My mic is on the bring it up.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Channel Twenty.

Again, Cleveland City Council safety committee will come to order.

Madam Clerk, do we have a quarrel?

Present.

This is the first safety committee of the new council that was sworn in on January fifth.

And I want to welcome all of them.

And at this time, I'm gonna ask for each member to identify themselves and to briefly state the neighborhood in which they represent.

So the viewing public will have a better understanding of who they are, who you are.

Vice Chair, Mr.

Starr.

For allowing me to be your vice chair for safety.

Um councilmember Richard Starr representing War 5 in the neighborhoods of Midtown Central, um, Kansman, as well as Industrial Valley for City and parts of downtown.

Glad to be back for my second term.

Look forward to working together with this committee as we make sure safety is a top priority for the city of Cleveland as well as the residents in each of our neighborhoods.

So I look honored, look forward to us all working together to accomplish some different goals that we all set out for our community.

Thank you, Councilman.

My name is Councilwoman Nikki Hudson.

I represent the new ward 11, which covers the Edgewater, Cadell, Stockyards, West Boulevard, Brookside, Old Brooklyn, and West Boulevard neighborhoods.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilwoman House.

Uh representing uh the new ward 8, which is inclusive of Asia Town, parts of downtown, parts of Glenville, Goodrich Cartland Park, Huff, and St.

Clair Superior.

Thank you.

Councilman Jones.

Representing the Lee Harbor Seville Miles community, now parts of Mount Pleasant community, um, home of the fighting eagles, uh, representing the first ward.

Thank you, Councilman.

Councilman Slife.

Um Councilman Charles Slife, I represent Ward 15, uh, which is West Park Hamps Corners.

Councilmember Kevin Conn well representing the home of the mighty mighty mighty mighty tabletters, three time state champions, um Glenville, University Circle, and parts of Collinwood.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I'm and I'm Councilman Mike Palencyc.

I represent Cleveland's 10th ward, which is comprised of North Shore Collinwood, the neighborhoods of Nottingham Village, Collinwood Village, and the Euclid Green, Euclid Park neighborhoods.

And I'm on my start of my 14th term here in this wonderful body.

Okay.

Um we're gonna jump right in.

Director, please come to the table with your team.

We're gonna we're gonna go into um we're gonna have a brief um update on staffing, and then we'll go into Tanisha's law, um, the proposal that is before us.

And if there's anyone wishing public comment who would like to comment, would please see the clerk to your left and sign up with the appropriate information that she needs.

You will each be given three minutes when we get into that portion, and we will ask for public comment.

It's been suggested.

Um, and I will uh uh support uh public comment before we get into the uh embodiment of the legislation.

Director Drummond, welcome to the table, and again introduce your team for the viewing public.

Good morning, uh Chair and Council members.

Uh uh I am uh Wayne Drummond, Director of Public Safety.

With me is my team.

Uh to my left is assistant director Jason Scheckner.

To my right is EMS Commissioner Orlando Wheeler, and to his right is Lieutenant John Mullins from the uh Cleveland Division of Police.

He is responsible for the co-respondence program within the division of police.

Thank you.

Um Director Um and team, can you update us on where we are with staffing levels within the division of police briefly?

Yes, sir.

Uh to start off with, I'll start with the uh within the division of fire.

Um the approved um uniform strength for division of fire is uh 757.

Uh our current uniform strength is uh 763.

We're currently uh six above our budgeted numbers, um, which we're working on.

Um attrition, we should um realize our budget strength of uh 557 within the next couple of months.

Um so we're six over, but but uh we are trending uh again to our attrition to to get down to our budget numbers.

So we're above by six.

Go to the numbers again slow so you public can understand that as well.

Our approved strength right now uh is seven hundred and fifty-seven.

That's based on the budget.

That's correct, yes, sir.

Budgeted amount 757.

That's correct.

And you have as of this point how many?

Seven, six three.

Seven six three at this point.

That's correct.

Uh 22 employees um left the division in 2025.

22 left.

Yep.

And thirty division of fire.

That's correct.

Yes, correct.

Uh, in 2025, and we had uh uh 31 uh members join the service in 2025.

And we had uh uh 31 uh members join the service in 2025.

Yes, Councilman Jones.

Um we're budgeted for 757, but we have 763.

Yes, sir.

And why then how do we deal with it if we're over through the chair?

Um we are in the process of a treading out uh down to our budgeted numbers.

Uh when we started the uh academy last year, the division of police fire academy last year with our recruits, I believe it started with over 35 recruits.

Um when the recruits started and when we forecasted, we believe that through attrition, we would have uh met our numbers, but uh less firefighters uh uh decided to firefighters decided to stay versus uh retired, retiring, so that put us over our budgeted numbers.

Um again, we're in the process of a trading uh out to our our budgeted numbers.

We'll keep going.

For the division of police, um the budgeted numbers right now is one thousand three hundred and thirty-eight.

Our curring staffing, including recruits, right?

Stop right there.

I thought it was one thousand three fifty.

It was uh thirteen fifty, it went down to thirteen thirty-eight.

But again, in the budget that we passed was thirteen fifty.

Uh to the chair, um, as you may recall, um last year, um, because of the fire going over head count, there was moved from the police um head count into fire, that's gonna be moved back once fire gets back into their appropriate head count.

I just want to make sure that's temporarily and okay, because at the butt what we passed in April that went into effect in April is one thousand three hundred and fifty division.

So the chair, that's correct.

That was budgeted last year for 2025 1,350 patrol officers.

Yes, Mr.

Jones.

Um I guess the question I would have is you know thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Um Vice Chairman Star.

Uh to uh Mr.

Chairman to the director.

Um these numbers just keep going down.

So I guess the question that I want to ask is are we budgeting because we can't get police officers, so we're trying to take a best shot at what we already have, and then we go down because we just can't get to that.

Well we initially budgeted it was I think at 1.495, 1,495 police officers.

Now we're sitting here at the table at 1,350.

So how are we coming out with these budget numbers for the police?

Let's let him go through police, and then um uh animal you're gonna hit animal control too.

Okay, go through and then we'll ask for questions, and I'll have you down first on the list.

Next to the vice chair.

Thank you.

Go ahead, Director.

For the division of police, again, uh approved strength of budgeted numbers as uh 1,338.

Uh current and right now uniform strength is again including recruits is one thousand two hundred and fifty-six that includes the academy.

Academy or just that includes if that includes those that we have in the academy right now, that's correct.

Correct present, including people in the academy that that that are not out on the street.

That is correct, yes, sir.

Okay.

We had 86 departures in 2025.

Uh six left.

Yep.

Um hundred and eleven officers were added to our streets in uh 2025 from classes 155, 156, and 158, and 159, and through reinstatements as well.

Okay, pull your mic club close.

Did they to the clerk?

Did they change these mics as well?

Yeah, yeah, because see it's we've had to make sure that the public can hear this.

This is public testimony.

So let's go back.

So let me go back to go back to 86.

86.

Oh, 86 departures in 2025.

Is that better, I hope?

Yeah, yeah.

Okay, yeah.

85, 86 departures in 2025.

Uh we had 11 officers added to the streets in 2025 through the academy classes, which were classes 155, 156, 158, 159, and plus reinstatements.

Those are officers returning that left the the service and came back.

65 recruits and academy classes, which is classes uh 160 and 161.

Okay, and I would go back to the 11.

So the 11, I want to get this clear.

And uh not an academy, a hundred and eleven are in the street.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

Because in the budget we called for 180.

Go ahead.

And that's for the division of police.

Division of EMS, we have uh uh approved uh our budget is three fifteen.

Um currently we have uh two hundred and eighty, but we also have twenty-six cadets in training, which would push up push us at uh three zero six, uh and seventeen employees left the division of EMS in 2025.

Come back to CPDM.

So the 65 Aaron, what academy class?

Classes 160 and 161.

And one six one class.

Okay.

And they will graduate when sometime this year.

Oh, they will graduate this year.

Okay.

And then you there was another number after sixty at the you mentioned after the sixty-five.

What was that?

Or do you went right in the middle?

I went I went right into EMS, yeah.

Go over to EMS numbers again.

Uh we're budgeted for 315.

Yes.

And we're currently at 280.

We have uh 25 uh in the uh training right now.

I'm sorry, 26 in uh the training right now.

And once they graduate, that pushes up to 306.

We put additional money in EMS budget.

Um tell me why that didn't happen.

Chair, we're in the process now of you didn't absolutely push us up to 315, and we're in the process now of putting the 26 cadets on, which will make us only uh nine short, and we're in the process of trying to fill those as well.

And and how many base units are we running EMS units?

Commissioner, and again, introduce yourself again and I welcome you.

Glad to have you at the table.

Thank you, Commissioner Orlando Wheeler.

So currently our projected uh staffing, well, projected units that will be running daily after these 26 cadets make it out of the academy, which they are slated to graduate the 29th of this month, we'll be running 25 units during the day and 21 units at night.

25 units day and 21 at night.

Correct.

Chair, this right here, this 26 would bring us one short in the field of being completely staffed, and we still have uh dispatchers to fill.

And we're in currently in the process of interviewing to get those dispatchers on board.

But uh we lost one during the academy for the paramedics.

So that would have had us completely staffed in the field.

But we lost one, so that we're one short, and um we're so I and I um you know uh the director and the administration, you director, I commissioner, excuse me.

You know how passionately we feel about all of our uh safety divisions.

Uh but uh EMS was created by city council, as you know.

And it's something that we want to make sure um that was our desire to make sure that uh we have all neighborhoods covered.

So what you're telling us at the table, we're on we're we're almost right there.

Chair, that's correct.

That's what I need to hear.

That's what we want to hear.

Because there's no gr no greater role that we have in providing safety um and and service to our citizens.

So that's um I'm glad to hear that.

Just to add more, this would be the first time since about 1997 that we've had our staffing up to the level that it is now.

Well, we are committed.

This this safety committee and the council was committed within all of our divisions.

You know, um I you know, I'm not complaining that we're a few over, I'm not gonna a few over in fire.

Um and we're almost at the point of of getting back to where we all envision us to be in EMS.

The question our challenge is what do we do to bump the division of police?

So I'm at this point.

I'm gonna stop right here and go back to the line of question.

I'm gonna start with the voice.

Yes.

Well, I'm gonna add you to the list, Councilman.

All right, yeah, yes.

I'm gonna start with the vice chair, Councilman Stark.

Through the chair, if I if I can, and I also go with the division of animal care control.

Oh, excuse me.

Yeah, go ahead.

Sometimes I think we folks forget about animal care and control.

It's extremely important.

Uh so um they're they're totally both budgeted for 38 full-time uh employees and for part-time.

Currently we have 33 full-time employees and three part-time.

Um animal control.

Yeah, animal care control is correct.

38 full-time and uh 38 was budgeted.

Budgeted 38 full-time uh and then for part-time uh current head count is uh 33, so we're uh five short uh for the full time, which we're working with uh the manager there, Bruce Campbell to fill those uh um openings and then uh three part-time openings.

Again, we're actively working to fill several um positions.

Okay.

Um and at some point when we're obviously we're all headed into the budget round.

So uh again, we're gonna want a um on all of these uh critical divisions.

We're not only gonna want to know about the um man po uh man and woman power in each of these um divisions, but also as it pertains to equipment.

I wanna we want to make sure um and I'll especially direct that to EMS as well, want to make sure because we allocate money for additional units.

Units as well with uh within the general fund budget and and also across the board we allocate additional months.

So we're gonna be looking at the actual um what I want to refer to is the rolling stock as well in each of these departments and divisions.

So okay.

Anything else regarding animal control?

No, sir.

Okay.

Um I'm gonna stop again and I'm gonna call upon the the vice chairman.

Again, I would ask all my colleagues to be mindful that we have another piece of legislation.

And then we'll and the next one will be councilman Jones and then Conwell.

Oh, go ahead.

Okay.

Councilman.

Yes, thank you.

Um Dean, as well as chair.

Um, just for my safety, um, I understand some of the numbers that we did here and discuss um regarding the staffing breakdowns for um the safety division in the city of Cleveland as it relates to police, fire, um, EMS, animal control.

Now I know we always spend a great deal of time on um police, uh, which is one of the biggest concerns in our neighborhoods, including more recruits out on the streets to actually do the patrolling in our neighborhoods.

But something I definitely that sticks out to me and I wanted to ask as far as um how does the actual hiring process go for one, two, three, all four divisions of in public safety when it relates to fire, police, EMS, and animal control.

Do we have any broad standard breakdown of how the hiring process goes is done as far as hiring individuals in the safety divisions through the chair?

Uh through the chair, Councilman Starr.

Um as far as the divisions of fire and and uh EMS there's all those positions are are tested.

Um once they're tested, um lists are created.

Uh once the lists are created, uh then there's uh obviously uh checks, background checks um conducted, then the lists uh is then given to uh obviously public safety director, then we go through what the one for ten process uh to make selections for the division of police and fire.

All right, and then one of the things I definitely want to ask because um I've attended a couple graduations within the uh safety division, and I do have some concerns with fire.

