ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — When police were called to the home on Avenue B, it was for a report of family trouble, possibly involving a stolen car. That’s one reason the city’s new ‘Person in Crisis’ team wasn’t dispatched instead.

“Unfortunately, this is not an incident in which the PIC team would’ve been called because of the initial call to 911,” said Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren.

The new PIC team was launched just 10 days ago, designed specifically to respond to 911 calls related to mental health crises.

“What is true is that the PIC team is at this time being dispatched to a certain set of calls that are going to in lieu of RPD. The co-response protocols are still under development,” said Daniele Lyman-Torres, commissioner of the city’s Department of Recreation and Human Services.

Police leadership says the 9-year-old girl was suicidal. The police union says it’s not the first time officers had placed her in handcuffs. That, they say, happened during a call last November.

But at no point on Friday did police request the help of experts in mental health emergencies. That fact will likely be part of the internal investigation now underway.

“This video, as a mother, is not anything you want to see,” said Mayor Warren. “It’s something we have to change. It’s not an option. We must change how we do business, how we treat people.”

via rochester first