Lawmakers from Western Massachusetts are pushing for a bill to get passed in Boston that would provide funding for community-based unarmed response teams.
This comes after the police officer-involved shooting of Orlando Taylor the Third in Springfield.
The family of Taylor, who was black, said he was having a mental health crisis before police confronted him over an alleged knife incident earlier this month.
Following reflection on the national racial justice movement, the city of Northampton created a Department of Community Care last year, while the town of Amherst was working on a similar public safety program.
State Rep Lindsay Sabodosa is looking to use some federal funds to pay for a program that would allow local communities to provide a mental health response first.
The State Rep says a police response to the calls then would be a last resort.
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