And what I mean by that and fire, I don't think the recruits or something is going on because the reflection of actual firefighters that's selected is not a reflection of the diversity we have in the city of Cleveland.

Is there something that we can discuss or you can explain why is there are classes where there's not no African American, no minorities graduating in the division of fire?

What is where's the ball being dropped at through the chair?

Through the chair to Councilman Starr.

Uh through the chair to Councilman Starr, and I appreciate the the question.

Uh what I can tell you that uh in the division of fire, um uh recruitment is not an issue.

Um that I don't think that's ever been a problem in the division of fire, as you can tell because we're six over our head count.

Um the issue that we have is a diversity issue to to make sure that we have sufficient amount of uh um qualified minority corpor candidates and female candidates, and that's something that my team and I and uh administration and and others uh through the vanguards are are trying to develop uh processes um to be able to have classes of uh cadets that are reflective of the community in which uh we we're serving.

I don't have the facts this is just my own personal belief and what I'm looking at is we have so many people that may want to get into fire but they're not able to get to the door because there's our things that's going on and I believe we need to really get get to the bottom of this because I can't keep going to graduations where I don't see people from my neighborhood know people from the east side know people that are African Americans that are graduating in this class to be able to be firefighters.

Like you said we have um six over budget as far as people that are actual firefighter but when I go to these graduations I'm seeing classes graduate where there's zero not one African American not even two and we're talking about a city of Cleveland that is still predominantly African American that is a that is a real concern for me and it's a concern to the residents and I think we have to do a better job.

So I definitely want to put this out there that we we need to do better with this and we need to definitely um chair um in the future bring Vanguard here to actually discuss what is going on as well including the fire the recruitment team to see what is actually been placed and also figure out how do we make it more um available to people to understand that fire is hiring and it is a great career and that is something that is very important and I would use that to also say um the recruitment process that we have with in in in police we don't have that problem we're we're finding African Americans minorities who are who are applying and actually getting involved in the police department but when it comes to fire it's like it's it's it's not we're not finding qualified candidates and I think we need to really hone in on that and I yell chair I don't have any more further questions.

Thank you and I appreciate you keeping your time.

I'm gonna ask everybody if we can keep it under 10 if we possibly can because we have a very important piece of legislation.

Councilman Jones.

Thank you Mr.

Chairman I'm gonna try to be as brief and I I really appreciate my colleagues comments as it relates to um having the same frustration that we've had at this table since the 90s actually dealing with um recruiting and making sure that our forces represent the population of the city of Cleveland and um I will say this on that subject is um I had a young man who was looking to get into the fire department and he had taken all the tests passed everything with flying colors and then it came to the psychiatric part of the test and um he didn't pass it and uh and there was another person who happened to be white had went through the same process and didn't pass their psyche evaluation.

But the white was able to go the white person who had failed as well was still allowed to be seated in the fire class while the African American person wasn't allowed to be seated in the fire class and um and we wouldn't have known about that unless we started to really fundamentally dig in and try to find out why one person was allowed to be seated in the class and the other one wasn't allowed to be seated in the class and when the young man challenged the situation as relates to the psycho psychological evaluation he was told that if he wanted to have an opportunity to be a firefighter which was his dream since 13 um he would have to get his own psychological evaluation and he would have to pay for it.

When the situation was brought to my attention um one of the things I started to learn was that there's all of these rules about that can be applied to um canceling a person out.

And so I would request Mr.

Chairman um and then I'll end with the positive part of this is only because unfortunately the elected official myself got involved were we able to um give some justice to the young man and um and and be able to give him an opportunity to take that psychological evaluation what was different from the initial psychological evaluation and he was allowed to be seated in the fire class.

So there's a lot of things that discriminate against minorities that doesn't it's not the same and it's not fair um uh across the board.

So there's certain rules where they can disqualify you, Mr.

Chairman, to the director, and I would like to know what those disqualifying rules are in both the fire department, in addition to the police department, because we had similar situations too, where we had minorities who just because there were a police report was made about them having a gun, but there was no there was no proof to it, there was no prosecution to it, there was no any other charges, but just because they showed up on the police report, they were disqualified from being a police officer.

And this was in years past.

Now I don't know, and this is probably when I this was during my first term coming back during um then Frank Jackson's administration.

Um I will say it wasn't this safety director, it was the previous safety director.

And um I just wanted to share that with the table that it would be good to have that.

And then to cut down on a whole lot of questioning about um the budget and personnel and all of that.

Uh in years past, Mr.

Chairman, um, the police department did, or the director did a wonderful job and preparing reports for us that let us know how many people were in the departments, um, as well as an entire breakdown of all the different safety forces, including um how many minorities were hired, all of that.

Uh, can we, Mr.

Chairman, to the director, uh, get an updated report?

Through the chair, the councilman Jones.

Absolutely.

We can get that information for you.

Also, we'll get you the information for disqualifiers for disqualifiers for the divisions of fire and police.

We'll get that information to you as well.

Okay, great.

And then, Mr.

Chairman, my question would be um uh in that, because I hadn't seen this in the re years reports last, so I don't know if this could be added as well.

One of the concerns uh of the citizens of the first ward is um not feeling safe in their neighborhood.

Um one of the things that we were told, Mr.

Chairman, in years past, was that assets would be allocated in cases of need.

And in those areas that were the most troubled areas, we would get more forces allocated to deal with the issues.

And it seems when I look at these layouts in the past, um, I haven't seen those allocations come to the fourth district.

Now, many of you have heard me talk about the fourth district and not having the manpower, but it it it bothers me, Mr.

Chairman, uh, when on a weekend we would have only six cars uh out on the street representing uh six neighborhoods.

Um, and that was it.

Um versus in years past, we would have double that number in terms of police physically being on the streets.

And so uh, Mr.

Chairman, because of uh of this uh situation, it has put us woefully behind because most of the cars, Mr.

Chairman, to the director um are dealing with issues and calls, and so it leaves no patrolling in our neighborhoods like there should be, one, and then two, Mr.

Chairman, um we have no traffic enforcement.

And so, Mr.

Chairman, um, our citizens are unfortunately um being harmed by reckless drivers who are uh driving like they've lost their minds in the street and there's no one there to hold them accountable, which further causes for people wanting to uh look at other communities to move in.

And one of the the things, Mr.

Chairman, that you've constantly talked about at this table uh is the loss of our population.

And people will leave a city if they don't feel safe.

So I feel, Mr.

Chairman, that the one of the the hallmarks of any community is a safe neighborhood.

And we have to establish and set the tone uh in our communities that our communities are going to be safe.

And right now we've sat here at this table, I have sat here at this table since 2018, and I haven't seen any real fundamental uh uh political will in this city and at this table that is going to take the issue and really push the issue.

We've talked about uh to where nauseated and blue in the face about how we increase our manpower since 2018, and I've sat here and watched a constant decline.

So I'm concerned, Mr.

Chairman.

Um it bothers me.

Um I hate to be sitting here in another four years, and our numbers are 900 police officers or 800 police officers or maybe 300 police officers for the whole city.

So I'm really concerned um with the fact that we know what the issues are.

We know and we have an ideal when there will be a cutting and people would have to retire.

We should already have thought a plan ahead of time so that we can circumvent um the process.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Thank you, Councilman Jones.

But just let me add the the there the there is there's no lack of political will at this table or within this council.

Um we have done everything this council is done, everything we've been asked to do, and then some.

So I want to say again to the viewing public, so there's no confusion.

City council by charter, we cannot hire, we cannot fire, we cannot deploy, we cannot administer.

We provide the funds, and we have done that uh repeatedly.

Um there have been terrible mistakes made in the past prior to 2020, um, when some of us around who are still here and prior to that advocated as a result of the baby boomers retiring, advocated additional classes or larger classes, and those um uh recommendations and concerns went unheeded and were not taken into account.

So again, we provided the funding just as we did in the last budget, as I indicated, uh, but we don't hire.

It's up to the administration to hire and to administer.

So I would tell all my colleagues uh with requests and questions that you have prior to the budget hearings, uh please put those over to our council staff because we are going to significantly deep dive uh with this upcoming budget into a whole host of issues across the entire city, whether it be public safety, whether it be uh other departments and divisions.

So again, those of you who have suggestions and thoughts uh requests, please get those into staff.

At this moment, I'm gonna call upon councilman Conwell, then I have Councilwoman Hudson and Councilwoman Stephanie House Jones.

Councilman Conwell.

Um long, Mr.

Chairman.

You guys, when we were discussing the budget, and we're talking about um EMS workers, and to the chair, um commissioner, you said we are almost there fully staffed.

Is that correct?

Whoever can Commissioner.

Through the chair, that's correct.

So being fully staffed, which is good.

Two things I want to look at attrition as well as um the vehicles, your fleet maintenance.

Can you discuss that?

Are the vehicles durable?

Um that we're putting our um workers in, and if not, because you you are you gotta control workers' compensation and all those kind of things with vehicles.

Commissioner.

Through the chair to the councilman.

Our fleet is in the best condition it's been in decades.

And it's very durable.

It's been maintained great by MVM.

And um we have done a great job, and MVM have done a great job identifying any uh pitfalls that that come up with our vehicle fleet.

Now, which with the fleet, before they go out on route, what they have a checklist or something like that, so they know that the tires are efficient, that the vehicle doesn't need any uh vehicle maintenance.

Through the chair to the councilman.

Uh every shift, the the crew is expected to do a full truck check, and that includes the condition of the vehicle and all the equipment inside of it.

And that's for every shift.

And MVM and our the sergeant of our fleet management is responsible for making sure that those that maintenance is performed on a regular basis as scheduled.

Councilman.

So okay, that's good right there.

I want to hear I want to hear that fleet maintenance and and bringing in staffing to me is directly correlated because they gotta have comfortable with that.

With your um attrition, when you were talking about that, um I was reading, I think it was a month or two ago, Mr.

Chairman.

Chairman, not with Cleveland, but other places, some of your not your workers, but some of the people in that field they're being attacked.

And do we have any kind of systems in place on how to deal with that to the chair to the um commissioner?

Through the chair to the councilman.

Uh that unfortunately is a problem in health care and first responders throughout the country, but we have a great working relationship with the division of police and public safety director to ensure that any assaults on our employees will be addressed aggressively.

Yeah, do the um chair to um to the safety director, what kind of systems do you have in place to deal with that and how many have uh assaults have happened to our uh crew members?

Through the chair to Councilman Conwell.

I don't have that number in front of me as far as the uh number of uh assaults on our EMS personnel.

We can get that information to you, and as stated, the system in place is uh obviously if one of our employees is assaulted, our officers respond.

Um our officers will uh do the necessary uh required uh reports and if uh necessary arrest those individuals uh go through the prosecutor's office, make sure they're fully prosecuted to the full extent of the the law.

So we do have systems in place to make sure that happens.

So based on Councilman Connell's request, and again through staff, we will make that official request uh for 2025 as to how many uh EMS workers have been uh have been assaulted uh to my colleague.

We have a piece of legislation we're gonna be hearing shortly that's been requested by the health care providers in the city.

Um, and that's for the health care workers.

We're gonna have that discussion very shortly of increasing the penalties for them.

And I think at that time we'll also ask for a presentation by EMS.

Um because if we have to uh also look at increasing the penalties, um, if we can, I know where the state where the state would supersede us, but we're gonna look across the board.

No health care worker, no EMS employee uh should have to worry about being assaulted.

And so that so I appreciate your line of questioning, and so we're gonna be getting into that shortly.

Councilman, do you have any other questions?

That's great, Mr.

Chair, right.

We'll prosecute them if they come after our um health care workers, MS workers, uh behavioral um workers dealing with um with the new law that we're working on right now, the uh Tanisha Anderson law, because uh you're gonna bring people out there ahead of time, and um if they get attacked or something like that, then we might have to put amendment to put that in there as well, Mr.

Um Chair.

Well, we're gonna be looking, we're gonna deep dive, but I appreciate all of my colleagues being involved when that legislation comes before us very shortly.

That's been requested by the uh three hospitals in the city uh for us to uh to increase penalties there.

So we'll we'll be getting into that.

And I appreciate your line of questioning.

Anything else, Councilman?

Chair, I do have some stats that was just given to me by assistant director Shachner.

Listen up, everybody.

This is uh and I'll go back to 20.

There was six assaulted assaults in 2023.

Wow.

Six six assaults in 20 reported 2020.

EMS employees.

EMS employees reported.

10, 10 in 2024, and 12 in 2025.

Uh this was uh information that was conveyed to us through the care union.

Um maybe a little bit more, we'll get the the exact numbers for you for 2025.

But those are the numbers that we have reported back to 2023.

Okay.

Go ahead, council.

Mr.

Chair, this attributes to attrition.

Some people will quit their jobs or they leave, or they try to defend themselves, and what kind of systems are put in place if they try to defend themselves, would they get terminated, fired, uh write up, reprimand, and what?

Because they have to be able to defend themselves through the chair to the uh safety director or uh commissioner wheeler.

