‘I think that’s a mistake’: Jake warns CARE chief’s blunt approach won’t work with SPD

The Community Assisted Response and Engagement Department’s (CARE) chief, Amy Barton, has expressed displeasure with the lack of support from the Seattle Police Department (SPD).

CARE’s goal is to send out “experts” to non-emergency calls, primarily dealing with individuals suffering from mental health crises, rather than sending out SPD officers to respond.

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, detailed Barton’s frustrations as the two departments go head-to-head in a battle over which personnel are capable of responding to the many 911 calls each day.

“You have politicians who want to push this out there as a good thing, but you also have to have the Seattle Police Department hand over what used to be part of their responsibility to the Care Bears, which they don’t really want to do,” Jake said. “They were told they had to do it, but they don’t really want to do it. [Barton’s] frustrated because she says that she’s not getting support from Seattle Police officers.”

Low-danger calls can turn violent even without criminal intent

Spike noted SPD has been trained to handle these situations for years, oftentimes solely sending out CARE members to what looks like a low-danger situation, which could take a turn for the worse if officers are not present.

“I think police come at this from a much more pragmatic and realistic perspective, understanding that while a situation may be based on a mental health crisis, there are still real dangers and threats for someone. Just because there’s no criminal intent, they still could be violent,” Spike said.

Spike believes the program could be viable, but said the two departments must work together and build on each other’s shared experiences for it to have a real shot at being an effective program.

“They’re spending a bunch of money, and have a genuine opportunity to be valuable to the community,” Spike said. “I think it’s a worthwhile program, but they have to respect the parameters, the learned experience of law enforcement communities about potential danger for these care representatives in the community. [SPD] thinks they know best about these situations, and oftentimes they do.

“I think the solution here is an acceptance that the police are going to know best, and you’re going to be called when needed,” Spike continued. “I’d rather err on the side of cautious safety, I should say, for the CARE teams. You send a couple of these folks out into a situation that they’re not ready to handle, that escalates beyond their capacity to control, and then suddenly, you’re calling for backup from a law enforcement officer, and that’s oftentimes too late.”

Jake noted Barton may be stepping on a few of SPD’s toes as she is working toward her goal.

“I think it would be smarter to try to ingratiate yourself with a long-standing, very proud department that’s already doing as good a job as they can do,” Jake said. “Given their limited resources on some of these things, also given the city’s political leaders’ inability to address the issues that they’re having to face every single day on the street, they must be very frustrated.

“I don’t think we should be disparaging them in any way. I think that’s a mistake,” he continued. “If I were advising her, I would say maybe step back a little bit. Take a kinder approach. Try to figure out how we can come alongside SPD and accompany you in a way that doesn’t step on your toes. She should ingratiate herself more than just stomping her foot.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.