As Jesse Deacon suffered a mental breakdown on July 20 last year, New South Wales Police forcibly entered his home in the Franklyn Street public housing estate in Glebe, and shot him.
Jesse is one of many victims of similar incidents across NSW, a rally at Sydney Town Hall was told on the first anniversary of his death.
About 80 people joined the protest to call on Labor to fund training and ensure mental health professionals are the first responders in a mental health crisis, not the police.
Judy Deacon, Jesse鈥檚 mother, organised the action along with Action for Public Housing, Justice Action, Hands Off Glebe, Pride In Protest, NSW Greens and the Socialist Alliance.
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Many of Jesse鈥檚 family and friends attended, as well as Leesa and Ron Topic, parents of Courtney Topic, another victim of police violence.
The rally called for health responders to be linked to Triple Zero calls. It said Labor must fully fund supported accommodation for the mental health sector and called for police to be held accountable.
Rally chair Rachel Evans, from , called for justice for the families of those who had died.
First Nations Anglican Pastor Ray Minniecon, who acknowledged Country, said 鈥淛esse鈥檚 life was cut short by a system that failed him鈥. More than 55 people experiencing mental illness have been 鈥渒illed in interactions with police鈥 over the past five years.
鈥淢ental illness is a health problem, not a police issue,鈥 Minniecon said. 鈥淭he system should be offering care and compassion, instead of repression.
He said police should not be first responders in these situations and 鈥渆specially for Indigenous communities鈥.
He pointed to the example of the Western Sydney Health Model Teams that respond to acute distress calls, and Triple Zero calls in South Australia that can be referred to mental health clinicians and paramedics.
Jesse鈥檚 mother said her son's death was 鈥渁 tragedy, not just for me and our family, but for the country鈥. She said 鈥渞eal funding鈥 is urgently needed to deal with mental health crises.
The coronial inquiry into Jesse鈥檚 death will take two to three years. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 too long,鈥 she said, 鈥渂ut I assure you all I鈥檓 not going anywhere until we receive justice鈥.
Karl Mayerhofer, a friend of Jesse鈥檚, read out a message from Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who supports mental health call out lines.
Courtney Topic was killed by police in south-western Sydney in 2015. Leesa Topic said changes were urgently needed and that a 鈥渉ealth response will benefit all stakeholders鈥.
鈥淧olice have minimum training in dealing with mental health crises. Mental illness is not a crime, and should be treated as a medical issue.鈥
Sam Lee, the Police Accountability Officer at Redfern Legal Centre, said Labor had promised change.
More than 80 legal groups and practitioners published an last September calling on the government to urgently fund mental health workers for the frontlines.聽
Greens NSW MP Sue Higginson said Rose Jackson, Minister for Housing and Mental Health, has promised to stop police being first responders to mental health crises by the end of the year.
But, she said, since NSW Labor is 鈥渟till running a law-and-order agenda鈥, which includes giving police more powers 鈥渨e must remain vigilant鈥.
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