Board of Police Commissioners
Detroit Board of Police Commissioners
Criminal Justice
Thursday, May 23, 2024
3:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m. EDT
1301 Third Street South Detroit, MI 48226 (Directions)
Suite 767
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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81981390642
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Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Detroit - MI Documenters Team
Live reporting by
Nathaniel Eichenhorn
Commissioners and Chief James White discussed suspended Lt. Brandon Cole, who recently escalated a situation telling a protester to “go back to Mexico,” while failing to wear a body worn camera as mandated by the department.
They didn't post the agenda for this one so we're goin' in blind!
They don't have a quorum at the moment, so they can't officially call the meeting to order, but they're going to start with the invocation anyway
As there is still no quorum present they are moving on to public comment
The first caller is accusing DPD officers of several heinous crimes, and adds that helicopters and police cars are stalking her at the shelter in which she lives
They have a quorum, those present follows: Presley Smith Banks Bell Moore Woods
They are currently approving the minutes of several closed sessions
I feel like I should add that they seem to have updated the AV setup for recording meetings and it's much better than it has been
They're moving on to new business with a report by commissioner Hernandez
Commissioner Hernandez reports that they have decided to update the job listing for council president to be more in line with the executive director position they are replacing
I feel I should also note that meeting agendas are usually posted online for this board, and it's absence today is unusual
Commissioner Banks is saying that the board needs to become more independent, and the first step to that should be hiring its own attorney and not using the city's attorney
They voted not to post it, the role was as follows: Pressley no Smith no Banks yes Bell no Burton yes Moore yes Hernandez no Woods no
Now the board is moving on to the chief of police report. The chief of as asked to abridge the report to move on to addressing the events of the recent protest
For context, the Chief is addressing this: clickondetroit.com/news/local/202…
clickondetroit.com/news/local/202…
The chief says that the incident was not a racist one, but rather the officer in question telling a protester to go back on a vacation she recently returned from
He also noted that the officer in question had heard someone insult his wife
He goes on to say that nevertheless, given the outburst and given the fact that the officer was a lieutenant, he is still concerned about the behavior exhibited
The officer has been suspended without pay and the chief is submitting to the board a proposal to suspend him without pay
The chief is now emphasizing the importance of rotating officers away from the front line to relieve them from the heat and stress. He notes that the lieutenant in question was in charge of this
He states that going forward it is very important that police body cameras are functioning and able to identify their wearer.
Commissioner white remarks that the board looking very intently at this incident
Commissioner Hernandez notes that the incident, weather technically racist or not, was nonetheless racial, and therefore has damaged trust in the police by the Hispanic community of the city
He adds that serious efforts need to be taken, in his opinion, to repair this damage
Commissioner Hernandez says that he expects very decisive action from the chief
He is speaking in terms of laying the foundation for making repair with the community that has been so offended by these events
The chief now notes that he wishes he could be in front of the board celebrating the success of the NFL draft, rather than addressing the unfortunate incident that has so deflated the excitement for that success
Commissioner Moore asks the chief how the lieutenant knew the woman had been in Mexico
The chief responds that he does not know definitively. He speculates that the officer may have seen the woman's social media pages. Commissioner Moore points out that this possibility is distressing as this would constitute troubling psyops
Deputy chief, Ha response that a police department or officers thereof keeping files on or otherwise tracking citizens involved in civil disobedience is unconstitutional and would constitute a crime. He adds that there are questions yet to be answered in this regard
The chief says that there was certainly a body camera assigned to the lieutenant and that he, for some reason is yet unknown to the department, chose not to wear it
Commissioner Moore asked about the statement. The department released that referenced "deficiencies" in the response. Commissioner Moore asks what those deficiencies are
The chief replies that he "has protocols but people are not following those protocols"
The chief says that effective immediately body cameras will be the responsibility of the commanding officer on the ground and that the department will be employing a separate videographer to take video of incidents and that the chief will personally review these
Commissioner wood strongly suggest that the chief review all of the arrests that were made in connection to the protest, as they are now suspicious
Commissioner Burton asks if the Chief White will recommend demotion for the lieutenant
Chief White points out that the lieutenant has a right to due process and that he does not want to make rushed, emotional decisions but rather considered, informed one
" The situation with lieutenant is unacceptable, I have been transparent about that"
The chief does however state that he is recommending, as he said before, suspension without pay
The chief is now praising the training officers receive and saying that this is not representative of the department
Chief investigator Jerome Warfield says that the commission is transferring responsibility for this incident to the Detroit Police Department's internal affairs division
Commissioner Burton is asking the chief for a updated rundown of police training as it. Regards protests in the city
Commissioner Burton is now explicitly calling on the chief to demote the lieutenant
Commissioner Burton says that the commission has received 24 complaints only today
Commissioner Burton says that this is not even the first recent incident that this lieutenant has been involved in. He said that the lieutenant is known to have made racial comments at protests before
Commissioner Burton has been called out of order after pressing the Chief to declare his intention more explicitly. The Chief responds that he will not make a recommendation on the spot, but rather gather the facts, consider them carefully, and come to a decision.
