Cleveland City Council took a notable step towards reform on Monday when it introduced a piece of legislation named “Tanisha’s Law.” This new bill is in response to the tragic death of Tanisha Anderson, a 37-year-old mother who died in police custody 10 years ago during a mental health episode. Coming a decade after Anderson’s death, this law aims to advance Cleveland’s emergency response to mental health crises by introducing improved protocols for Cleveland’s police, mental health professionals, and community members.
Members of Cleveland’s City Council, including Stephanie Howse-Jones of Ward-7, and the Student Legislative Initiative of Cleveland (SLIC) at Case Western Reserve University, collaborated with Anderson’s family to draft the legislation to ensure that law enforcement and first responders are adequately equipped to handle similar situations in the future. Yesterday, a press conference was held at Case Western Reserve University Law School to discuss the proposed law. According to an interview with
FOX8
, Tanisha’s nephew Jacob Johnson expressed the significance of the legislation, saying, “This will mean that no other family will have to endure what we endured.”
The specifics of “Tanisha’s Law” include creating a Department of Community Crisis Response, which oversees mental health professionals working alongside police officers. Howse-Jones detailed that the law will codify co-response and alternative responses for addressing crises to improve how the city handles incidents involving individuals experiencing mental health crises. As reported by
Signal Cleveland
, the new department would offer guidelines for responding to crisis calls, gather data for reporting on progress, and maintain an online dashboard for information sharing.
Transparency in the steps toward resolution took center stage, acknowledging that there’s still a lot of coordination to be done before a vote can be scheduled. “It takes a lot of coordination from first responders, from behavioral specialists … that is what is in Tanisha’s Law,” Councilmember Howse-Jones told
FOX8
. The initiative to involve community input and engage with stakeholders in the next few months was shared by Council Members at the press event.
The tragedy sparked the movement towards this legislative change back in 2014 when Anderson died handcuffed and face down on the ground in police custody. Her death was first ruled a homicide by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner, though a second autopsy and a grand jury declined to indict the officers involved. “We think as law enforcement they were here to protect and serve us, they had some responsibility to show some dignity and respect because she died buck naked on the ground,” Michael Anderson told
Cleveland19
. The officers involved, Scott Aldridge and Bryan Myers, faced internal consequences, but a grand jury did not find sufficient evidence to charge them criminally.
The Anderson family’s wrongful death lawsuit settlement with the city totaled $2.25 million, which reflects not so much a valuation of life but perhaps the cost of neglect and the price of overdue change. This legislation, derived from the Study Legislative Initiative of Cleveland (SLIC) efforts, law students, and the dedication of a grieving family, represents a strand of hope to transform the process and provide a nuanced approach to mental health calls, ensuring a safer and more compassionate response for Cleveland’s community.
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