DOJ: Oklahoma violated federal laws protecting people with behavioral issues
The state of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City Police Department violated federal laws, unnecessarily institutionalized adults with behavioral health disabilities − or put them at serious risk − while Oklahoma City's police department engaged "in a pattern or practice of conduct that discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities," a newly released report from the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Issued Friday, the 45-page report said Oklahoma's state government doesn't provide sufficient services for people with behavioral health disabilities to prevent unnecessary hospitalization. The report also accused the state and Oklahoma City of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the practice provisions of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
"As a result many people with behavioral health disabilities never receive treatment until they are in crisis, when they instead end up needlessly hospitalized or in contact with law enforcement," the DOJ report said.
In addition, the only agency residents with behavioral health issues in Oklahoma County encounter often is the Oklahoma City Police Department, the report said.
"The city defaults to sending police as the sole responders in most cases," the report said. "(But) these calls for assistance would often be effectively resolved with a response by behavioral health professionals who can provide appropriate treatment, but the city rarely involve such professionals."
'People do not get the help they need'
The report also said that when Oklahoma City police do respond to situations involving residents with behavioral health issues, they sometimes fail to help, escalate crisis or even unnecessarily resort to force.
"People do not get the help they need and they are taken to the hospital to begin the cycle again," the report said.
The report sparked terse responses from Gov. Kevin Stitt, as well as city and state officials.
"This is another Biden administration overreach on their way out the door," Stitt's statement said. "Allie Friesen (leader of the state's Mental Health Department) and her team are working hard to reform our mental health system, but they can't do that if they're burdened with heavy handed, out of touch mandates from the federal government."
Attorney Gentner Drummond, whose office is representing the state, said he strongly supported reform of the mental health system but added that he was wary of "yet another top-down approach in this 11th hour report by the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice."
"We will closely review the findings, but the DOJ report appears to be an attempt to bully Oklahoma into compliance with ever-changing and undefined targets," Drummond's statement said. "Such federal overreach has been part and parcel with this White House.”
For several years now, Stitt and Drummond, both Republicans, have been harsh critics of federal actions taken under the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden.
Oklahoma City Police Chief Ron Bacy said his office would be thoroughly reviewing the DOJ’s report.
"In the meantime, the employees of the Oklahoma City Police Department will continue to work with our community partners to provide the best available resources to our residents,” Bacy said in a statement to The Oklahoman, part of the Paste BN Network.
Echoing the police, Kristy Yager, a spokesperson for the City of Oklahoma City, said city officials were also reviewing the findings from a two-year DOJ investigation.
"The report was not shared with the City prior to its release and the process to analyze and consider its contents will take time," Yager's statement said. "The City remains focused on providing the best services to its residents now and into the future."
The report comes about two years after the DOJ announced it had opened an investigation into the state of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma City Police Department to examine whether the state fails to provide community-based mental health services to people in Oklahoma County, leading to unnecessary admissions to psychiatric facilities and police contact.
The announcement said the investigation would also examine Oklahoma City's systems for responding to people experiencing behavioral health crises, including through the 911 call center and the police department.
While Friday's report ended with a statement saying the DOJ looked forward to working cooperatively with Oklahoma and Oklahoma City "to reach a resolution to our findings," the report also indicated that if the groups involved cannot reach a resolution, the DOJ could take other action.
"If we cannot reach a resolution, the United States may take appropriate action, including bringing a lawsuit to ensure compliance with the ADA," the report said. That lawsuit, however, would require support of the incoming Trump Administration officials and Trump has, so far, been silent about the issue.
Read the full DOJ report on Oklahoma, OKC police
Contributing: Nolan Clay