DETROIT (WXYZ) — "We know, at times, we have a huge crime problem here and it has to be addressed," native Detroiter Michael Quinn said. " I can say for myself, I've never been harassed by the police."
Quinn, who serves as chairman of the trustees at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, adds that if there are any bad police officers on the force, they should be weeded out.
"As far as the tactics that they use, I think they do a pretty good job," Quinn said.
At a press conference Thursday, two attorneys with the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability criticized the Detroit police, claiming that misconduct in the department is severe and widespread.
"It is respectfully requested that the department of justice officials investigate not only the ongoing police killings, escalating violence and racial discrimination perpetrated by and within the Detroit Police Department, but also the institutional culture that inspires and sustains such misconduct," said Nancy Parker, attorney with the Detroit Justice Center who also belongs to the coalition.
The Detroit Police Department released the following statement Thursday afternoon:
Chief White's administration is committed to transparency and accountability. This community desires safety, constitutional policing, and a community-first approach to law enforcement. This is why the Detroit Police Department is firmly committed to its mission to encourage thoughtful decision-making and a strong sense of community responsibility. To this end, the Department recently hired a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) professional with experience in the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
Our goal is to disrupt the pipeline to prison through progressive initiatives, such as Crisis Intervention, CeaseFire, Procedural Justice seminars, and other initiatives. Chief White’s efforts in crime reduction were recently recognized at the White House by President Biden and his administration.
The Detroit Police Department has expanded its network of Crisis Intervention Teams to a number of precincts to address mental health issues. The teams include crisis intervention trained officers and mental health specialists responding to non-violent situations in hopes of getting a person suffering a mental health crisis the immediate help they need.
But members of the coalition said the answer is not about training police to de-escalate situations or training them to handle someone having a mental health crisis. Parker believes the answer is to divert funding.
"They (officers) will do what they always do. What we want is all of these ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds, all these millions of dollars that's going to DPD, that's not keeping us safe," he said.
Parker said technology, including Project Greenlight and ShotSpotter, "dumps money into DPD and does nothing for the community."
"We still need the police," said one man who declined to be interviewed.
"Personally, I have no problem with how the police work in the city," said Quinn, acknowledging he could only speak for himself. "I have a good rapport with our police. Our police come by, we wave. We need our police in our city to help try to keep the crime level down."
