For the unpteenth time, the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners discovered workers who were improperly hired by staff without ever being approved by the board. Commissioners voted to rescind their hiring even though the workers were already on the job.
Messy weather lately, huh #Detroit ?
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Today at 3pm I’ll be live tweeting a Detroit Board of Police Commissioners meeting ! Hope you’ll keep up with me !
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#DetroitDocumenters
09:53 AM Apr 3, 2025 CDT
Here’s a link to today’s agenda : detrhttps://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/events/2025-04/Approved%20Agenda%20April%203%2C%202025.pdf
Opening with a prayer- I’ve never been to one of these before so this is a pleasant surprise.
Seems like a few people are running late so they’re launching into public comment already!
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There are four speakers in the auditorium!
One speaker sends out a blessing and kind words to the board- role is called and the agenda is approved!
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This meeting is called to order at 3:08pm !
Moving to the chief of police report, I’ll have to return to this with the exact numbers later but she mentions some changes in statistics- and beyond that the resolution of a cold case.
That report was dense and over quickly ! Definitely elaborating on this at the end of the thread.
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Cedric banks asks a question about how the department intends to “equip” religious institutions with the skills to defend themselves.
It’s then clarified that she’s talking explicitly about knowledge on how to behave in times of crisis rather than literal “equipment”.
Another public commenter is voicing dissatisfaction with the 9th precinct, assuming they “blocked his number”, because they don’t pick up with his.
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He also talks about how a shooting on his block is scaring his granddaughter, and he doesn’t know who to call because they won’t pick up.
A member of the board asks if he’s filed a citizen complaint, and assures him that he’ll be seen to- especially because the deputy chief says herself that blocking numbers is completely unheard of.
Another speaker comes up and is talking about innocent people being deported- and how facial recognition is a racist system that has no place in surveillance.
Yet one more person coming up to the microphone- someone’s who’s been coming to these meetings for two years- insistent that ‘they are recruiting’ in homeless facilities.
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Complaining that there are not enough beds in shelters for people who can afford rent.
The last speaker is one appearing on zoom, asking for regular updates to the public on who is in charge of what precinct- as well as regular reports and investigations on falsified reports, and the level of safety in homeless shelters.
No! Not the last speaker, there’s another one ! Asking about the backlog of complaints on cases, which seem to be rising in numbers.
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As a response someone says not only have a record number of cases been closed, but a record number of complaints have been made as well for the first quarter.
‘Our administrative staff have unfortunately been doing four times the work than they are used to’ paraphrasing the speaker.
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He then goes on to say that they present 40 cases a week- whereas in prior years there were about 15. Nearly tripling the amount of work they’ve had to do this year.
Our next speaker talks about how ridiculous it is to withhold body cam footage from the public, and that they want it to be released within 7 days of the event. He feels like the board only helps certain people, and that they aren’t doing enough work.
“We will leave no stone unturned and this video release ordinance will be passed.”
That was a quote from the speaker before his time was up- one of the members of the board responds by saying that she’s attempted something similar before and it was shut down.
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But she voiced her favor, and cites Chicago as a reference for how she wishes to proceed.
Darryl Woods says that change is coming very very soon, and that the department needs to be united in order to get something like this passed.
In talking about the budget timeline for the current budget cycle for the city, the speaker reflects on how far we’ve come in some regards- including how quickly they were able to deliver the Detroit Police Department Budget Draft.
No questions from the board, pushing forward to a report from the board secretary Lydia Garnier!
Her report was entirely about when the next community meetings will be, all of which can be found on the city of Detroit website.
Someone is deeply unsatisfied with how succinct the report was- saying that it was merely an assessment on the job duties rather than a report on her goals and objectives.
Another person (some of these name tags are so hard to read) says that they value her as the secretary, and that she’s doing a good job- but would also love to hear more from her in her report.
Unfinished business (A) is carried, and there is a two minute recess.
They’ve moved to a closed session to discuss this, as stated in the agenda- I hope everyone present gets a good stretch in during this down time.
That was definitely longer than I expected! Waiting for them to turn the cameras back on and get to business!
Man. It’s kind of taking an inappropriate amount of time for them to finally come back, but they’re back at 4:41
Back again! 4:50! Maybe this time they’ll stay! Moving to new business.
New business B, being discussed among the board trying to decide if changing the amount of experience required for promotion to Senior investigator to 1-2 years as opposed to 3-5 is acceptable for our police department .
It’s clarified that it’s not just the amount of time but the quality of it- the performance rates of these investigators is what goes into promotion and hiring.
Amendment for two years being the minimum amount has been carried.
A concern is voiced about changing the language of these amendments and proposals, saying that the decision shouldn’t be made so quickly.
An inappropriate joke was made about the backlog on these cases, resulting in a passionate outburst. Paraphrasing another person that says, ‘these investigators are not doing their jobs and we’re just hiring them back’ .
The chairman seems to be having some difficulties managing the room, as there have been several disruptions and the like. Multiple miscommunications.
Lots of commotion about the identity of these TASS workers to be hired under new business c- several people are quite confused as to if these people are already hired and it sounds like they are.
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Even I’m a little miffed at the moment.
It’s suggested to “un-hire” or “rescind” the hiring letters sent out to these 6 employees- but there’s more confusion on the matter.
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The chairman admits that he signed the letters to hire these people without fully understanding that he was hiring people on the spot, and avoiding the process.
A discussion is now taking place about the legal ramifications of .. functionally firing these people who’ve been hired without being properly discussed before the board.
A motion is carried to rescind those hires, but Willie Burton demands to know who picked the tasks workers to be hired in the first place.
Finally moving on to new business D, speaker citing the George Floyd case as a reason for this policy- granting officers the ability to stop another from using excessive force as is their duty to protect citizens.
Another concern is voiced about misinformation and miscommunications, saying that policy should be brought properly before the members and not changed moments before the meeting.
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Item D is postponed.
Item G is approved, and this meeting is adjourned at 6:06 pm .
Just coming back to what I missed in the chief of police report in the beginning. She reports;
A 9% reduction in part one violent crime
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44% reduction in non fatal shootings
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14% reduction in robberies
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And 32% reduction in car jackings so far this year.
If you believe anything in the coverage today is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line!! And don’t forget to take a glance at dohttps://documenters.org️
