Acceptance and appropriation of a $93,000 State Crisis Intervention Grant for a police and counselor co-response model

Council approved a $93,000 crisis-intervention grant to support a co-response model pairing an officer with a counselor.

Vote Tracker

Approved 6-0 as part of a grouped motion on G3 through G5.

Motion by Cristina Todd. Second by Carolyn David-Graves.

Eugene Escobar Jr.

Mayor

not voting

Terrance Johnson

Place 1

yes

Cristina Todd

Place 2

yes

Bryan Washington

Place 3

yes

Vacant

Place 4

vacant

Steve Deffibaugh

Place 5

yes

Ben Long

Place 6

yes

Carolyn David-Graves

Place 7

yes

Why This Matters

The grant supports a co-response setup pairing a sworn officer with a Licensed Professional Counselor. That makes it one of the more policy-relevant public-safety items in the meeting because it changes how crisis calls could be handled on the ground.

Why we flagged it: This item affects how Princeton responds to mental-health crisis calls and whether the city moves beyond a strictly enforcement-first model.

What approval means

The city can move ahead with a more specialized crisis-response model using outside grant money.

If it had failed

Princeton would have lost or delayed a chance to build a more clinically informed crisis-response program.

Potential Pros

Can improve outcomes on mental-health-related calls.
Leans on external funding rather than immediate general-fund dollars.

Potential Cons

Program success depends on execution and long-term support after grant funding.
A co-response model still needs clear roles, training, and follow-up capacity.

Related Coverage

$179K in Police Funding Up for Vote in Princeton—Training, Mental Health, and More

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Tracker Note

This tracker entry is based on the official agenda and the meeting notes currently captured by The Princeton Journal. If official minutes, video, or backup records clarify anything further, the tracker can be updated to match the final record.