ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Sunday marked five years since the arrest of Daniel Prude in Rochester, which led to his death and a push for reform when it comes to how police respond to people in mental health crises.

Community members gathered on Sunday afternoon to push for the passage of Daniel’s Law in the New York State Legislature, which would stop police from being the only first responders when people call 911 for help during a mental health crisis. Advocates say mental health professionals such as social workers or counselors should be the first to respond, not police.

Daniel’s Law has come up in the state legislature every year since his death. It has been passed by the Mental Health Committee in the State Senate. Now, it’s in the Finance Committee, which is where it got stuck during the last legislative session.

The law would provide a statewide infrastructure to help carve out that public health response. Especially here in Rochester, where Daniel died we’re already seeing that.

Rochester gives an idea of what the response would be for every 911 mental health call under the law. Since 2021, the city has had the Person in Crisis team. Those are trained mental health professionals, like social workers and counselors, who come out to 911 calls. Depending on the situation, police may come as well.

The Daniel’s Law Task Force was established a few years ago. It gathers data and makes recommendations on what is needed to best make this transition. For example, it lays out a statewide, uniform protocol for when someone in crisis calls 911. But what’s missing, and what this law provides, is some of the funding. It also is a legal mandate for every municipality to do what the task force says and move away from that police response.

So, if we’re already seeing this, why do advocates still want the law passed? It’s because the city could cancel the PIC team any time and no one else is required to make anything like it. The law requires the transition, brings in the state to help facilitate, and creates a statewide standard.

A.I. assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News 10 uses A.I.