Through the chair to Councilman Cowell, of course, uh if uh one of our employees, uh employees regardless of EMS fire, but we're talking about EMS.

If they're assaulted, I would say they can uh protect themselves as well.

Uh ultimately we want to make sure that our employees, uh caregivers are taken care of, and if they're assaulted, that we prosecute those individuals to the fullest extent, and that's our premise, and that's what we're going to do to support them.

But they are able to defend themselves.

Um I'm sure that most of you probably saw the video last year of one of our employees being assaulted, uh even in that particular assault.

Uh they did defend themselves, but they were not trying to hurt the individuals that were actually assaulting them.

So they take their job seriously, our employees.

Um they don't want to hurt anyone, but they're going to protect themselves as well.

And we're going to prosecute those uh responsible for assaulting our employees to the fullest extent.

Mr.

Chair, when they uh and and to the commissioner, when you train a worker, training is ongoing.

Is that correct?

To the chair, to the director and the commissioner, and that need to be in the training of how to protect themselves or when they see something is moving in a direction that might uh be threatening to our workers that we could do prevention.

And that need to be in training to the chair to anyone that can answer.

Through the chair to the councilman.

We currently teach scene safety on a regular basis.

And this past academy and previous academies, we had gotten away from self-defense course, but we had gotten back to self-defense courses, and we're working with the division of police with that.

But the the training is always ongoing about scene safety and ensuring the safety, our safety before we uh start providing care.

So any time uh an employee or a crew does not feel safe, they are instructed to call for backup, whether it's correct fire department or the police department to ensure scene safety.

All right, thank you.

That's enough.

I want to know about that, especially with attrition.

Keep recruiting, although you you hit your numbers, but recruiting must be ongoing.

Must be ongoing.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Um, through the chair to the director, I have uh uh just one question.

Um you mentioned that there are 86 departures for the division of police in 2025.

Do you have a breakdown of how many of those were retirements and how many were officers leaving to go to another department?

Yes, ma'am.

Okay.

That is not what um to the chair, uh that's not with me, but I can get to that information.

I would I would appreciate that.

Yes.

Thank you.

Um so just to follow up on that.

Um, you know, assuming that some of those officers did leave to go to another department, what is being done to keep our officers in the city of Cleveland?

Through the chair, the council or a member, uh, really good question.

Part of uh part of the reasons why we're losing um uh officers was that salaries um within the last uh couple years, our salaries have increased tremendously.

Uh we had approximately 15 officers return uh to the division of police in 2025 that left for other uh departments.

Um so uh we know that uh salary was part of it, so the salaries increase and we were we being the division of police in the city of Cleveland were uh initially in the bottom third of salaries throughout the state of Ohio, and with the um contract that was just signed, uh we're now in the top third.

So salary is uh uh comparable to other divisions or departments in the estate of Ohio.

Thank you.

That's all, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you.

Thank you for your line of questions.

Thank you.

Um through the chair to the team here, uh guys I have two questions.

I will first start the the context of um it was one of our news outlets, either it might have been um the partnership for Safer Cleveland or uh Signal Cleveland, um, they talked about how because everybody talks about the amount of police that we have, and they show the um the how many police, I guess the uh largest number of police that we have, which was in 1970, uh, which was 2,476 police officers.

And when you compare that today, um, which I think you said just most recently was 1,256 total.

We have right now, yes, that's correct.

Yes, ma'am.

It's total, right?

And so when you look at the police per population ratio, um in 1970, we had about 750,000 people, right?

So when you look at the police to population ratio, that was one police officer for every 303 people, right?

Fast forward to today in 2025, our um population is around 372,000.

Do we know what the ratio is?

I'm gonna do it for you.

Don't worry about it.

I know the answer.

The answer is one police officer for every 297 people.

So as we are talking about these numbers, and I know police to population ratio is not necessarily a standard or whatever, but in comparison, when we look at the number of police according to our population, we actually are doing pretty well.

Furthermore, my question is one of the ways as I've been doing research in this, they said you really should actually be looking at um like a workload based analysis.

And so I guess my question to the director is a has the city of Cleveland did a work-based analysis, not only for police, but all for all of our first um first responders.

Um, and if so, when was it done and how often do we do it?

And if you yeah.

You're correct about the ratio um uh per population uh relative to the city of Cleveland division of police in particular.

Um the workload analysis is something that's done through the division of police for the allocation of resources or manpower in the respective districts.

That's how it's done.

Um I cannot sit in here, I cannot sit here right now and tell you when the last workload analysis was done.

Um I can get that information for you and to the body here.

Also, I'm not quite sure.

And I hate to sit here and say I don't.

I have to double check on the division of fire as well to see how that is allocated and the MS as well.

That information I can bring to the membership here as well.

Yeah, so I again, I just hope because again, um, just for our body, as we talk about this conversation at always, we don't have enough police officers, we don't have a police officer.

If you look in context for our population, we absolutely are doing well.

You know what I'm saying?

I'm just gonna say that we are doing well, and we are our police versus population ratio um is even better, quote unquote, better than when we had the most police officers, which was in 1970.

And so again, I think that is very important.

Um, and so my official request is if you can let me know when the division of police for all of our first responders, when we did the workload based um analysis, and figuring out how do we make it a practice to do the analysis on a regular basis and that information is shared with our community so people can understand we are striving, we may be exceeding or at um the appropriate size police fire EMS according to the population and the Cleveland of today in 2025 and not in 1990, 1980, 1970, or 2000.

So the chair council member, absolutely, understood.

Thank you.

And then my other question, because it had this um, I know that we will be getting into the the uh conversations around um workplace violence for um healthcare professionals, and my question in particular is what happens to the brain through the chair to the director, what happens to the brain um specifically that impacts your cognitive abilities and your emotional regulation when you are in a state of trauma?

To which your answer can be Yes to when you okay, can you repeat the question?

Okay, so through the chair to the director, what happens to your brain, specifically your cognitive abilities and your emotional regulation when you are in a state of trauma?

If you can answer that, I know you're not a clinician, so I can answer that to the chair to I I am not uh qualified to answer that particular question.

Okay, uh not qualified to answer that question.

So so the reason, well, again, while through the through the chair to the director, while you may not quote unquote be qualified to answer that question, that question is absolutely essential to the work that you are leading in this city.

So I'm just gonna say that.

We absolutely need to have a very clear understanding of what happens to the brain when you are in a state of trauma, your cognitive abilities, and your emotional rec regulations.

There is documented evidence of what happens and what you would do at your normal baseline is likely not what you will do when you're in a state of trauma.

And so as we began to have these conversations, I really believe we need to actually look at actual DAX, you know, the research approach, um, research as it relates to what happens to people before we then um made to have some unintended consequences through policy, um, not looking at to the realities what happens.

So I know this will be another conversation, but since it came up, I really wanted to make sure I highlighted that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any further questions?

Okay.

If not, we're going to Councilman Slife will be the last one, and then we'll go into the niche's now.

And not to be cliche, but I'll try to be brief.

Um but to follow up on uh Councilman Starr and Councilman Jones uh about diversity within uh the division of fire.

This is actually been uh area of research of mine for a number of years.

And uh interestingly, and I I'd love I'd hope that the the data are different now, but I think it was a 2022 test, so hires in 2023.

I was pretty astounded to learn that the number of initial applicants to police and fire was pretty comparable.

It surprised me because especially at the time there were a lot of people saying people don't want to be police officers.

Uh more people wanted to be firefighters, but it was within uh 100 people difference.

Um and there was actually a very good representation of city residents in that initial application round and the demographics of the city residents broke down pretty close to the city's overall demographics.

That being said, the first class that was hired out of that class was overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly non-residents.

And a passion point of mine for years has been trying to uncover what's happening in the process uh that is what caused that to occur.

And my uh one of my north stars is is that if we find if it's true that residents are applying for jobs, because there's this uh question, I think, of some people wondering if one group of residents is being favored over the other, and I think an argument could be made that the problem is actually residents versus non-residents, and if we were able to hire residents at the rate that they demonstrate interest in these positions, everyone would win because it would align with the breakdown of the city, and this would no longer be an issue.

To that end, and I'm not saying that this would be a cure all, but I and I've spoken with Councilman Palencick about this, and I'd love to speak more about it to my colleagues.

I introduced a resolution last year, 1385-25 related to the civil service process.

One of my concerns has been that the civil service process gives residency points.

So you apply, and not everybody who applies takes the test, and not everybody who takes the test passes the test.

So there's a whittling down, and we need to understand throughout that process where the people that we hope to hire our own residents are falling off through the process.

But if someone passes the test and gets further along in the process, we give residency points to uh to our city residents, which causes them to kind of be clustered up towards the top of the list.

And our civil service process, and I won't go into it at length.

I have a demonstration that involves solo cups, uh causes us, I believe, to pass over qualified Cleveland residents, uh, not necessarily based on their lack of qualifications, but merely because of how the process is designed through both the charter and policy.

And my hope is that there is a way to encourage we are not able to change civil service rules through legislation uh that would take a charter amendment or decision of the civil service commission.

Yeah.

However, uh, I do understand that there's an opportunity for individual hiring authorities in this sense, or in this case the director Drummond to be able to exercise his authority to put people back into contention for hiring if they've been passed over.

So if say you're gonna hire three classes um off of one list, if someone's passed over in the first round simply because of the statistics of how the process works, my request is that they get readmitted for consideration in rounds two and three, which is not an automatic thing at this point, and I think that if our goal is to hire Cleveland residents, we should automate that process through policy so that we are not ending up in a situation where we hire number 157 off of the list who lives in Medina County when we passed over number 11 on the list, who is a qualified Cleveland resident who has no reason to not be a firefighter, it's just merely how the process is built.

It's just merely how the process is built.

It's very dense, but I think it's important and it could be a step moving us towards this goal because it's a goal that I share.

So I will I will leave it there.

I have to step out for a few minutes, Councilman Plessnik, but thank you.

And I I've um I've to my colleagues Vega Councilman.

I've sat down with Councilman Slife, and he's he we've gone over the um the uh what do you call those cups?

Well we've we've gone, he's gone, we've gone over the solo cup presentation.

And we're gonna do the solo cup presentation right here at the table to be viewed by everybody.

So get your cups ready.

And and I think it's it was an eye-opening uh experience for me.

I hope it will be an eye-opening experience for the administration to see it because again, when council um through charter, with the when we increased it to one in ten, uh, with the support then of George Voinovich, who was mayor, the council president at that time, George Vonovich, and those of us um the council president, uh George Forbes.

Um when we increase it one in ten, what we had anticipated is that we are gonna have more Cleveland residents filling these critical positions, and that has not happened.

So we're gonna figure out what is wrong here.

What isn't what is wrong within the system?

And if we need to go back to the citizens, then we're gonna do that.

But we've got to we want a a police, we want police fire EMS, animal control.

We want it reflective of the citizen of our citizenry and of the city.

So we'll we'll stop that there.

Um we're gonna get into uh okay.

The only last question I had for the commissioner of EMS is how many people left in 2025?

You did not give us that figure.

Seventeen to retirement.

Due to retirement.

Nine went to find employment elsewhere.

Okay.

Left in 2025.

And I appreciate the information you have provided to us.

And again, I will ask uh director at your convenience if we can supply that to our council staff, because it's gonna be all part of the uh the drilling down on the budget as we move forward.

Okay.

With uh yes.

Yes, go ahead.

Do they do exit interviews?

I'm gonna chair tasks.

Yes, correct.

For all divisions?

That's correct.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman.

Okay.

I want to appreciate those of you who are at the table.

We are going now go into Tanisha's law.

Those in the public who wish to comment on Tanisha's law, as I indicated earlier to your left, to my right is our clerk.

Uh you need to give her your information.

We're gonna limit uh everyone to three minutes maximum.

If you can do it shorter, your presentation, uh, that would be very helpful because we want to get into this.

We also have written testimony that has been sent over, but I um uh I'm not gonna read it.

It will be available.

I will provide it to the clerk.

Um this one came over from uh Mr.

Um Pete Van Lear, so we'll supply this to the clerk.

Um you have the sign-up sheet, madam clerk.

Okay, at this moment, and I'm gonna read into the record.

Umrdnance number 1198-2024 as amended by council members House, Jones, Slife, and more, an emergency ordinance to supplement the codified ordinance of Cleveland, Ohio in 1976 by enacting new chapter 147 relating to the creation of the Department of Community Crisis Response.

It was first time it was read that it was submitted to City Council was on November 4th, 2024.

It was referred to the directors of public safety, finance law, committees on public safety, finance, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Um it there was um it's been noted there were contents noted at the time by the director of public safety.

Contents noted by the director of finance, and there was no legal objection to the um legislation by the law department.

I'm trying to find out when it was returned to us.

I'm looking right now.

Yeah, yeah.

It's odd.

Okay.

Yeah.

Do you have you have any idea when this was returned to us?

No.

Okay.

I'm just looking at the button, but I don't know, but when that was actually returned to us, I'm just trying to find here.

I know.

Well, it was by the law, it was signed.

Where let me see.

Oh, okay.

