On Thursday, the de Blasio Administration is expected to announce the creation of a city task force aimed at improving how police respond to 911 calls involving the mentally ill. The announcement comes two weeks after Saheed Vassell was shot and killed by NYPD officers in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Vassell had a history of mental illness. Police thought he was threatening people with a gun, but the object in his hand turned out to be a steel pipe. 

"I've charged this Task Force with developing a comprehensive strategy to prevent these situations from escalating and enhance the city's crisis response system. These recommendations will keep our neighborhoods and our most vulnerable New Yorkers safe," said the Mayor in a press release.  

Advocates said Vassell was the tenth mentally ill person to be killed by the NYPD since June of 2015. They've been pressuring the city to study why the deaths are happening and to come up with solutions. In a letter last Wednesday, the city council's progressive caucus also called on City Hall to prioritize strategies that would divert 911 calls to mental health professionals instead of police. 

A spokesperson said the task force would look at how 911 calls involving mentally ill individuals are dispatched. They'll also look at whether it's possible to increase the use of co-response teams that consist of two police officers and a mental health professional. Since March of 2016 the teams have intervened in cases involving 2500 individuals. Last year the NYPD responded to more than 160,000 calls involving someone considered to be in emotional distress.

Advocates say another alternative to the 911 system are mobile crisis teams that are made up of nurses, psychiatrists, and social workers. The city said it would look at how to enhance these teams so that they can respond more rapidly. 

In addition to improving police interactions, the city is examining how to increase support for people with mental illness, including helping them get housing and public benefits. A city hall spokesperson said the city would also look at ways to connect people to long term treatment once they get discharged from hospitals and emergency rooms.

The task force is expected to come up with recommendations in six months and will be led by the NYPD and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.