Denver approves $7.4 million for hazmat detectors, crisis-response services
The grants authorize seven chemical-vapor detectors for regional hazardous-materials teams and a year of Denver police co-responder services.
Denver City Council approved two public-safety grants totaling about $7.4 million on Sept. 21, authorizing $4.95 million for seven chemical-vapor detectors for regional hazardous-materials teams and $2.46 million for Denver police co-responder crisis services.
The $4,946,929.35 state grant funds Denver’s regional Urban Area Security Initiative and authorizes the Office of Emergency Management to buy seven detectors. The equipment request says the handheld devices can identify and measure unknown chemical vapors in real time. The grant bill sets the spending period from Sept. 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028.
The second grant authorizes $2,463,443 for the Denver Police Department’s Co-Responder program, including its Crisis Intervention Unit, from Sept. 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2027, under a Council-approved grant agreement with Caring for Denver.
The agreement describes round-the-clock responses to 911 calls involving mental-health or substance-use crises, pairing clinicians with police officers, firefighters or sheriff’s deputies. The city’s program request describes a 19-clinician unit: 15 clinicians working with police, three with the Fire Department and one with the Sheriff’s Department.