Thank you.

It was returned to this council on November 11th of last year.

So again, so some people who believe or somehow thought that the council was sitting on this with council was not sitting on this piece of legislation.

And I indicated that last in December.

Um I've indicated this publicly into the administration.

And my quote was the trains leaving the station on Tanisha's law.

You can either get on or get run over by the train, and our position was that this was going to get rectified in the first quarter of this year, and we are on that path to uh to implement whatever action uh we collectively decide upon by this legislative body.

So at this time, I'm gonna call upon the sponsors uh to give an opening um statement, and then we'll get into the legislation and I've asked the the uh uh administration, we are gonna read.

We're gonna go through the entire piece with the amendments, and then if there's any additional amendments uh that need to be made or want to be made by members of the body, we will deal with that at that time uh because again I and I gave everybody a highlighter.

So when we go and you all have copies of the proposed amendments and when we read it and go through it, you'll be able to highlight what is new and to the new members, uh you'll have a better understanding as to how this process works.

So at this point, I'm gonna call upon the sponsors for an opening comment and we'll then get into the legislation.

Councilwoman right, Councilwoman House Jones, wait a minute, House Jones, uh and Councilman Moore is no longer with us.

Councilman Jones, you had a question.

No, I don't have a question.

Listen up.

That we're we're we're dealing with the uh legislation, but there has been um amendments proposed by the administration in partnership with members of city council, and there is a piece because one of the confusions that the thing one of the things that uh upsets me is when we get a piece of legislation and there's all these amendments added, and then we're trying to figure out how to inject them into the piece.

I wanted them to put together a piece that included the amendments that is readable, that we can better understand it because this is an important action the council will be taking.

So at this point, I'm gonna ask upon the sponsors and councilman Slife had a step off for a moment, but to make uh opening comment as it pertains to the uh the importance of this law.

Councilwoman House Jones.

I just was say uh uh public comment first, please.

You want to take public comment first?

Okay.

We have one person again.

I have public comment that was in written form.

I presented that to the clerk for the record.

We have um, and if I if I'm not good on these names, please excuse me.

I have uh Fatin Odia.

Is that the way to properly pronounce that?

Please come to the table.

You will be given three minutes to speak on the proposed legislation before would you again uh when you're ready, just tell me and so you can uh uh uh present your name so everyone can hear it.

Whatever you're ready.

I'm ready.

Okay.

Uh Salam Alaikum, may peace be upon you.

My name is Fatina Ada, and I'm the executive director of Care Ohio, the Council on American Islamic Relations, uh, the Northern Ohio chapter.

On behalf of Care Ohio, I'd like to say that we are in full support of Tanisha's Law.

Um I can say on firsthand experience we receive hundreds of letters and phone calls from incarcerated individuals uh through our epic program called the empowerment program for incarcerated communities.

And I can't help but wonder what how different their lives would have been if Tanisha's law was was available at that time that they were incarcerated.

And I just want to I'm not gonna talk too much.

I'm just gonna say that we are definitely in support of Tanisha's law, and I believe that Tanisha's law gives our city, the City of Cleveland, the opportunity to treat mental health as it deserves, as a public health issue.

So if we pass this, we'll be able to get to the root cause instead of criminalizing people in crisis.

And I'd also like to say that this is an opportunity for the city of Cleveland to really create a world that all Clevelanders deserve, not just imagine it, but actually make it happen.

And we are we are behind other cities, and I hope that we can catch up and be able to pass this law.

So thank you for the um for those who are introducing it and in support of it.

Thank you.

Thank you for coming to the table.

Okay, thank you very much.

I have no one else on public comment.

So we're gonna move forward right into the legislation.

Sponsors to sponsors are here.

Councilwoman House Jones and Councilman Charles Slife, if you would care to comment, and then we'll jump into the with the administration.

Councilwoman House Jones.

Uh yes, good morning.

Uh thank you, Chair.

And so thank you to everyone who has been a part of this.

Um today, basically uh going through the amendments, and I know um in front of you you will have a set of amendments that the administration has put forth um from there um uh myself, councilman's life, and I also want to thank uh uh councilwoman Hudson as we discuss those uh things that we want to amend if the amendments are go through and um uh you were provided with two sets of amendments, one with all of the amendments together, um, also outlining kind of the purpose of the amendment, and then separately we probably will just um address them one at a time just for clarity's sake, so that people can understand from our perspective what we would like to do and go from there.

Uh, we think that's the easiest way to do it in something that encompasses a lot of different elements, and so that we all hopefully at the end of this meeting, we will all be on the same page and be able to move forward um in this prior in this process of ensuring that we are offering um you know compet uh compassionate and appropriate care for those who may be experiencing crisis in our city.

So again, thank you so much, Chair.

Thank you to the team here.

Um, you know, uh Commissioner Will and Department Um Director Thank you.

Yes, sister director Shachner, and I finally got it, Lieutenant Mullis, because I'll be struggling for my life.

I'll be like, oh, what's his name?

But I got it.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Okay.

Councilman Slife.

Uh thank you, and I would only add to that uh just uh thank you to the administration and for the collaboration that's brought us here today, and also to there's a number of them present, uh, community members who have been very impassioned on this topic, who have been uh critical in uh driving this policy forward, and also we would not be here today without their participation and assistance.

So with that, I will let us get into uh the meat of today's meeting uh since it's 1115.

Okay, thank you.

Yes, sir, to the chair and council.

To uh council members.

Uh yes, we are definitely aligned uh with uh Tanisha's Law.

Um we are we being administration, my team as well as council.

Uh we will want to work collaboratively uh to uh get Tanisha's law's law passed.

Um the mayor, um uh the mayor again um want to make sure that we have the ability to provide the best possible care for folks in our community that are in crises um to that uh endeavor.

Um the mayor's made some commitments.

Um part of that is to develop a bureau within the the division of EMS, which we'll talk about here in this administration in this uh amendment and legislation with uh someone that will be dedicated to developing this program for the Bureau of uh Crisis Response again to those individuals that are in uh suffering metal mental crises of some type of crises.

Um we have Commissioner Wheeler to my right, who's uh dedicated professional to make sure that we do this right and uh the hiring of the particular individual that'll be responsible for it.

Um that's the serious uh ness that uh the mayor and administration's uh taken.

We've moved forward um with uh developing the particular position with the deputy uh commissioner of EMS that positions and and um is is uh available and created.

Um we also uh want to make sure that uh we move forward um with this process.

Um part of that again is the development of position, which we have uh allocated the dollars for that particular position, which we have uh through the commitment from the mayor.

Also, we also developed uh have commitments for uh equipment such as vehicles for this particular uh crisis response to the Bureau of uh uh community response uh through EMS.

So we are uh excited about this and uh working with uh council uh as well as the community to get this program off and running.

Also part of that too is to make sure that we we have through our our communication section, have a fourth option, and we've talked about that as well.

What uh not only when when you call the um communication or 911 of the options will be police, fire, EMS, and mental uh mental health, and uh those are our commitment as well.

We're also committed to the connect and protect grant uh to make sure that we have a call type analysis uh to conduct that as well as that mental health dispatch.

Those are things that's that's been committed by this administration, this mayor.

Uh again, we are uh looking forward to the collaboration and working with council to get this to fruition.

With that said, we're gonna read into the record, the ordinance itself and the amendments uh for 1198-2024.

Uh assistant director Shatner will do that, and then uh we will uh uh be here to answer any questions that the uh body may have.

Thank you for your presentation, Director.

Now I want to say to the expect to the viewing public who who cannot see this, but also but to the new members, uh we have a piece, and this is a piece you should all have.

This piece right here that's been pres I've asked the administration to put together and present to us.

Um explain especially for the new members the sections that have the line through them, what does that represent?

Through the chair to the council.

Yeah, I gotta move the microphone.

And introduce yourself, yes.

My name is uh assistant director Jason Shachner uh with the Department of Public Safety.

Um these amendments were provided on December 12th, 2025.

They were drafted after a meeting with the mayor and Mr.

Anderson.

Um, and based on that conversation, we have made these amendments as you will see in this copy.

Things that are strike through means that they will be deleted from the ordinance.

So where they have a line through them, they will be taken out.

Correct.

Okay.

Items that are underlined are additions to the ordinance.

So for the new members, is there I want to say this to the new members specifically, because those of us who've been here, we understand.

Is there any questions on that?

Everybody understands that.

Okay.

Fine.

Go ahead.

All right.

And then your presentation.

Um at the request of the chair, we will read this into the record as so everybody is on the same page about what the changes are.

I'm not going to uh act out or speak out the strike throughs or underlines.

I will read it.

I will not read things that are striked out, and I will read the things that are underlined if that's okay with everybody.

Go ahead.

All right.

Enjoy the dulcet tones of the reading of ordinance 1198-2024.

An emergency ordinance to supplement the codified ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio, 1976 by enacting new sections 135.333 to 135.335, 13548, and 135.481 relating to the creation of the Bureau of Community Crisis Response and the Division of Emergency Medical Service, Department of Public Safety.

Whereas individuals in crisis deserve a humane response that include their being treated with dignity and respect, with the goal of connecting them with appropriate and timely care and similar fashion, families who seek public safety support for loved one in crisis deserve to have confidence that their loved one will not be placed in imminent danger.

And whereas a tailored approach to crisis response involving one, the City of Cleveland Division of Police Crisis Intervention Team, two Cleveland EMS, three peers with lived experience of mental illness and substance use, and four licensed clinicians is essential to serving the needs of the Cleveland community.

And whereas the complexities of mental health emergencies are addressed more safely with greater impact and more cost effectively and efficiently with behavioral health responders and those who have deeper knowledge and understanding of the behavioral health issues present, trusted relationships with the people and communities involved, and specific knowledge surrounding the emergency, and whereas the city wishes to honor Tanisha Anderson, a beloved mother, daughter, sister, niece, and resident of Cleveland by putting in place the these policies.

They're now therefore be it ordained by the Council of the City of Cleveland, section one, that the codified ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio, 1976 are supplemented by enacting new sections 135.333, 135.334, 135.335, 135.48, and 135.481 to read respectively as follows.

Section 135.333, Bureau of Community Crisis Response, Section A.

There is hereby established in the Division of Emergency Medical Services a Bureau of Community Crisis Response to be controlled and administered by a deputy commissioner of community crisis response, subject to the provisions of the Charter and Ordinances of the City and to the direction of the Commissioner of Emergency Medical Services.

Section B.

The Deputy Commissioner of Community Crisis Response shall work in collaboration with all city departments necessary to support the various forms of crisis response in the city, including the co-response program and any new response teams developed and deployed in his or her duties.

The Deputy Commissioner of Community Crisis Response shall coordinate with city departments as necessary to ensure that the city's first response programs are consistent and reflective of a coordinated and collaborative approach to emergency and crisis response in the city.

Section C, other duties.

Deputy Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner shall perform all other duties pertaining to this office, which may be required of him or her by ordinance by the Commissioner of Emergency Medical Services or by the Director of Public Safety.

Section 135.334, unarmed crisis response team.

Section A, the Deputy Commissioner of Community Crisis Response is authorized to create unarmed crisis response teams or other specialized teams, which shall be dispatched in lieu of police to situations that involve persons in need of behavioral health response and that do not pose a risk of harm to self or the public.

Such situations may include behavioral health crisis crises, wellness checks, substance use related crises, and other appropriate circumstances.

Section B, an unarmed crisis response team may be dispatched when on-screen or other emergency responders request assistance involving a person in need of crisis intervention or whose contact with police personnel is civil in nature.

An unarmed crisis response team may also independently respond directly to such situations after becoming aware of any call for service that would benefit from the services provided by an unarmed crisis response team.

Section C as part of their duties, unarmed crisis responders shall provide a follow-up response to individuals identified as requiring following up services or social service intervention.

Section D.

As part of the their response as part of their response, unarmed crisis responders shall assess what level of care would be appropriate to address the individual individuals' immediate needs based on that assessment.

Responders may provide relevant resources to aid those individuals in assessing accessing existing services in the city and county, provide referrals to relevant service providers, and facilitate placement in appropriate facilities.

Section E.

The Bureau of Community Crisis Response shall make all policies and guidelines publicly available.

Section F.

The Bureau of Crisis of the Bureau of Community Crisis Response shall undertake a public informational campaign campaign to seek input from and notify the public about the existence of the unarmed crisis response teams and about how to access these types of types of response.

Section 135.335, unarmed crisis response program reporting.

The Bureau of Community Crisis Response and its city or county partners shall collect data on the effectiveness, impact, and cost-saving effect of the unarmed response teams and make such data public, that should say publicly available to the extent legally permissible.

Section B, the Bureau of Community Crisis Response shall publish an annual report summarizing effectiveness and outcomes of the unarmed crisis response teams.

The report shall include, at a minimum, analysis on the impact of the unarmed crisis response teams, including the increase in unarmed response to behavioral health related 911 calls for service, the programs, utility and connecting individuals to relevant service providers and its fiscal impact, assessment of availability of relevant service providers to provide a continuum of care and recommendations for the long-term development of effective crisis response response practices.

