SEATTLE — In a newly launched pilot project, civilian mental health crisis responders are riding alongside Skagit County sheriff’s deputies on 911 calls. It is the latest example of reimagining policing in the Pacific Northwest.

Skagit County Sheriff’s Office Detective Anne Weed broached the idea for a partnership months before the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police ignited the national debate about reform. Weed said two existing mental health clinicians from Compass Health are now being “embedded” with regular patrol deputies. They get assigned the 911 calls involving people...