New York Lawyers for the Public Interest alongside our coalition partners at Correct Crisis Intervention Today – NYC, condemn the fatal shooting of 27 year-old African-American man, Walter Wallace, Jr., by the Philadelphia police on October 26, 2020.

“The killing of Mr. Wallace is yet another painful reminder that police were never meant to be health care workers. Our experience here in New York City show us that no amount of training will equip police officers to serve this function.”

“Mr. Wallace’s family called for an ambulance to obtain help for their loved one – just like the families of Mohammed Bah, and so many others have done . . . People living with mental health concerns have lives — jobs, families and friends. Each of these individuals had a life too, and it mattered.”

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest alongside our coalition partners at Correct Crisis Intervention Today – NYC, have a shared mission “to transform how the City responds to mental health crises by diverting crisis responses away from law enforcement.”  We know that “mental health crises are not criminal justice matters, and they require a public health response that is led by healthcare professionals with the capacity to deliver person-centered interventions, along with peers with lived mental health experience.”

Please read our coalition’s full statement on the killing of Walter Wallace, Jr. and our call to demand action in New York, here.