Section C.

The Bureau of Community Crisis Response shall create publish and update regular regularly a public-facing user-friendly online dashboard.

The dashboard will present program data, including number of incidents desegregated by neighborhood, type of incident, date and time of responses, and number of police hours saved, include a portal for community feedback concerning the program, and present general information of public relevance about the program.

Section 135.48 General Crisis Intervention Training.

The division of police shall provide all officers' crisis intervention training on a responding to individuals in crisis.

Crisis means any situation in which a person's actions, feelings, and behaviors puts them at risk of being unable to care for themselves to comprehend reality based on reasonable standards or to function in the community in a healthy manner.

A crisis may be caused by a mental health condition, including substance abuse disorder or any other cause that results in such a situation.

Section B, all officers shall be provided with eight hours of initial training during the police academy, and all officers will receive an annual four hours during in-service training thereafter.

The four hours of annual in-service training may be satisfied by any training required annually to satisfy other mandated crisis intervention topics required by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy or other agency.

The initial training and annual in-service training shall be adequate in quality type and scope and shall include the circumstance in which an unarmed crisis responder, co-response team, or specialized CIT officer should be dispatched or consulted in how situations involving individuals in crisis should be addressed if an unarmed crisis responder, co-response team, or specialized CIT officer is not immediately available.

Section 135.481.

Specialized crisis intervention team officers.

The div Section A, the divisions of police shall provide enhanced specialized crisis intervention training in responding to individuals in crisis to specialized crisis intervention team office CIT officers.

The enhanced training shall be a minimum of 40 hours and shall be adequate in quality type and scope.

This enhanced training shall include community mental health resources, community mental health diagnoses, the effect of drug and alcohol abuse, perspectives of individuals with mental health issues, and family members of individuals with mental health issues, the rights of persons with mental illness, civil commitment criteria, crisis de-escalation, scenario-based exercises, and how to conduct a suicide risk evaluation.

Section B.

Training and designation as specialized CIT officer shall be voluntary.

To be eligible for consideration, officers shall have a minimum of three years of experience as an officer in the city's division of police.

The division of police shall provide an in-depth assessment of each applicant to determine the applicant's fitness to serve as a specialized CIT officer.

This assessment shall include an examination of the officer's written application, supervisory recommendations, disciplinary file, and an in-person interview.

Officers with a history of complaints of or who have been disciplined for excessive use of force against individuals in crisis are presumptively ineligible to be specialized CIT officers.

All field training officers shall receive the enhanced specialized crisis intervention training set forth in Division A of this section.

Despite having received this training, a field training officer will not be designated a specialized CIT officer unless that field training officer has volunteered to be a specialized CIT officer and has been selected based on the assessment set forth in division B of this section.

Section two.

That this ordinance is declared to be an emergency measure and provided it receives the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to council, it shall take effect and be enforced immediately upon its passage and approval by the mayor.

Otherwise, it shall take take effect and be in force and from and after the earliest period allowed by law.

Okay.

Well, to my colleagues.

This is the way it's going to be done from now on.

We're not coming in with a with three or four pages of amendments and trying to figure out how to do it.

We're in the day, and I would say this again to the administration and to our own folks.

In the day we would create what we would call an A-piece, an amended piece of legislation which would supersede the existing piece.

So it would be clean.

It would be easy to read.

That's why I've asked them to put together this and with the striking, and why everyone had a highlighter to strike as well.

So we have a piece that we can understand rather than sitting here for day upon day upon day trying to figure out what the amendments and what they mean.

But in essence, this will now the proposed Tanisha's law provision will be administered by EMS, correct?

Director and Commissioner.

Through the chair.

That is correct.

Okay.

And the new position that is being recommended, the assistant commissioner.

Deputy Commissioner.

Deputy Commissioner.

Will be the person in charge of the implementation.

That is correct.

And in essence, putting together the program.

That is correct.

Yes.

Okay.

And so I think we've come a long way from and I want to commend the I want to commend the administration because I know there was original opposition to this piece.

But you know, I've come to the realization at this table a long time ago.

Reasonable people can come up with reasonable solutions if we're all committed to doing the right thing here at the table.

So I think this is um this is a move in the right direction as it pertains to the um the legislation itself.

Uh law department had a point.

Who yes?

Motion We're not we're not accepting it yet because we're gonna have discussion.

Right.

So we have um we have um and you know what I come I'm gonna ask the law director to come up to the table.

Because I'm gonna just briefly, because you've been around a long time.

Not as long as me, but you've been around.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Uh assistant law director, come on.

How long have you been here in city council?

I mean within the city law department.

Almost 20 years, Mr.

Chairman.

Just briefly explain to me why we don't do the A pieces anymore.

I couldn't tell you that.

This is your this was your original piece.

I have no idea.

I mean, I could try to find out.

But do you remember when we did the AP?

No, because I did 17 years of a different section before I came over here.

Because it was so much easier to deal with legislation at the table rather than trying to read all these amendments and trying to figure out how to inject them into the piece before us.

So it was so you're gonna have to look for one of the old three old timers in the department and and and give us some update why we don't do that anymore.

It it seemed to work.

Okay.

There's been it has been there's been amendments made by the administration to the original piece.

So what I'm gonna do is start right there.

Questions to the administration by my colleagues, and I would ask you to keep in, I'm gonna ask you again for 10 minute intervals.

Um questions pertaining to the amendments being proposed by the administration.

Who would like to start it off?

Any of the sponsors.

Yeah, you're right.

Okay, go ahead.

Okay.

Um so I'm just gonna start at the because we can have the conversation based on the amendments that we propose.

I think that probably is the best way to do this.

Yeah.

So um the first were we are uh in the first uh the fourth we are asked clause, excuse me.

Um I know I uh so I know you struck you struck out the um portion that talked about basically Tanisha would likely be alive today with these policies in place.

If you can um just share, like from your perspective why you propose the language that you did um in in this regards, I would and just beyond that you you passed out to us.

We have I have amendment two.

So I'm on amendment amendment number one.

It's uh because I don't have amendment number one.

It is on the other side of amendment number two.

Yes, is double-sided.

Okay, okay.

Let me figure out here then.

Okay, I got it.

Okay, go ahead.

Yeah.

Let's have that discussion.

Would you care the administration account through three?

You need to you need some water directly?

I have some.

Okay.

Through the charity, the councilwoman.

We just that was simply an incorporation of the law department provided an amendment that didn't come from public safety.

That specific one.

We just incorporated that in the Okay, so again, I guess in the context of from the chair to the law department, why was that the case and the perspective from the law department?

Go ahead.

It's prepared.

Mr.

Chairman, I'm gonna attorney who worked on this.

Corporate counsel Stephanie Melnik signed off on the it's on the front of the original.

So I would defer.

I have no comments regarding that other than that's what the um proposed.

Okay.

Okay.

And again, okay, so I'm gonna I'm gonna take a stab at inferring what it happened is it the belief from the law department, they just didn't want it too explicitly say that Tanisha Anderson, a beloved mother, daughter, sister, niece, and resident of Cleveland would likely be alive today with these policies in place.

Is that was there a thing from the law department not trying to say that the city in any way as an entity was responsible for it?

Like I again, I'm really I think we need to be explicitly clear of what we're saying.

I'm assuming that is what the case is, and so trying to introduce something that has softer language um would probably introduce.

I mean, I'm I'm trying to make some sense of this, and this is one of the things that I think is would be appreciative, appreciated when you are proposing amendments, somebody should be able to talk about the rationale of it.

Like that's just a fundamental, and taking the time to actually go through committee members so people know this is my assumption, so that's what it is.

Um with that in place, um, I don't know if council members had a preference one way or the other.

Um I mean from the initial onside of the legislation, it came from, like I said, Mr.

Anderson and the law students from Case Western Reserve with the language it can be in, it can be not, uh it cannot.

Um, but I will say um if we decide to accept that language, language, um, I would um for to amend your amendment um would be to add that last sentence out outside of a policies in um uh let me see.

Yes, these uh policies in place to ensure people experiencing a crisis receive compassionate appropriate care.

Um it would if we accept your that amendment.

I mean, are you all amenable to that?

Yes, to the sheriff council member Kyle Stones were amenable.

That's correct.

These are just whereas.

So this is not the meat of the legislature.

I know, uh but again it's a part of the legislation, so I think we should have a conversation about it.

That being proposed.

You have a copy of these proposals yes, Mr.

Chairman, madam uh councilwoman house Jones provided that to me as well.

Yes, thank you.

So let's all so we're on the front page under the whereas.

So how are you suggesting it read?

I want you council person.

Whereas the city wishes to honor Tanisha Anderson, a beloved mother, daughter, sister, niece, and resident of Cleveland.

That's the part uh of Cleveland by putting in place um what section four.

Um Cleveland by putting in place these policies to ensure people experience experience a crisis receive compassionate appropriate care.

Okay, is there anybody opposed to that?

I'm not opposed, Mr.

Chairman, but uh you know, I I would like to, I don't see why, because it is aware as clause why there's such a stick-up on would likely be alive today with these by putting because that's the essence of um the reason why we're here is because I understand that.

But yeah, I get it, but you know, as a member of this council, um I understand certain people trying to edit certain things.

But the reason why we're here is that there's a problem, and we're here to try to resolve that problem.

Okay, if there was if there was a situation where we had this in place, then we would have had a response from the emergency care team, and she would be alive.

But we have no guarantee of that.

There's the issue.

We have no guarantee of that.

So rather than get hung up on a whereas, we've got some other serious parts of this legislation we need to deal with.

So that's I have no opposition, Mr.

Chairman.

Thank you.

And then so that's the this is the thing I and that's why I wanted people to have a conversation.

Would council members um prefer one way or the other to keep the section that says would likely be alive today with the um with these uh with these that's not it?

There are you you've made a with these policies you've made an you made an amendment, you've submitted to us.

I I've asked members of the body as it's been presented.

Is anyone opposed to it?

The only one that raised the question was Councilman Jones.

The administration's in support of it.

Let's move on.

Again, is there any is there any is it?

If I have to take a vote on every one of these, we'll be here all day.

Mr.

Chairman, we that's why we're here.

Okay.

Okay, that's been table, and I've had my time to be here, so I'm gonna be here if it takes nine o'clock at night or the next day.

Okay.

So there's been a job.

There's been a motion, there's been amendment before us.

Um has been read.

Is there any who's in favor of the motion?

Call it call it on uh this is amendment number one for whereas clause.

Yes, yes.

Yes, and part of it, can she say it again?

You have it in front of you.

Had a man shot six times in his head.

Okay.

So I'm here to take care of the business.

Okay, go ahead.

Amendment.

Okay.

I'm in support as it's been presented to us.

Yes.

Passionate and appropriate care.

Listen up, listen up.

But I never made I just was asking them for that.

We have a motion that's been presented to us.

So we're accepting what the dissection amendment one being fourth whereas.

Yeah, so from from this standpoint, we are actually um accepting what the the safety director is putting into motion as far as their fourth um amendment reclause or are we talking about the motion.

We gotta go through the whole thing.

She's the causes.

We gotta go.

Listen up.

Listen up, everybody.

There's been in essence, our our colleague has made them uh submitting a uh an amendment to the legislation that is before us.

Okay.

We're taking this, we're gonna vote on this on this clause.

Just number one, uh, amendment number one, uh, fourth whereas clause.

Yeah, so can I just add a point just a point of clarification?

The the reason why I separate them in numbers is so that we can take them.

The administration has presented their amendments as a unifying, and I'm saying before we take their amendments, let's go through them so that it can all be done collectively together.

That's why we're dealing with the first um one before us right now that you've submitted.

So I uh I got a point of clarification for um chairman.

Yes.

So what I'm hearing is from both you as well as councilwoman house Jones is the amend the administration has came forth with uh um list of different amendments and recommendations for or from their perspective, and then what councilwoman house Jones said, she made amendments according to what they have um presented, and within that, we have not yet to be able to accept the dares their amendments from the safety director, and then before she can put her amendments to reverse it.

So are we voting?

Are we voting to I'm voting?

Or just I'm vote.

They have presented, listen, this is my brothers and collin colleagues.

They have submitted their amendments.

Councilwoman House is just submitted a change to their amendments.

They just said they are in agreement.

But she normally really didn't make the okay.

So this is what I'm trying to say, but some of this it wasn't motion.

They were having a discussion, that's what I was saying.

We're having a discussion.

Make the motion on this first amendment.

But some of this stuff is back to what it was originally before before.

That's what I'm trying to say.

Some of the things that these but it is not it is not what you're proposing here in this amendment that you just presented to me.

No, it it but it was out.

So I think that's a good question.

This is what I'm trying to explain to you.

If you look at the men, uh this is going back to the original point with the underlining portion.

That's what I'm trying.

It's a conversation, and so the idea is to be able to go through all of these so we can just do it all at one time.

We're just trying to get I was trying to do one at a time so we could understand what we're doing right now.

I know, but that's for eight of them.

Correct.

I was actually a question, and everybody just cut me off with it.

