Documented Network · City of Ypsilanti · Sunsetted
Care-Based Safety
Ypsilanti City Council program · $1,000,000 approved · Unarmed community responder · Sunsetted March 2026
The city approved $1M for an unarmed responder program. The program sunsetted March 2026. The transit center has armed security. The encampment is unenforceable. This is Ypsilanti's public safety gap in one paragraph.
What It Was
Care-Based Safety was a $1 million City of Ypsilanti program to fund unarmed community responders — trained civilians dispatched to mental health crises, substance use calls, and non-violent community situations as an alternative to police response. It operated within the same policy framework as LEAF Harm Reduction and Ordinance 1465, reflecting the council majority's approach to public safety as a social service function rather than a law enforcement function.
The program sunsetted in March 2026 — meaning the city no longer funds unarmed response. Patrick McLean voted against the program. Desiraé Simmons supported the framework. The program's sunset is not documented as a council vote reversal — it expired as designed or was not renewed.
The Gap It Leaves
The Ruben Peeler standoff occurred January 4–5, 2026 — one month before Care-Based Safety sunsetted. Peeler, 53, was arrested unharmed with a katana on West Cross Street after a two-day Metro SWAT operation in the Normal Park neighborhood. Savit's office filed eight felonies, then sought to divert to psychiatric treatment. The incident is the clearest documented case of exactly the kind of call Care-Based Safety was designed to handle — a mental health crisis, no gun, eventual peaceful resolution after massive law enforcement resource deployment.
The program sunsetted March 2026. The Peeler case proceeded through the court system. The next Ruben Peeler — the next person in mental health crisis in Normal Park or on the south side — will be met by YPD (three to four officers below authorized strength), Sheriff's deputies (road patrols cut 50% by Dyer), or nobody at all.
Documented Connections
Ruben Peeler — January 2026
Eight felonies filed. Katana, not a gun. Two-day Metro SWAT standoff. Eventual peaceful surrender. Savit seeking psychiatric diversion. The program designed to handle non-violent mental health calls had two months left when this happened.
Transit Center Security — Simultaneous Contrast
The federal government approved $750,000 in security funding for the Pearl Street transit center in February 2026 — for armed security — one month before Care-Based Safety sunsetted. The city's unarmed response program expired the same month the federal government was investing in armed security one block north of Michigan Avenue.
Patrick McLean — Voted Against
McLean voted against Care-Based Safety. He is now running for re-election in Ward 2's August 4 primary, where his opponent is Amy Rondel. The Normal Park neighborhood — where the Peeler standoff occurred and where Rutherford Pool (McLean's civic connection) is located — is in Ward 2.
Supreme Felons — The Alternative Model
While Care-Based Safety funded trained civilian responders through a city contract, the county simultaneously gave $1.2M to Supreme Felons Inc. to conduct "community violence intervention" — dispatching SF members to 911 calls in place of Sheriff's deputies in Ypsilanti Township. Violent crime rose 56% during the SF grant period. Care-Based Safety sunsetted. SF's grant ended December 2024.