Under the name of Angelo Quinto, a new team of mental health experts aboard a van will respond to 911 calls in the city of Antioch that are not violent or life-threatening but that have a mental component.
Antioch officials welcomed the first mental health crisis response team on Monday, named after Angelo Quinto, a resident of Antioch in Contra Costa County who died at the hands of police after being restrained on Dec. 23, 2020.
At a news conference, the city said the team will be the first in a city in the county to respond to mental health emergencies, which were previously handled by the police.
In collaboration with the Felton Institute, the team will respond to non-violent, non-life-threatening 911 calls and will be named after Angelo Quinto, a 30-year-old Antioch resident who died after being restrained by Antioch police on Dec. 23, 2020.
Quinto was suffering from a mental health crisis and was having a dispute with his mother when police arrived at the family home, at which point officers restrained him, knelt on his shoulder, secured his legs and handcuffed him, before calling an ambulance. However, by the time paramedics arrived, Quinto's face was reportedly purple and he was unresponsive.
There was blood on his face and on the ground. Life-saving measures were carried out, but Quinto died later that day in hospital.
The Contra Costa District Attorney's Office declined to file charges against the police last September. And now that office and the FBI are investigating the Antioch Police Department for a series of alleged civil rights violations.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe apologized to the Quinto family, saying the incident changed the city and fueled police reform efforts in recent years.
"There are no words that can heal the pain that you are experiencing, but I hope that this gesture here helps you understand that your city is listening to you, your city sees you, we value you and we respect you," Thorpe said.
At the time, Councilwoman Monica Wilson said that while other municipalities in the country have chosen to cut mental health services, the city is looking to make it a priority.
“This investment in a mental health response team will ensure that we never lose a member of our community due to mental health needs. This will ensure that a mental health issue is treated as just that: a mental health issue, not a crime that requires the full force of the police department.”
The annual cost of the crisis response team is estimated at between $1.8 and $2.2 million.
With information from Telemundo 48 Bay Area.
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