The New York City Police Department is testing a new alert system to let officers know if they are dealing with people who are emotionally disturbed.
The initiative is in response to the 2007 fatal shooting of a man who confronted police with a broken wine bottle and the recent case of a naked man who fell to his death after being jolted by a Taser.
Under the new system, a 911 operator checks a calls' address to see if there have been previous incidents involving emotionally disturbed people in the last year.
If so, the dispatcher notifies the responding officer about those incidents and sends an ambulance and Emergency Service Unit to the scene.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
