A broad coalition of public interest groups and people with mental disabilities filed an emergency request to immediately halt New York City’s new policy to greatly expand coerced transport to psychiatric hospitals of people perceived to have “an inability to meet their basic needs.”  The motion for a temporary restraining order is brought in ongoing federal class action litigation challenging the City’s use of police officers as the front line response to people with actual or perceived mental disabilities.

April 20, 2023 Update: The plaintiffs in the federal class action lawsuit challenging New York City’s use of police as first responders for people experiencing mental health crises filed a second Amended Complaint, describing the additional legal violations presented by Mayor Eric Adam’s November 29, 2022 policy, which establishes a lower standard by which the police are to determine whether to involuntarily remove people to hospitals for psychiatric evaluation. The Baerga Amended Complaint also adds four additional plaintiffs. Read NYLPI’s full statement here.

Read ongoing coverage about Baerga v. New York at the links below.

ABC News | ABC7 NY | amNY | Amsterdam News | Associated Press | Brooklyn Daily Eagle | CBS New York 1 & 2 | Crain’s Health Pulse | Crain’s NY Business 1 & 2 | Fox News | Fox5 NY 1 & 2 | Gotham Gazette | Gothamist | Healthcare Today | Jewish Press | Mad in America | New York Law Journal | New York Post 1 & 2 | Newsbreak | NY Daily News | Patch NY 1 & 2 | Politico | Politics NY | TDPel Media | The City NY 1 & 2  | The Wall Street Journal | BK Reader | Mental Health Weekly | Queens Chronicle | Washington Examiner | IDHA | Crain’s Health Pulse | Mental Health Weekly | Committable Podcast | New York Times 1, 2

Updated: April 25, 2023