Report: Tacoma could divert many emergeny calls to civilians

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A new report says thousands of emergency calls made in Tacoma, Washington, could be handled by trained civilians rather than sworn police officers. The Report on the Alternative Response Study, created by Matrix Consulting Group, found that 9.4 percent of calls handled by Tacoma patrol officers per year — about 7,829 — could be diverted to a civilian response group. The News Tribune reports the study recommended creating a new civilian community service officer classification within the Tacoma Police Department to respond to certain non-emergency calls in the field. Tacoma is Washington’s third-largest city with a population of about 220,000. The city of Tacoma commissioned the study for $42,000