Mental Health Advocacy Groups Sue Worcester Over 911 Response to Behavioral Health Emergencies
Three Massachusetts mental health advocacy organizations filed suit in federal court Monday against the City of Worcester, alleging that the city’s 911 system unlawfully discriminates against people with mental health disabilities by sending armed police officers as the default response to mental health emergencies rather than trained behavioral health clinicians.
The plaintiffs are the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Central Massachusetts, the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts, and the Parent Professional Advocacy League. In a 52-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, they contend that Worcester operates a unified emergency response system that treats physical and mental health emergencies differently: when someone calls 911 for a heart attack or other physical medical emergency, qualified emergency medical personnel are dispatched, but when the emergency involves suicidal ideation, post-traumatic stress, or other behavioral health conditions, armed police officers are typically sent first.
According to the complaint, the organizations argue that police officers are not trained or qualified to perform what they describe as the “core functions of an emergency mental health response”—including assessment, de-escalation, stabilization, and referral to appropriate treatment. The complaint alleges that police presence can itself escalate a crisis, citing language that “the mere presence of a law enforcement vehicle, an officer in uniform, and/or a weapon . . . has the potential to escalate a situation” when a person is in crisis.
The lawsuit alleges that Worcester’s dispatch system categorizes mental health emergencies under “Check on the Welfare” calls and sends armed officers to essentially all such incidents, even though most do not involve violence or criminal conduct. The plaintiffs cite city data and public statements indicating that mental health-related calls account for a substantial portion of daily police activity.
The complaint also points to Worcester’s former Mental Health Crisis Response Team, a pilot program launched in 2023 that paired behavioral health personnel with a community-based crisis response model. According to the filing, that team operated only limited hours, responded to relatively few 911 calls, and in most cases was dispatched only after police had already arrived. The city later discontinued the program. Plaintiffs allege Worcester currently has no equivalent clinical first-response system for behavioral health emergencies.
Several examples are included in the complaint to illustrate the alleged consequences of police-led mental health responses. One involved a 14-year-old boy with autism and a mental health disability whose mother called for help after he locked himself in his bedroom. According to the complaint, officers forced entry, physically restrained him, handcuffed him, and remained while he screamed and cried, with one officer remarking, “He’s triggered by our presence.” Another example involved a 10-year-old boy whose arm was allegedly fractured after officers removed him from a car and restrained him face-down while awaiting an ambulance.
The plaintiffs also reference Worcester Police Department policies governing emergency mental health calls, alleging that existing procedures emphasize arrest, involuntary commitment, or transport to a facility, rather than clinical intervention on scene. The complaint argues that this framework effectively treats mental health emergencies as law enforcement events rather than health emergencies.
The legal claims are brought under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The organizations seek a declaratory judgment that Worcester’s current 911 practices violate federal disability law and an injunction requiring the city to implement a system in which mental health professionals are the default first responders for typical mental health emergencies. They also seek attorneys’ fees and costs.
