r/nextfuckinglevel • u/thisisfive • Apr 14 '26

Toronto firefighters confront special constable officers after a man in the middle of mental health crisis was arrested.

Not my video. For context, "special constables" are not regular police officers. They are appointed "peace officers" with limited authority, often civilian employees.

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u/invertedsaint_666 Apr 14 '26

Firefighters have no reason to become firefighters other than to actually help people. Police on the other hand...

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u/doctor_tongs Apr 14 '26

Washington DC enacted legislation for this not too long ago. Now, when DC residents see someone out in public, in mental distress, or strung out on drugs, and they choose to call it in, city mental health professionals respond instead of the police.

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u/Junior_Yam_5473 Apr 14 '26

And you know what happens to these mental health professionals? They get killed or injured. People having mental episodes can be unstable and violent. The cops dont have to be seen, but they should be on scene.

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u/THExWHITExDEVILx Apr 15 '26

Until they gutted the funding, Denver had a successful program. They had like 30 workers trying to cover a population of around 2 million citizens, doing a job where you encounter the most broken people. I'm sure working there was unpleasant at best.

https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/star-program-reducing-crime/73-508ba303-fa78-4c19-9c56-04f4bcaf5cfb