L.A. City Councilman Herb Wesson says it's time to have the right people responding to situations where force is not needed -- and his plan could be a model for the future of policing in America.
Wesson came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to discuss a new city-wide measure he and his fellow council members voted on and passed this week, which aims to pull cops off on non-violent calls for service, and instead ... send specially-trained, and unarmed, community members.
The Council's intent is clear ... reduce the possibility of police using excessive force, and have social workers and mental health pros on the scene to deescalate and help citizens in need.
For example, the incident that went down in Tampa this past weekend -- where officers responded to a call for a mother in mental distress. Cops ended up ripping away her children in a heartbreaking scene.
Wesson wants to put a stop to unnecessary roughness like that, by deploying specialists who can calm situations and talk down subjects.
The measure will require defunding the police -- or more accurately, reallocating the city's budget. The City Councilman thinks the change would free up LAPD to better police violent cases. Win-win.
It also sounds like this is a plan that could be adopted nationwide -- if it's effective in the city of Angels.