CLEVELAND — Council members and public witnesses on the City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Monday debated an emergency ordinance known as "Tanisha’s Law" that would create a Department of Community Crisis Response and codify unarmed, clinician-led care-response teams.

Sponsors including Councilwoman House Jones said the ordinance would establish permanent infrastructure, require data reporting and training, and give the city control of programs now run by third parties. "Unless we put the structures in place with legislation, we will never get there," House Jones said, urging a city department that would house clinicians, supervisors and data functions.

The administration, represented by Director of Public Safety Wayne Drummond and assistant director Jason Schachner, said it supports the law’s intent but warned a standalone cabinet-level department would create duplicate bureaucracy and be premature without a call-type analysis funded by the Connect and Protect grant. "We do not support the creation of a new department," Drummond said, adding that the city is committed to adding a mental‑health option to 911 dispatch and to a mental‑health dispatch that could sit under EMS once federal approval is complete.

Public testimony at the committee included family members and service providers. Michael Anderson, whose relative Tanisha Anderson died in an interaction that prompted the legislation, told the committee he sought "common ground" while describing the family’s objections to prior official responses. Resident advocate Pete Van Leer and social-worker Stephanie Ash urged codification and city ownership of care response so programs have stable funding and accountability.

Committee members pressed both sides on operational details. The police division told the committee it has 175 officers trained in crisis intervention (24 hours in the academy plus annual updates), seven full-time co-responder teams that pair an officer with a licensed clinician operating 7 a.m.–10 p.m., and seven contracted clinicians. Lieutenant John Mullins said the co‑responder teams handle follow-up and some live calls; the division reported an increase in SCIT live response from 2.3% of CIT calls in 2021 to more than 54% in 2024 and 62.9% in 2025 for certain metrics cited.

Sponsors proposed a modest near-term budget to start the department. Councilwoman Moore said the drafted ordinance includes a first-year budget of about $800,000 to stand up a departmental structure and begin piloting live clinician response while a call-type analysis continues.

Administration officials said the city will complete a call‑type analysis and rescope the federal grant work to determine the appropriate staffing and structure before advancing codification of a new department. They offered to share suggested amendments and said some program elements — including codifying CIT training requirements — could be implemented within existing departments.

Council members repeatedly asked the administration to provide written amendments, the call‑type analysis timeline and specific fiscal details. Chair concluded by asking the administration to supply call counts, district breakdowns, job descriptions, pay bands and the cost of current contracts and said the committee would hold the ordinance "until further notice" with the intention to take action early in the next council term.

What’s next: The committee did not vote on the ordinance. Members requested detailed documentation from the administration and signaled intent to move forward after receiving budgets, job descriptions and call‑type data; sponsors said they would continue outreach and expect further action during the next council term.