CLEVELAND — Two Cleveland city councilmembers introduced "Tanisha's Law" to the community on Thursday, nearly a decade after 37-year-old Tanisha Anderson died in police custody. It was first introduced to the entire city council on Nov. 4.
Anderson's family explained she was experiencing a mental health crisis and was pinned to the ground by police for 21 minutes. The two officers involved in her death were reprimanded, but eventually cleared of criminal wrongdoing. The city wound up settling with her family for $2.25 million.
"There should be a protocol set forth when dealing with someone who is mentally ill," Anderson's nephew Jacob Johnson said.
Johnson and other family members spoke briefly before community members and city officials during the introduction of the law.
"We believe that everyone should have some baseline knowledge when it comes to responding to behavioral health crises," Ward 7 Councilwoman Stephanie Hawse-Jones said.
Hawse-Jones was joined by Ward 12 Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer and Ward 17 Councilman Charles Slife during the presentation. They said the law would require officers to undergo additional training and also create a Department of Crisis Response that would help dispatch trained mental health professionals to those suffering from a mental health crisis rather than solely sending law enforcement officers.
The city has worked to establish a "co-response" model, in which behavioral health specialists are among the first on the scene. Currently, officers are required to clear the scene before these specialists arrive.
"Very often, those co-response teams — though well-trained, exceptional, doing good work — they end up (coming), often, days later," Maurer explained.
Councilmembers said it could be months before the legislation is finalized and voted on in the chamber.