Resident urges council to stop funding Designated Crisis Responder program pending reforms

A resident urged the council to cease funding the Designated Crisis Responder (DCR) program for the Puyallup Police Department and Good Samaritan Hospital until reforms and consistent humane practices are adopted.

Why it matters: DCRs are a local crisis-response model used when mental-health crises occur. The commenter described a personal experience with an involuntary DCR process in another jurisdiction and called for stronger training standards, better documentation and protections for civil rights.

Angela Nisquierdo said the program “relies heavily on the subjectivity of the police officers and medical professionals when determining the mental illnesses of people they choose to involuntarily add to their program.” She described paperwork and communications failures and asked the council to “say nay to your decision to further fund the DCR program until further humane practices have been instilled within all involved parties training modules and annual trainings.”

Council response and action: the council did not take immediate action on the request. The mayor directed the speaker to provide contact information to the clerk so staff could advise her which elected officials have jurisdiction and how to follow up. Staff did not present a funding action for the program during the meeting; no motion or vote on DCR funding was taken.

Ending: The speaker’s comments were recorded for the public record; council members encouraged the resident to work with staff to identify the appropriate jurisdictional contacts and next steps for complaints or policy advocacy.