I agree the police are not ideal, this requires a new position that is a hybrid response of someone trained in mental health and first deescalation. A key aspect that is often overlooked is situational assessment to know how to respond. My ex is a psychologist and many times said they would definitely not be effective to be sent by 911 into a mental health situation that has deteriorated into a dangerous situation because the ability to know how to prevent further escalation involves an understanding of the cause to know how to interact with that person first, an almost impossible task without that person seeking help beforehand. Introspection is extremely difficult because we are all different and there is no benchmark of perfect mental health to constantly compare ourselves to and when a mental health crisis has elevated to the point of the it effecting others in negative ways and in most cases someone directly involved not being able to be aware they need help or who to even call, 911 is the universally known place to call for help me is often called by someone who is not the person who needs the help themselves. A new mental health offering needs to be added to emergency services to go along with the fire, police and medical offerings that are currently the standard. But this is a step towards that, since such trained personnel are not yet available.