Gave me the paper.

Um because we're not gonna do points right now, man.

I'm not doing a point.

Okay.

I had I had the floor, and everybody just took it away from me.

Okay, councilman, excuse me.

It's compassionate and appropriate care, it's open to me.

Someone could say compassionate, is it they gave you order or something like that?

Passionate or appropriate, meaning what?

Is this uh to the chair?

And I'm not being spirit or anything like that.

You just gave me some paper from over here.

The question was I want to finish.

Is what is compassionate to you appropriate if we can spell that out or whatever the case may be.

You're proposing that the question is to the sponsor.

Right.

Yeah, that's all I wanted.

I want to find my question.

Through the chair to the councilman, um, again, just again the idea of compassionate, we can look at the definition of compassionate and appropriate, and if you want that to be incorporated in the legislation, we can define it because we do have a list of definition.

But compassionate could be in a way.

Us, and you know what I'm talking about.

Or I give you a cup of water, that's compassionate.

So compassionate for me.

I just want to know what is the it's open.

So you want a definition.

Some service is something I'm being compassionate to give you.

Again, a compassionate through the do let him finish.

Okay.

Assident, meaning your idea of compassionate might be different than mine.

Okay.

So again, for this conversation through the chair to the um councilman, I will include in this legislation a definition of compassionate, meaning to have showing sympathy and a concern for others.

Right.

That's but that's the definition of compassionate, and that's what I it would be.

But it's so open, counsel.

But I get I hear, but I'm telling you, so and then in the next section, we have a section of definitions.

I will add to this definitions for compassionate and appropriate care with the actual definition.

Is that are you okay with that?

I'm cool being thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

President, you had a question.

Just want to make sure I'm clarifying.

Are you still gonna do one each one?

And is this a discussion on the first one amendment, or are you gonna do the entirety as a councilman?

I'm just gonna go by each amendment so we could understand, understand words.

So that's the that's the chair's prerogative.

So I'll follow that prerogative.

So on that first wear-ass clause.

Um I want to pose this as much of a question as much as also the follow-up on what Councilwoman House Jones said.

Um when I look at would likely be alive with these with uh with these, would likely be alive.

One of the things that I really want to ask is it I want to ask this the right way.

To the law people, to the law department people, has this case already been settled?

So this case has already been, has this case already been settled, do we know?

Mr.

Chairman and Council President, I do not have that specific answer, but I do have uh an answer regarding this.

I did inquire and I just and I received an answer.

Um and it it it reads as a statement of fact, hence the reason it was struck.

And and that's one of the things that we have to be cautious about as a body, because we don't want to um pass legislation that actually enables a potential um action against the city.

So those are things that we need to be considerate about when we think about um legislative.

I do think that the intent of what the councilwoman is trying to do needs to be captured.

Um I happen to be there tonight that this uh horrible incident happened and talk with the family.

Uh so I I understand a lot of the uh facts around the case, but I also want to make sure legally that we do not either undercut a lawsuit that has already been settled or potentially open the city up for action with language and legislation that we have to be cautious about.

So I just hope that we keep that in consideration as we uh as we uh look at this uh legislation.

Okay, yes, Mr.

Jones Mr.

Chairman, listen up, he has a point of clarification.

Mr.

Chairman, the whole purpose and point, and I know most of us already know this is that um and the cause have been, and we see this constantly, unfortunately, all across the country, where there is um extreme uses of force.

And the city of Cleveland has had its fair share of that, and it's one of the reasons why we are still under federal control.

Um and I just, you know, you have to tell it like it is.

If it's black is white, it's black is white.

There's no gray area here.

Uh, if we would have had, Mr.

Chairman, um, prevention programs in place and response teams in place where we know that there's a mental situation going on, um, then we have uh our systems kick in and deal with those issues versus using extreme force.

And so while I'm here today, what was the issue because this is aware as clause, it's just stating what the issue is.

And uh maybe the verbiage could be changed if the if the council or if the administration deems that you know it puts them at a financial disadvantage.

Um that's one thing, but we should call a spade for a spade.

And so I'm not here to miss my words moving forward.

And so I would I would ask Mr.

Chairman that you know I'm not opposed to how the current amendment is written as it is.

Um whatever the the table and the chair wants to do, I I won't be opposed to it, but I'm not sitting here um to sugarcoat anything.

Thank you.

Okay, let's get back to some because we're still on aware as there's been a there the administration made an amendment.

Councilwoman House Jones has made a counter amendment.

The administration is set at the table, they have no problem with the counter amendment, correct?

That is correct to the chair.

Thank you.

Before we do this, though, but I I'm now chair.

I'm asking, can we just go through all of them?

Because we haven't even accepted their amendment.

So you can't amend an amendment that actually isn't there.

That's the reason why we just need to talk about them.

Trying to do this in a in a way that everybody understands what we're doing here at the table.

They've made, they came in with an amendment piece at my request.

They read it.

It is before us.

You're making now counter amendments to that.

I was just trying to take it one step at a time so we can understand what we're doing, and then we're gonna vote on the amendments.

Right.

But that's what I'm saying, but you could do it collectively.

If we all say agreed to it, then it's already a part of their amendment.

That's what I'm trying to say.

Madam Law Direct, I I want some clarification.

I'm trying to do this so not only do we understand it, but the public who is watching this understands it as well.

So, Mr.

Chair, your your choices if you're going to make a motion on the original and then amend all of those, you have yet to make an amendment.

You have yet to make a motion on the original.

Exactly.

So I wanted to do it all at once.

Then don't take motions individually on this, each amendment one through eight of the amended piece because you haven't yet motioned this amendment.

But what do you suggest we do?

Motion to accept the if you are going to do one motion at the end to just go each one through eight and then do one motion at the end.

That's what I wanted to do.

Okay, then don't motion individually these one through eight.

We'll do them all together then.

Okay.

So there's been a motion that so there's been a motion made on uh amendment number one, fourth whereas clause.

You have no object objection to that, correct?

Okay, we're gonna move on to number two.

Okay.

Uh number two, um, is just basically this would create um a section one three five point three three three definitions as we're gonna go through definitions.

No, no, there isn't it.

This is a whole this is a new this would start off the section with definitions.

Okay, go ahead.

Okay.

So section one three five point three three three definitions.

The following terms shall be defined for the purpose of this chapter as follows.

Um I guess because of um I'm gonna I'm gonna there are two definitions that were just added, so I need to add them.

Um so the first one, A would be compassionate.

I know this isn't there because just what councilman conwell just said, and so I'm adding compassionate and appropriate care to this.

So it would be where are you adding that on A?

Literally, because you I when it comes to definitions, you do definitions according to alphabetical order.

So compassionate element O becomes from R.

So you start with Capassionate.

So based on the I'm inserting this something new.

It's not on that piece of paper.

It was just based on this conversation we just had.

I'm gonna create a new A, compassionate, the definition definition being feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.

Okay.

And then it will be a new B, which is oh I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Let me come back.

A comes with full C, y'all.

I'm sorry.

So the new A, scratch that.

A the new A is appropriate care.

Defining suitable high quality health care that aligns with a patient's needs, integrating evidence-based practices.

And one more time.

Point A is appropriate care, the definition being suitable, high quality health care that aligns with a patient's needs, integrating evidence-based practices.

Evidence-based practices.

B will be compassionate.

The definition being feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.

Crisis call diversion means mental health clinicians embedded within Cleveland's 911 dispatch center.

Um A B A A B C.

D, unarmed crisis responders means social workers, behavioral health professionals, trained professionals with lived crisis experience, and or other professionals outside of police.

Yes.

Yes.

Is everybody, I guess, Mr.

Chairkin, is everybody good with those?

Yes.

Okay.

To the chair, we understand.

Yes.

Through the chair.

Yes.

Okay.

Thank you.

Okay.

Assistant law director, you've got them.

Yes, sir.

Okay.

Going.

Um, so we would get into uh as you reported amendment number three.

Um this again, it will change the section number.

The section would be section one three five point three three four Bureau of Community Crisis Response.

This is basically the only really, and again, I guess this is more of a conversation that we can have.

Um there were some community members that still would like it to be an intentional conversation, consultation with someone with a health care bond, a health care um background, and so that is why um in the section says and to the direction of the commissioner of the emergency medical service and in consultation with the director of public health, just really ensuring that there's the intentionality to have health care in it.

If would you all be amenable to that?

And both the director, so right and the commissioner through the chair.

Uh through the chair to council member house Jones, we're amenable.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, keep going.

Okay, sorry, does it?

Oh, let me go.

Okay.

I'm sorry, I just need a clarification on the chair.

We're here to do that.

To the chair to the councilwoman, it appears that um it was originally through our amendments.

We struck uh the director may appoint an employee such other officers and oh I'm sorry, let me add that up.

Yep, let me go back to okay.

Let me go back to that part.

You are struck as so let me just read it.

Well, let's find your where's your uh section here.

You're at one uh one five point three three four.

But no, and they're on their it will be section one three five point three three three if you look on their amendments.

And so I'll go back to it.

It says there is hereby established in the division of emergency medical services, a Bureau of Community Crisis Response to be controlled and and administered by a deputy commissioner of community crisis response, subject to the provisions of the charter and the ordinances of the city and to the direction of the commissioner of the emergency medical services, and we would like to add in consultant in consultation with the director of public health.

Now they have removed about the hiring of employees, and so we would like to go back to the original intent that the deputy commissioner may employ such employees as may be necessary for the operation of the office and activities of the department because we want to ensure that non-armed um community responders are actually hired somewhere, and so that is the reason why if you do not explicitly state it, then it is not a guarantee that they are actually going to be hired.

Oh, the chair to the councilwoman.

The reason we struck it was because the deputy commissioner is not an appointing authority and cannot hire and employ people.

It the deputy commissioner can with the consent of the director of public safety.

So that's it's a correct you can he cannot.

Okay, so can it uh well can you how would you like to provide the language to ensure that people are hired if you want to do both the director of public safety and the director of public health?

That is fine.

Do you have something, a suggestion to ensure that people are actually hired and not just a one lonely deputy commissioner in the bureau?

But let the this operation will fall under the department of public safety, will be administered by the department of public safety.

So I I don't we've got to be very cautious what we're doing here, but go ahead.

Yes, it it will be under division of EMS.

So the structure is Commissioner of EMS and Deputy Commissioner of Community Crisis Response.

Under the director of publicity.

Under the director of public safety at the very top.

Right.

What you could say is the commissioner of EMS may employ with the consent of the director of public safety uh such employees as necessary.

That would be what are your thoughts?

That that would be the appropriate way to handle this particular amendment.

Commissioner of EMS to say it again.

The commissioner of EMS with the consent of the director of public safety may employ such employees as may be necessary for the operation of the office and activities of the department.

Okay.

Assistant law director.

Have that.

Okay.

Is there any objection?

Yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Because again, I want to make it clear.

Go ahead.

What's the next one?

Number four.

Amendment four.

It is the deputy commissioner of community crisis response is authorized to create an unarmed crisis is I'm sorry, is authorized to create unarmed crisis response teams or other specialized teams which shall be dispatched as first responders in lieu of police to situations that involve persons in need of a behavioral health response and that do not pose a risk of harm to self or the public.

Such situations may include behavioral health crises, wellness checks, substance use related crises, and other appropriate circumstances, including situations as identified by a process of evaluation of current 911 call types.

And I I just wanted to um clarify that the the reason for this amendment is to ensure that this process is through the 911 system and not through some other um, you know, uh late late or um yet to be identified to be able to do that.

The administration is proposed to be through 911.

Um but we want to make sure that that is um explicitly spelled out in the legislation director, assistant director, commissioner of EMS law director.

Take your time uh through the chair to the councilwoman.

Uh through the chair to the councilwoman, I would just note the original reason it was struck because um the language didn't use including situations as identified, which we thought was too restrictive.

So the including situations makes sense.

Um I see the intent as dispatch as first responders as you articulated that the you want to dispatch similar like similar to EMS, dispatch through our dispatch system at the Bureau of Communications.

Um I don't believe we have any objections.

We're immutable.

So then Sister Lauderick, do you understand how it reads now?

Yes, that's gonna substitute a for the new the re-numbered 135.335.

Yes.

Okay.

Let's move on.

Number five number uh five.

The front thing is messing me up.

I have there we go.

All right.

Um so before I I read this one, I I wanna explain the intent because I may actually offer a variation on what is presented directly before us, uh, if that's okay with my colleague.

Uh but our our North uh I keep saying North Star, I gotta like start putting quarters in a jar or something.

Our goal throughout all of this has been for a primary goal to be able to divert calls from dispatch to the unarmed crisis response team as often as possible, appreciating that that won't be available under every circumstance, but we want to have that be the primary goal.

So the language that you can see towards the bottom shall be dispatched through crisis call diversion speaks to that.

And the concern was that the language that is struck out suggests that either an on-scene police or emergency responder could request the assistance, or an unarmed crisis response team hearing something over radio could independently decide to respond, but it didn't speak to the crisis to the actual call diversion aspect.

