The cops show up for stray dogs in Winterpeg? No dog catchers?
I'm talking about the US, its common that the task has been unloaded on the cops.
Do the cops arrest the mentally ill if they are not committing crimes?
The point is, it may be more beneficial for a trained professional to deal with someone with mental illness. The cops aren't trained, nor should they be, for this task.
They try to detain them and they possibly become confused and react violently.
Then they would call the cops, but more times then not the situation can be de-escalated without the need of guns and force. Which leads into your next statement.
Cops move to control the situation.
Police brutality accusations follow.
Exactly, there are many cases where it's not needed. Aggression brings out aggression in people.
In some places, the police need to be at least as well equipped as the bad guys.
Last I checked the bad guys didn't have tanks. How much is a tank? 1 mil? 2? These tanks are not useful. How often are they used? For the most part, they seem to be used as a visual deterrent, which seems like a lot of money to spend for that. Perhaps that money is best spent elsewhere. Hence, defund the police.