I don’t have an answer to this question, it is an honest question. But the whole idea of 988 was to avoid police interaction in mental health crises. It seems not to be the case, so much.
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PSA: In Ontario 
you can call Health Connect at 811 also for mental health issues.
We’re following the example here set in some 
cities and setting up non-police teams to deal with mental health issues. I’ve seen mental health issues turn very dangerous and even deadly not just for the individual suffering, but for people around them. I tend to lean to the side of “this is tough to deal with, train everyone”.
Progress has been slow, however. The death discussed in the following story was a big wake-up call here.
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I may be overreading, but this is the line that bothered me:
Only when the caller cannot or will not collaborate on a safety plan and the counselor feels the caller will harm themselves imminently should emergency services be called, according to the hotline’s policy.
If you don’t agree to do what I say, I will call the cops on your ass. Mixing coercion with mental health is just not a good look. At the same time, i do sympathize with this:
At that point, Draper said, “we have the choice of just letting [harm] happen or doing whatever we can to keep them safe.”
I do not know what the balance is, but scaring people off of calling for fear of having the LEOs called in seems to be not the best.
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