A Step Forward
In the ongoing national debate about the role of police in our communities, Detroit was an early leader in developing methods to increase transparency and accountability. With the emergence of Black liberation struggles in the late 1950s and the increase in militarized police responses, Detroit, along with other major cities such as Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, and Kansas City established strong mechanisms for community control. These early efforts included measures to ensure public participation in the selection of the chief of police, oversight in the development of policies, and in the discipline of officers who violated citizen rights.
In 1973 Coleman A. Young ran for Mayor on a platform to control the police and abolish STRESS, which was a police initiative that terrorized the community. His opponent was the conservative police chief, John Nichols. Young launched his campaign saying, “One of the problems is that the police run the city.” He called STRESS “an execution squad” that controlled the city with a “blackjack rule of terror.” Young promised to transform the department into a “people’s police department” and championed the idea of civilian oversight and review. He was opposed by the police union, and they continued to challenge his efforts to integrate and change the department.
Our Board of Police Commissioners was forged in this struggle to place the community above the desire of the corporate power structure to control and suppress it. Since then, we have slowly seen the Board move away from its oversight functions. It has become little more than a cheerleading, propaganda arm of the police. During the takeover of Detroit, it lost all power under Emergency Management. Its status was not restored until 2015 by a vote of the city council.
It was during the period of Emergency Management that the police first established the controversial Shotspotter program.
Today the BOPC is surrounded by corruption and controversy, but there are emerging efforts to restore it as a functioning body. During the struggle against the adoption of Facial Recognition technologies, the dysfunction of the board and its unwillingness to challenge the police became clear. The most egregious moments came when the Chair, Lisa Carter, had Commission Willie Burton arrested, handcuffed, and removed during a meeting because he was speaking out against police policies. The vote of the commissioners disregarding consistent citizen opposition to the police-backed initiative brought renewed efforts to look at the role of the commission.
There are now critical areas for us to consider if the BOPC is to become a viable body and fulfill its mission as defined by our city charter. The first is that the police must share all relevant data in a variety of areas with the Board. Currently, the board is seeking information on police who have repeatedly had complaints initiated against them. Also, the BOPC wants all body camera videos of incidents involving police violence released. This is especially critical in the shooting of Porter Burks in 2022. The BOPC is considering making it standard practice to rule in favor of citizens who allege violence if officers do not provide body cam images. Finally, the BOPC deserves its own attorney so that it can properly execute the powers granted it by the Charter.
All these initiatives are being resisted by the Mayor and the Chief. The vigorousness of their efforts to undercut the BOPC initiatives to represent citizen interests indicates just how important it is for us to insist that the commission and its commissioners fulfill their responsibilities to the public. There is a long road before us as we create a city free from police power. We can take a step forward toward that goal by insisting on basic accountability.