Grand Jury recommends changes to OPD Community Response Team after officers cleared in 2023 shooting

ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County Grand Jury has issued a list of recommendations meant to improve the Orlando Police Department’s Community Response Team after its review of a deadly officer-involved shooting.

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Two Orlando police officers trained in crisis intervention responded to an apartment building on Pioneers Way shortly before 1 p.m. on July 14, 2023, after a man called saying his girlfriend was talking about killing herself and that she was armed with a knife.

According to the police department, first responders began crisis negotiations with the woman over the phone, and at one point, she walked out of the apartment holding the phone and a knife before retreating back into the apartment.

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Police say the negotiator made additional attempts to talk to the woman before she ran out of the apartment again and charged at the officers with two knives, forcing them to open fire on her.

The woman, later identified as 32-year-old Rachael Ellis, died at the scene.

A grand jury reviewed testimony and evidence in the shooting and ultimately determined the officers were justified in their use of force against Ellis and decided not to file charges against them. However, they did request additional information about the police department’s Community Response Team.

The CRT employs mental health clinicians contracted with the City of Orlando to respond to incidents involving residents who are experiencing a behavioral or mental health crisis rather than sworn law enforcement officers.

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After reviewing the program, the Grand Jury made three specific recommendations for improving the police department’s CRT.

First, they recommended expanding the CRT and increasing its resources and staffing to better meet the community’s needs.

Second, they recommended bringing the CRT “in-house” with the police department and considering a system wherein its members work alongside officers- rather than in their place- to help manage dangerous situations safely while still providing mental health support.

Finally, they suggest having officers respond in plain clothes and unmarked cars to reduce the likelihood of escalating a crisis situation due to the presence of uniformed officers.

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In its report, the Grand Jury went on to commend the police department for its participation and cooperation with the review, acknowledging the dangerous nature of the profession.

In response to the Grand Jury’s recommendations, OPD officials noted the CRT remains a pilot program that had already undergone multiple changes meant to enhance its effectiveness, including the hiring of a Mental Health Intervention Program Manager to oversee the program, the addition of a clinician to the communications center to help triage calls and the creation of two in-house positions for CRT clinicians who will be assisted by a data analyst assigned to the unit.

According to the police department, since its inception in March of 2021, approximately 2,500 people have been diverted from a law enforcement response through the CRT program.

Read the Grand Jury’s full presentation to the Orlando Police Department below:

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