide-ranging briefing, he gave lawmakers an upbeat assessment of crime trends in the city

The commissioner deflected legislators' efforts to get him to take a stand on pending legislation involving the police force, deferring such questions to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

"The mayor speaks for the city and we fall in line," Batts said. "If I do what she says, she pays me."

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