Justice for Sherman Lee Butler

The Justice Coalition held a demonstration this week to increase the pressure on the Detroit Police Department to release the body camera images that were taken at the time of Sherman Lee Butler’s death, allegedly from shots fired by a bailiff from the 36th District Court.

In the month since his death, only the broad contours of the case have been established.  On July 12th a bailiff attempted to evict Mr. Butler. The bailiff forced his way into Mr. Butler’s apartment in Palmer Park. At some point police were called. The police attempted to subdue Mr. Butler with a taser. The bailiff shot his gun several times, killing Mr. Butler. The DPD was slow to identify Mr. Butler. They have refused to release body camera images that would enable the public to understand how an eviction led to the death of man obviously in need of support. The DPD has rejected inquiries from members of the Board of Police Commissioners, Mr. Butler’s family, and community advocates for transparency and accountability. 

The “story” of what actually happened has been slow to emerge and details have been shifting, increasing doubts. Early accounts described Mr. Butler as sitting on his bed. Later accounts portray him wielding a box cutter, and later he is described as holding a box cutter to the neck of the bailiff.

All of this confusion would potentially be clarified with the release of the police videos. None of these stories justify the killing of a man in need of help. All of them point to an inhuman, violent, and dangerous way to approach questions of how to sort out problems between landlords and tenants, banks and debtors.

It has taken over a month for the police to officially comment on Mr. Butler’s death. Their “explanations” leave more questions unanswered.  They continue to refuse to release images of the killing. On the one hand Chief White says he cannot release bodycam images because there is an ongoing investigation.  On the other hand, he says that he cannot release it because police policies do not require it. The chief says that there is a policy that requires all police involved shooting video to be released within 45 days of the incident. However, the Chief contends that this policy only relates to shootings by the police, not shootings where they happen to be witnesses.

At the heart of this killing are serious questions about the values framing the use of force and violence in our community. Anyone who has experienced an eviction knows these are violent affairs, shattering people’s sense of security and often pushing them into terrifying circumstances. 

Surely, we can find a better way to protect people while ensuring that landlords are treated fairly. The current practice of landlords hiring people to throw other people out into the street is little more than court sanctioned thuggery. 

Likewise, the idea that the police who are wearing body cameras because of their history of violence should then be the ones to determine when and if such images are available makes the gathering of these images meaningless.

We need justice for Sherman Lee Butler and his family and community.  But we need to create new practices and policies that place human well being at the center of how we live together.