This is a much better approach to these distress calls. Mental illness is evidence of the lack of skills to adapt responsively to the demands of the environment. By responding to mental health with people trained to de-escalate, everyone involved can calm down and work it out.

The police are trained to respond to active or ongoing threats, and for their own reasons, have a hard time responding to challenging behavior without punishing the "offender". Until they get that training, the problem will persist.

Glad to see that somebody is willing to try something different.