Following our Deadly Discretion report on the killing of 68 year old Deborah McCalla Terrell, NJ21st invited community members and leaders to share their perspectives.

Loretta Rivers, Piscataway school board member and former Democratic candidate for New Jersey’s 17th Legislative District Assembly seat, responded with the following statement:

Hello NJ21St,

I appreciate the curiosity of allowing me to respond.

I am heartbroken over the senseless death of Deborah McCalla Terrell, a 68-year-old woman living with mental health challenges who was pepper-sprayed, use of a taser, and then fatally shot in her New Brunswick senior building. It took all of these measure to control a SENIOR.

This tragedy underscores the failure of our system to protect the most vulnerable among us, our SENIORS.

New Jersey has pioneered compassionate crisis response initiatives like ARRIVE Together, a statewide program pairing law enforcement with mental health professionals to de-escalate mental health emergencies. Yet, despite its promise—and a proposed doubling of funding from $10 million to $20 million—New Brunswick remains largely untouched by these life-saving resources.

My prayers are with the victim’s family and the residents who witnessed this trauma. But prayers alone are not enough. That is why I am urging the public to demand more from our leaders: attend city council and county meetings, contact your representatives, and insist on greater investment in mental health services, de-escalation training, and funding specifically directed to New Brunswick.

The community deserves answers, accountability, and change. We cannot treat this as an isolated incident. If we fail to act, we are silently accepting that this could happen again to another mother, grandmother, neighbor, or friend. We must not allow silence to be the response to tragedy.

Together, we can make sure this community and every community in New Jersey demands the dignity, safety, and justice our residents deserve.

I call on the public to demand action: contact your representatives, attend council meetings, and insist that New Brunswick receive its fair share of funding for de-escalation training and crisis response programs. Our seniors, families, and communities deserve dignity, safety, and justice.

Thank you again for allowing me to have a voice for our community.

Loretta Rivers

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