Um so I think in lieu of this as stated on the page, what I would suggest is having it read an unarmed crisis response team, then jumping to the new language shall be dispatched through crisis call diversion, offering alternatives to policing in the criminal legal system while responding to nonviolent behavioral health and quality of life calls for service, and then going back and saying and may be dispatched when on-scene police or other emergency responders request assistance involving a person in need of crisis intervention or whose contact with police personnel is civil in nature.

An unarmed crisis response team may also request to independently respond directly to such situations after listening to a specific uh call and becoming aware of any call for service over the police radio that would benefit from the services provided by an unarmed crisis response team.

Wow, okay.

So my so I guess yeah.

So you got you guys you're making amendments to your own amendment.

No, well, I think that's the same.

So the the the intent the intent is that there is the primary goal is the uh the use of the dispatch, yes.

However, if dispatch were not to uh utilize the unarmed crisis response team, but it became clear at some point down the road police would not feel that they did not have the authority to call them in.

Okay, okay.

So assistant law director.

Did you get that?

My question to through the chair to councilman Slife is are you incorporating the administration's proposed striking language?

Because when you read it just now, I understood where you went.

You you started the top, jumped to your bottom, then went back to their top, but you read the struck language included.

So are you proposing to not have their struck language?

I am I am proposing to retain their struck language.

I do think that there's a couple cleanups that has to like a little redundant, like towards it says on armed crisis response team twice.

That was a little typo.

But to incorporate the new language uh prior to the what is showing as struck on this page.

That's what I under that's what I understood it to be.

That's what I wanted to do.

Sure.

Thank you.

To the director and to the assistant director and to the commissioner of EMS.

Take your time and let us know what your thoughts are.

And to the president of the city council, I like you should consider dispensing alcohol at these meetings, okay?

Because that's where I'm at, okay?

Um through the chair to councilman well Councilman Slife will provide the solo cup.

Go ahead.

I believe I have them upstairs.

Yeah.

Um I'm glad the councilman um made that change because the original change made it look like it foreclosed the ability for people on the ground to make those calls.

Um I would say that believe that we do not have object any objection to that change.

I would note that I think what you're trying to accomplish is already accomplished in section A about subsection A about it being dispatched through 911.

Um we don't have to.

What I need is clarification is this.

The unarmed crisis responder is on comes to the scene to the spot to the sponsors of the amendments.

I want to make sure if they need help that they are not denied help if they need from a police officer.

Uh to the chair, uh if anyone calls for assistance, uh CPD will respond.

Okay.

So what I want I want to make sure in their amendments that that is not barred.

No, it's not a good thing.

It is not barred, and that's part of the I want to make sure that because these people, these are gonna let's be very blunt.

At times they're gonna be put in situations where they're gonna need backup.

And again, know that I I would uh uh I would know in the legislation as we included definitions when we talked about appropriate care, um, the integrating evidence-based practices when you look at um unarmed care response, that is a best practice if things are out of your purview to call those who are needed.

Okay.

So you have no you are mutable to the amendment.

Okay, now wait a minute.

Okay.

And I and I want to say I appreciate the assistant director law who worked with me on this uh on these putting together this clean amendment sheet.

I mean don't I mean this is your time.

If you have issues, and it uh we want to do what is right here.

Through the chair, through the chair to council member House Jones.

Um the quality of life calls.

Can you go into more specifics if you can relative to that portion of your amendment?

Um through the through the um through the chair to the director, when we talk about the quality of life, I believe um again when we get the call analysis, we have the frequent flyers, the individuals that we know that may be um dealing with Alzheimer's, for example.

So they might consistently call police, you know, of various things.

Um we will have the ability now because we have that body of evidence to be able to send alternative people versus the direct police because we know this is the quality of life issue that's in your own.

Thank you for the clarification.

Again, we're amenable.

Okay.

Okay.

I'm just very madam lauder, you take your time.

We we want to do what is right here.

You want to read it?

Councilman Slife, read it.

Don't look at the page, just listen to my words.

Okay, thank you.

Oh, great.

Unarmed crisis response team shall be dispatched through crisis call diversion, offering alternatives to policing in the criminal legal system while responding to nonviolent behavioral health and quality of life calls for service, and and may be dispatched when on-scene police or other emergency responders request assistance involving a person in need of crisis intervention or whose contact with police personnel is civil in nature.

An unarmed crisis response team may also independently respond directly to such situations after becoming aware of any call for service that would benefit from the service provided by an unarmed crisis response team.

Got that?

Got it?

Jason.

Got it.

Okay, we're all on board.

We're moving.

The train's moving.

Okay.

What's the question?

Councilman.

So just clear identify yourself for the public.

Uh this councilman Shaw for the new Ward 12.

Thank you.

Uh based on what was just read.

So I I believe that so they will be independently allowed to also go up.

And I think that is important so that they're not barred to being requested or being diverted.

So if they hear about something else.

That that is correct, whether through police radio or otherwise, through the chair.

Okay.

Number six, let's move.

Uh we are still in um uh section one, the new 135.335, unarmed crisis response teams um point E.

Um, and we added with the advice of the Department of Public Health, the Department of Public Safety, Cleveland City Council, and community stakeholders shall review and annually adopt and regularly revise as may be necessary, crisis response guidelines as necessary to ensure consistent um responding practices.

Um the Bureau of Community Crisis Response shall make all policies uh and guidelines publicly available and accessible.

Um and the intent of this was to ensure um this work that we have got and you know embodied, we did not do this in the cells.

This actually was a community-led initiative, and to ensure that it can be um that connection uh that community members had shall continue, and we should explicitly stay it.

I would uh the only suggestion I would make, I would reverse, I would have department of public safety first because that's what it's under.

That's right.

And then the Department of Health.

Yep.

Okay.

All right.

It's uh I would you have it look at section uh number six.

I would reverse it with the advice of the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Public Health.

Because it's under it's under the safety department.

Are there director and assistant director?

And only like there's no I'm not gonna okay.

Yeah.

Is there is there any through the chair uh councilwoman?

My I just need I think we need clarification on what what the with the advice of means, as in if there's going to be a revision to the policies, does it have to go before council?

Um what is the form of the is this something that you foresee that is council's involvement?

Is it one person is it all of council?

Is that gonna be determined among the body if there if there's going to be some sort of the intent here, I guess the intent here is when the new deputy commissioner comes up, they will actually come up with a process to fulfill all of these requirements.

Again, and it has to be in an orderly fashion, but being clear, we did not get to this place because the administration wanted this.

We got here because community members put it put it there, and I want to explicitly we wanted to make sure explicitly that that at least general language, whatever we didn't want to regimen it so tight that we are confined to something that is yet to be determined, and so making it broad enough so when the new deb deputy commissioner comes forward, they will actually develop a process that can clearly articulate these to the team.

When wait a minute, wait a minute, Kev.

When when city council is defined, it's all 15 members, right?

Not one person.

All 15 B body.

Okay, Councilman Conwell.

No, when I look at with the advice of the um microphone is on.

Department of Public Health.

I'm looking at you mentioned you're gonna quantify, you're gonna qualify.

That tells me numbers.

So with the numbers when you evaluate it, you would take from the evaluation process and you rise them out.

That's a different amendment.

Yep, that's the next amendment that Councilman Slife will talk about.

Wow, how can you getting ahead?

Yes, we're not on that, but that's a different amendment.

I keep thinking of, but I'm thinking ahead.

Steps ahead.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, we're moving forward.

We're going on.

We're we're on what number seven?

Yes.

Okay.

But you were wait a minute.

You guys are on board with six.

Yes.

We're immune.

Okay.

Okay, number seven.

And and this speaks uh council amendment to uh making uh those data publicly available.

So it would read the Bureau of Community Crisis Response and its city or county partners shall collect data on the effectiveness and return on investment of the unarmed crisis response teams and make such data publicly available.

Such data shall include quantitative response metrics that measure outcomes and processes, and that serve the purposes of presenting results in the public and improving methodology.

Such data to be collected shall also include qualitative data collected during first and follow-up response and through surveys of responders assessing the effectiveness uh effectiveness of individual interventions and the overall effectiveness of established teams.

Uh this I think is likely an example of something being somewhat redundant since everything is subject to public records law.

However, I think there's value in underscoring that, and that is the intent of this language.

Director and assistant director, who's an attorney.

Okay, thank you, Chair.

Um, through the chair to the councilman.

Uh the reason to then legally permissible is in there is more of an expectation setting of what data is going to provide it, although um, as you articulated that there's public records laws and certain things are exempt.

Uh we want to avoid um people out in the communities thinking that they could obtain like ad people's addresses and personal identifying information and then pointing to the ordinance and saying, well, it looks like all this data should be available.

I define data as everything.

So this just provides some expectations.

So what would you suggest change be changed?

Uh just a strike through uh removed and we retain any extent legally permissible.

Okay, you got that?

Yes, okay.

Um what?

Oh, wait a minute.

Through the chair.

Through the chair.

Yes.

You got confidentiality also, although you you could like the data through the chair to assist.

Oops.

So I'm I'm I'm not clear with your question.

The person that you try to help.

And so you have confidentiality that you don't want to evaluate it.

Okay.

What through the chair to the councilman, um I believe that even with our other um data collection and especially when reports are given, um, there are processes that I believe CWRU, case Western Reserve University, we have a contract with that board.

Data that they have protections put in place that ensure that people's um rights are protected.

Um and that would be a one of the responsibilities of the deputy commissioner when creating these.

So you want to strike what did you want to strike?

Just uh no, we don't need to retain.

We want to unstrike and retain.

Okay, we're fine.

Okay.

We're all on board.

Okay.

The ship is sailing.

Okay.

We're going to number eight.

Eight and finally, and and before I read it, I I think that this is maybe also one for discussion.

Uh, this is in reference to the annual four hours of in-service training and language from the administration that creates an opportunity for that requirement to be satisfied.

Uh uh if the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy or other agencies are uh offering some sort of mandated crisis intervention training uh that that officers are attending.

I I think there it is worth discussing at this table the extent of their of the OPOTA and other agencies trainings, and our concern is whether there would fully satisfy and and be equivalent to the training we provide with in our GPOs.

Okay, director, assistant director.

Through the chair to a councilman's life.

That's a really good point.

Good question.

The uh training that's offered by OPATA uh relative to crisis intervention is uh satisfactory for to satisfy our mandates um here in the city of Cleveland as well as our mandates with the consent decree.

So on the amendment your Lieutenant, would you like to add anything further relative to our the the mandated crisis intervention training intervention training?

Um that's required by our officers uh in the division of police.

Uh to the council through the chair.

Identify yourself, sir.

Lieutenant John Mullen, Cleveland Division of Police Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator.

Yeah, so the training by OPATA should be covered, and then any additional training that we do with our SGIC officers, uh that's a four hours um and that's also the opado training is four hours.

If the opato training, yeah, and that would be division wide.

Right.

Okay.

Any comments?

You support the the the amendment or you want something changed?

Well I think uh through the chair um to the councilman, and please correct me if I'm wrong, um Lieutenant or director.

Uh I I think there is a concern that there may be some duplication that now there's an additional four hours required by officers if they're taking a four they already took a four-hour course.

Um the annual answer is through OPATA.

Um that's equivalent, and now they're expected to take another four hours to satisfy the ordinance.

Is that makes sense?

I have to ask to the chair.

Let's let's sponsor we don't want to create an Yeah, through the chair to the sponsors that the intent that that that's why the language was crossed out.

I think no do the through the chair to the team.

The intent is to ensure that the four hours crisis training is taken every year by officers.

Who it comes by, and I think that's the nature of just say, oh, opata.

I think leaving it very broadly to ensure that it is done, that four hours of crisis intervention training is done.

You know, um we're looking at the city of Cleveland, our police force, right?

Well, we have uh Mr.

Chair, there's other like let's say university circle, I'm not picking on them.

Um they have had issues.

Uh is this pertaining to them as well, or is it just see us?

Just the city of Cleveland.

Just the city of Cleveland.

But again, due to the Mr.

Due to the Councilman, due to the agreements we have in place with the other agencies, university circle, um, go all the way uh all of them.

They have to adhere to our policies.

Right.

And the training, that's correct.

That's correct, yes.

Okay.

So we're you're fine with that then.

Fine with the law director, do you understand?

My one question is are we in amendment number eight?

Are we keeping the four hours annual in service struck, or is it gonna stay unstrucked?

Through the chair, my my recommendation, our recommendation is to include the language.

The four hours to include it.

Wait a minute.

We are through the chair.

Through the chair to the councilman.

Um we would object to the amendment um from respectfully from councilman's life to retain our original edition of the four hours of annual in-surface training that may be satisfied by any training required annually to satisfy other mandated crisis intervention topics required by the OPATA or other agency.

Okay.

Are you fine?

Are you all right with the do you find the sponsors fine with it?

Let's let's have some resolution here.

I I'm okay with that.

I don't think that's a good question.

So will you withdraw the amendment number eight?

Councilwoman House Jones.

Because we got seven of eight, of course.

I'll be fine.

I'll just get it.