Commissioner Woods suggested that commissioner Burton be censored for his comments and outbursts. Chairman Pressley called the roll:
Presley abstained Smith yes Bernard no Banks no Bell no Burton no Moore no Hernandez abstained Woods yes The motion fails
Commissioner Pressley is voicing his concerns that a videographer employed by the police department might inflame tensions at protests rather than calming them?
Commissioner Pressley asked if the department can incentivize a change in culture in regard to officers keeping each other s responsible for wearing their body cameras
Chief White is saying that it was an unacceptable failure for a commanding officer not to intervene and stop the behavior of the lieutenant.
Commissioner Pressley is pointing out that the "heat of battle" it's not an appropriate excuse, and that the issue of officers neglecting their body cameras is cropping up more often than this, particularly high profile incident
Commissioner, Bernard is taking time to congratulate Chief White on the NFL draft
Commissioner Bernard asks if the videographer's video will be used for facial identification, the chief response that it will not
Chief White says that at the moment they have a case pending. An officer told another officer to turn off their body camera. He says they are reviewing this case
The chief reiterates that this incident does not reflect the hard work of the police department
Commissioner Pressley is now asking the chief regarding a officer-involved shooting that was reported to the commission about a month ago
The chief responds that the body camera footage of the incident in question has been uploaded to social media
Commissioner Burton now says The commission has seen that department using "Gestapo tactics". Yay that the city pays it millions in settlements and that complaints regarding body cameras are many and consistent
Commissioner Pressley is responding that even police officers have a constitutional right to due process
Commissioner Woods is praising the chief for his prompt response to this incident
Commissioner Woods is now detailing Chief White's efforts to increase police accountability
That's it for the chief of police report, we are now returning to public comment
The caller is a former commissioner . He is detailing his disappointment in the Police Department and his pain at the events of May 19th. He further says that the lieutenant's appearance, specifically his dress, was sloppy and unacceptable
The next caller is emphasizing the due process rights of all police officers and says that we should treat police officers at least as well as we tree criminals. He laments that the commission does not sufficiently praise the police.
The collar goes further and disputes that the protest was peaceful
The next caller says that the police were not wrong and did what they should have done. She says she was there at the time and could not walk down the street. She says it was not a peaceful protest and recalls that she heard people swearing
The commenter made insulting reference to " some commissioners". Commissioner Burton spoke up and the caller told him not to talk back and then told him to shut up.
Commissioner Burton is now speaking about the responsibilities of the commission as staff attempts to stop him from talking
This caller, who identifies herself as "Michael's mother" says that she has not been able to talk to anyone at the department regarding her son's murder.
Commissioner Burton has spoken up and begun arguing with the secretary. Other commissioners are reprimanding him while the secretary calls him out of order. Call it medium -high heated.
The current commenter predicts that the incident of May 19th will be swept under the rug, the union will not allow the lieutenant to be punished, and he will probably be promoted.
The color goes on to complain about the lack of progress in terms of investigations of officers accused of misconduct
Commissioner Bernard is voicing her concerns about the delay the release of the body camera footage. She emphasizes further that the commission has a right to see it in any case and is puzzled as to why she has not yet received it
Chief White says to commissioner Bernard that the video will be available to the commission next week
The current commenter says that The police need to be held more firmly accountable and feels the department is suffering from implicit bias
The commenter asks that the board wave the fee for a FOIA request she has submitted. A motion to that effect has been proposed
The motion to wave the foia fee has passed with the following roll Smith no Bernard yes Burton yes More yes Hernandez yes Woods yes
This caller is upset that amidst the discussion of the importance of body cameras that her case, where an officer was not wearing a body camera during an interaction with her, has been left to languish
Commissioner Pressley has excused himself due to another commitment
This color is demanding that the lieutenant be terminated at once
This commenter goes on to accuse lieutenant of abusing him as well
That commenter ended by urging Commissioner Woods to "watch [her]self"
Former commissioner Davis has called in. He says that the lieutenant's explanation was more disturbing than the original assumption that it was racist. He has been getting calls from out of state asking if the Detroit Police Department is carrying out surveillance on the citizens
He adds that the vast majority of police officers in the city are "outsiders". He further brings up the volume of lawsuits currently pending against Detroit police officers
Well folks, this closes my coverage of the Detroit BOPC board meeting for May 23rd 2024. Learn more about our coverage of local meetings at documenters.org
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If you believe anything in the coverage today is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line
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Agency Information
Detroit Board of Police Commissioners
The Board of Police Commissioners has supervisory control and oversight of the Police Department, including plenary authority over citizen complaints and the power to appoint fact finders, subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and require the production of evidence. The Board also appoints a civilian as Director of Police Personnel and approves all promotions made by the Chief. The 11 member board is comprised of 7 elected members from each city council district and 4 members appointed by the Mayor. https://detroitmi.gov/government/boards/board-police-commissioners
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