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A Columbus initiative proposes nonpolice crisis teams to better support mental health emergencies and reduce law enforcement involvement.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In January 2017, Columbus dispatchers took a call from Jaron Thomas. It contained a shocking level of foreshadowing.

“I need an ambulance,” Thomas told the dispatcher.

“OK, let me get you over to medics. Are you sick or injured?” asked the dispatcher.

“I feel like I’m gonna get shot and I’m really paranoid because I was high and it feels like I’m gonna die or something,” Thomas told the dispatcher.

“Why do you feel like you’re gonna get shot?” asked the dispatcher.

“Because I keep hearing these voices,” said Thomas.

An autopsy report shows Thomas died nine days later. According to the report, “cocaine induced delirium” and “cardiac arrest” cut off oxygen to his brain and killed him.

Columbus police records show that responding officers used force on Thomas before he was taken to a hospital.

Pushing for a different response

Thomas’ family doesn’t agree with how things were handled and is now pushing for a different type of response to 911 calls like the one he made.

As a leader with Columbus Safety Collective, Thomas’ sister, Chana Wiley, is working to gather the 25,000 signatures needed to put a petition on an upcoming November ballot.

It would require the city to set aside $5 million by 2027 to create a Community Crisis Response division.

According to Wiley, they would provide a nonpolice response to “low-level” mental health and substance abuse calls.

“We’d have a team of trained clinicians, peer supporters, social workers that can respond to these health crises,” said Wiley.

It’s important to note that the city already runs several similar programs that fall under the umbrella of the city’s “Alternative Crisis Response” program.

One of their sub-programs is the Right Response Unit (RRU). It’s a specialized 911 dispatch unit used to coordinate responses when calls come in for mental health support and other social service needs.

Between Jan. 1, 2023, and June 18, 2025, they took 13,127 calls.

City leaders set aside more than $7.5 million in the 2025 budget to keep the service going.

The unit currently operates Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to midnight.

“What would make this initiative different than some of those pilot programs?” asked 10 Investigates Reporter Rochelle Alleyne.

“It’s not a co-responder model. It is a model that is comprised of people and professionals [who] are specifically trained to respond to these types of calls to provide resources. It would be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said Wiley.

Police leader weighs in

But what do police think about this initiative?

10 Investigates spoke to Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #9 President Lt. Brian Steel

“It sounds like this really hinges on dispatch getting it right and figuring out who’s the appropriate response,” said 10 Investigates Reporter Rochelle Alleyne.

“Which is actually very hard because sometimes when people call, what they send you for is not what you find,” said Steel.

While Steel worries about the safety of those responding, he added that the FOP ultimately supports this push.

“The bottom line: if someone’s in a mental health crisis, we want to get to them. We want to get to them quick[ly] and we wanna get them the help they need, and maybe that is not the police,” said Lt. Steel.

What’s next

And as she continues to collect signatures, here’s why Wiley says you should care too.

“The average resident [who] doesn’t suffer from mental health or doesn’t have a connection to it, they should still care because it could be their neighbor. It could actually be themselves because you don’t have to have a diagnosis to have a bad day,” said Wiley, “You know, there could be people with autism or someone in your family [who] is suffering from dementia.”

As the community waits to see the outcome of this ballot initiative, 10 Investigates also learned more about the existing mental health services in our community.

10TV spoke with employees at the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (ADAMH). — a mobile crisis team in partnership with the Columbus Police Department, Columbus Public Health and the Department of Public Safety.

It’s a 24/7 program. But right now, to directly access it, someone has to call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Sue Villilo, the vice president of clinical services at ADAMH, says they’re working with 911 dispatchers to streamline that process.

“I anticipate that in the next three months we will probably be seeing those warm handoffs from 911 to 988,” she said.