It's fine.

Thank you.

Okay, so you were withdrawing amendment number eight and is not going to proceed.

Thank you.

Okay.

Now to my honorable colleagues, those of you who are a members of the committee.

Do you have any other questions pertaining to the piece that was submitted by the administration and now the additional amendments made?

Are there any questions or concerns?

May I ask a procedural question?

Yes, you may.

Is the final I would assume that the final action we'll take today is to recommend passage in corporating the administration.

As amended, which includes the administration's amendments as well as the seven discussed amendments.

Uh well, well, and and rationalizing items that would would conflict or that change during those seven.

I don't know exactly how to say that.

I want to do we need to make a motion to accept and then make two motions, but make a motion to accept the administration to make a motion to one.

One motion is clear from the law department.

We we we agreed at the beginning of this, it is one amendment, right?

One motion to amend the piece as amended to incorporate both the administrator administration's amendments and and amendments number one through seven.

Okay.

Councilman Starr, you had a question, uh Vice Chairman.

Councilman Starr, you had a question?

Oh uh uh uh uh councilwoman Houston.

Thank you.

Um through the chair, uh to the actually uh I'm not sure if it's to the director or to the commissioner of EMS.

Um understanding that you know, once this is um hopefully passed, that it will take some time.

Um does the administration have a timeline for hopeful um implementation?

Director.

Through the chair, uh council member, that's a really good question.

We want to get this going as quickly as possible.

That's why we started the process already identified the position itself.

So we have that in place.

Uh we have a posting we have not posted yet, but we will.

So our efforts to get this going as quickly as possible, at least to get the deputy commissioner in place to start the implementation process.

Thank you.

Councilwoman.

And um, I do the city does the city have a vision around who actually responds from the division of EMS.

Um is it mental health clinicians paired with um EMS technicians?

Through the chair director.

Through the chair, uh council member, great question.

Uh, we're going to have, once we get the deputy commissioner in place, uh we will develop the program itself.

Commissioner um uh Orlando Wheeler can speak more specifically about it, but that's part of our process to identify um probably a paramedic EMT or some type of peer counselor, a peer support counselor, um, or some type of uh peer counselor to respond with um uh paramedic to those in in crisis, but Commissioner Wheeler could speak more specifically about that.

Okay.

Any other questions, Council Lady?

Um, and this would kind of be like goes along with it.

Um would they be in the um existing ambulances or would be separate vehicles?

Um through the chair to the council members again.

Really good questions that you're asking.

Um right now, what we would like to do, uh we're already starting to process is to identify vehicles, not an ambulance, but actually vehicles.

For example, in the co-responders program, the division of police, they have RAF fours unmarked.

Um there's a study conducted after certain colors and so forth, uh, no light sirens or anything like that.

That would be the same concept for the the program that we're developing in the EMS.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Counseling.

Okay, go ahead.

Uh that's that's it.

Thank you very much.

Um Councilman Starr, you had a question?

No.

Okay.

Any other questions at the committee?

Any other question who had a question?

Oh, Councilman, yes.

Uh to the director through the chair.

Uh, do you have a goal date in mind for the hiring of the deputy director?

Director.

Through the chair to council uh member, not yet, just as quickly as possible once we get this uh approved, passed, um, then we'll start the process to get it posted and then go into the interview process and get that particular person hired.

Okay.

So I can't give you a specific date.

Okay.

Councilman Conwell.

So the question was so who's championing over there right now?

Who's responsible for pushing in as uh director?

Director.

Um implementation.

So who's doing it right now?

Through the chair to Councilman Connell, uh, we're all champions um to to get this up and and moving.

Um City Council, um, the folks uh in the community as well as uh my team, we're all championing in the administration to make sure that we get this um going as quickly as possible.

Again, once this is passed, if it's passed, uh we'll get the uh job posted for the deputy commissioner, get that person in place so we can start this pro get this uh program implemented as quickly as uh as possible.

Thank you.

Yep, that was an agree.

Reason why you put one or individual over it and you give them specific guidelines.

I need to have this done by March the second or whatever the case may be, because you know I look at things with dependencies.

And if it's not happening, then you need to know, Director.

I mean, I'm for I'm not upset with you.

Sure.

I'm just pointing on the process.

Sure, through the chair, councilmember.

Again, we're all champions for it, but specifically uh uh Commissioner Wheeler, um again, we're all com we're all passionate about it, but uh uh from the conversations of I I've had with uh Commissioner Wheeler, uh he will be uh one of our leads uh relative to get this uh process going and getting this implemented.

Um thank you, thank you very much.

I met with the director yesterday and assistant safe director at one o'clock, and they assured me that they would do whatever they have to do to implement the program based on the um resolution uh and the um action by the council.

So they gave me that assurance yesterday that they would move it, and again, I want to we've got to continue to say um we don't administer, they do.

So we look to them to administer based on our legislative action.

Councilman Pres Council President Griffin.

Thank you.

Uh just uh through the chair.

Uh have you already budgeted for this in submitting your budget and how much uh was it budget neutral or was it extra?

Through the chair to council president, uh the only thing that we've budgeted for so far is the position of deaf deputy commissioner.

Once we get that particular person in place uh with uh obviously Commissioner Wheeler and ourselves and administration will determine what the uh necessary budget would be to uh fully implement this program.

Thank you.

And through the chair to my honorable colleagues, one of the things that you'll learn in the city is that not much hiring gets done in the first three months.

So it's gonna be critical during budget that we know what that amount is so that we could uh do our due diligence because I guess it's gonna be and um hopefully our staff can make sure that they give us a notation that there's gonna be a cost associated with those uh workers.

So it's going to be critical during budget that we know what that amount is so that we could uh do our due diligence because I guess it's gonna be, and um hopefully our staff can make sure that they give us a notation that there's gonna be a cost associated with those uh workers, and we need to be able to uh mark that now so that once again I commend the councilwoman for putting in legislation to mandate and uh fail safes and guardrails to make sure that you guys hire, because as councilman polinsic and everybody knows you you know there's times when we put positions in the budget and they don't actually get filled.

Uh so uh I just want to make sure that we budget appropriately.

In other cities that this is done, I'm sure I'm not sure if the council uh sponsors or if the director can know through the chair, uh how what what line item was used in order to pay for these services?

Was uh for example, let me tell you what I'm asking.

I believe in Albuquerque, when I looked at that model, they actually have a line item in the city budget that actually funds social services.

We don't have that.

So trying to understand in other cities when you've done your research, how do these uh programs get funded?

Uh through through the uh through the chair to the council president, uh these these are a part of city operations, and so they are funded through the general operating budget.

So okay.

All right, thank you so much, Councilwoman.

And and I'm I'm glad you mentioned that, Mr.

Mr.

President, because in my discussions with the finance with the director and the assistant uh finance uh director of safety, um we're gonna have to we the body because we uh we appropriate the money, we're gonna have to identify working with uh safety and the department of finance, the actual dollar amount that we're gonna need to allocate to implement this program in its entirety.

So there's purchase of vehicles, there's the hiring process, there's the administration determining what these folks are to be paid, um, the prerequisites, the backgrounds needed for these individuals.

So as you alluded to, this is going to happen next week.

Uh there will be a time frame, an implementation time frame for this.

Um, and we're gonna work uh with the administration, uh the safety committee is gonna work with the administration um to as it pertains to um how quick this can be implemented, and then we're gonna need as well to work with the finance director as to the dollar amount needed.

I'm estimating um that in the this program, once it's implemented, um it's gonna be um correct me if I'm wrong, several million.

Correct?

Through the chair, potentially, yep.

Yes, I can okay.

Listen up to the chair.

Um if hopefully members recall last month, um, councilman morrow, you know, Councilman's life and I, we worked together to actually present an actual budget.

Um we are not sure if council members actually noted that uh with the initial investment where we believe uh the organizing investment to be I believe it's around 700,000, then going upward from there.

So we have actually provided that um to members.

I will make sure that that gets resent out to people for consideration of finance and others.

Um, but again, those things were put out uh for people to um mull on.

Thank you.

Okay, if I can floor.

Um yes, I did see that.

I do know that eventually, if this was set up the way that you guys were structuring it, it would have started out with implementation of about 700,000, but it would actually go up to approximately four million.

And that's why I'm asking the question, because it seems like with some of the revisions that it may not get up to that four million, which I'm always good because I like to err on the side of saving, you know.

I know it's important that we provide services, but I also know that if we have a four million dollar hit on the budget, that money's gonna have to come from somewhere.

Right.

Um, so that's why I want to make sure that we have a clear understanding of what the amount is, especially with these amendments, because the way that it was originally put out to us that it was going to be stood up as its own department, but now it looks like it's gonna be embedded in EMS, which looks like it can potentially not be as much as it originally was going to cost, which is a good thing because we actually get to do it and implement it, which I think is necessary to do, but we also don't jeopardize um our budgeting or budgeting around this.

So let's keep that in mind if we could.

The other thing, last but not least, and uh I'll close uh Mr.

Chair, is this going to help our metrics with the consent decree, or is this going to be a potential deficit?

One of the areas where we have been performing very well has been in crisis intervention.

One of the things that we have received very good recommendations from a public-facing uh body that gave good medical, medically sound, independent uh guidance to us as when we first started the consent decree eight to about seven to eight years ago uh was sound.

Are we actually strengthening that component by codifying this?

Or are we basically hitting the reset button?

Can I just commissioner?

I make it a good idea.

If I if I can respond to this house, thank you.

Uh third the chair to the council president.

Um back in January of 2025, the Department of Justice actually issued a letter that indicated that what we are doing has no implications on the consent decree, and actually this is in advancing, moving beyond what we actually have in the consent decree.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

Through the chair, then that's what pretty much I was gonna say was that it was it's gonna be no impact uh relative to the consent decree, and uh if it's implemented the right way, which we believe it will be, then it would also I believe augment what our our officers are doing right now with our care uh with our counselors.

Thank you.

And I'll I'll close by saying, you know, I want to commend the sponsors for really taking the time to do the due diligence to do this.

Once again, I was there uh the evening that this incident took place.

I've had to engage that family, and I know that they've had a fight for a long time to really try to make this happen.

Uh I do think that this was done responsibly.

I want to caution this body that it would all of the ambition that we have to put a lot of programs, and I think I've watched the hearing earlier as well.

Uh, we're gonna have to really do some maybe caucus in uh Mr.

Chair, because I think we got to get a philosophy of how we want public safety to look moving forward.

And I think that that was the broader discussion that I heard this morning, and I'm glad that we're adding this component.

I've seen this component work in places like Boston and everything else like that, but uh our pot is dwindling, and we do not have 512 million dollars to stand uh operations.

So when we do uh put programs in place, I know that the number one thing people say, well, they can always find money for XYZ.

That's fine, but I want to know understand where the money's coming from, where we're going to cut, and where we uh and and how this is going to make sure that we provide better quality service for our folks.

So thank you and thank you to the sponsors.

And Mr.

Chairman, um uh Mr.

President, you're correct.

Uh, because every action we take, it's basic physics, every action is a reaction.

And so at the end of the day, we're uh we're not gonna get any more ARPA funds, we're not gonna get bailed out from the the uh good old boys in Columbus, that's for sure.

Um we have to work with what we have.

I just want to be assured by the administration, um, because we talked about it earlier.

We want to make sure whatever action we're taking here does not reduce the number of EMS units working in our city.

That's critical that we maintain frontline services for EMS.

So we're gonna work very closely with the director and his team as pertains to the budget for this operation.

Um we want to maintain quality services.

Um we all know that um we're not about we don't it's not about arresting people uh with regard to division of police, it's about uh preventing crime from happening and providing EMS and providing fire service.

And that we just saw just this last weekend um how critical the division of fire is um with responding to the situation on the west side uh with you know the the craziness that took place with people's meters blowing off their houses and et cetera, et cetera.

So I want to commend all our first line, our first um our our first responders for the job that they do.

And so we have we had a good healthy debate today.

Uh so before I need crisis intervention, I want to get this piece done because um I'm I'm on my I'm on my way there with this, okay.

I want to I I want to I don't need a I know the meeting I don't need to be one of the first um persons uh here being uh responded to with this program.

So um that's exactly so without um further ado, Mr.

President, you better appreciate what we did today, okay.

Um ordinance number 1198-2024 as amended is before us.

I would ask it this time.

Um I would ask that my name be added to it.

Any other members' names be added to it?

Yeah, yeah.

Okay, put your put tell put your hands up so the clerk can see who would who would like to have their names added to it.

Okay.

Is everybody's name who's wanted to be added to it is on there?

He's not a member of the committee, but he has a right to ask his name be added.

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

So again, the it's before us eleven ninety-eight twenty-four, twenty twenty-four, as amended with the additional names added.

All those in favor, aye.

Opposed.

Legislation passed.

I commend the sponsors.

I commend the administration for the due diligence they did on this piece.

Thank you.

Um it tells us when we work together, when we work together, that's not always to say we're going to agree at this table, but I've always maintained reasonable people can come up with reasonable solutions.

Committee stands adjourned.