Choosing Sides
Mayor Duggan and some members of the City Council are out of step with the majority of the people of Detroit. Increasingly, the Mayor and some on the Council are sounding like Donald Trump in the face of growing protests against racism and police brutality. They are accusing protestors of “terrorism” and refusing to look seriously at the issues being raised by people on the streets.
Detroit has a long history of police misconduct and failed reforms. Certainly, since the rebellion of 1967, most people in Detroit have understood that the widespread use of police power is rarely used to protect people and is always invoked to protect property and privilege. As a result, the people in the city have consistently organized to limit police power and bring public scrutiny to bear on police practices. We are among the first cities to have an elected police commission, we have a police force more reflective of the community, and organizations such as the Coalition Against Police Brutality, the National Lawyers Guild, The National Conference of Black Lawyers, Sugar Law, and the ACLU have long histories in forging public accountability of police excess.
Detroit police have been especially brutal toward those who dare to exercise their right to publicly challenge policy, police conduct or priorities. Beginning in the 1940’s Detroit police created a secret Red Squad to spy on labor organizers and protestors. Their aim was to disrupt and destroy those who challenged power and privilege. They organized spies, infiltrators and informants. In the 1960’s and 70s they worked closely with the FBI and COINTELPRO to discredit and “neutralize” activists. In 1984, after years of court battles, it was revealed that the Detroit Police, along with the State force had more than 1.5 million people in their data base.
Under Mayor Duggan we have consistently seen repressive responses to people organizing for justice. At the very beginning of the draconian water shut off process overseen by the Mayor, artists who painted Free the Water on the abandoned Highland Park water tank were threatened with $75,000 in fines and up to 4 years in prison. Later the Homrich 9, a group of activists who blocked trucks from leaving the depot to shut off water, spent nearly 3 years in court before all charges were finally dismissed. Baxter Jones, one of the protesters, has continued to struggle against the brutal treatment he received as he and his wheelchair were shoved into the police van.
Most recently the Detroit police have been aggressively ticketing young people who gathered during the stay at home order. The first response by the police to the public protests against the killing of George Floyd was unwarranted aggression.
All of this history is why the public tribunal held this week by those engaged in protests was essential. Speakers gathered in Hart Plaza to share their experiences and put the police on notice that such aggression will not be tolerated.
The public conversation about redirecting funds and demilitarizing the police is just beginning. Defunding the police is being put in practice and ideas of abolition of police all together are spreading as people come to understand how destructive police forces are. National polls are now showing that 75% of the people agree with “proposals to move some money currently going to police budgets into better officer training, local programs for homelessness, mental health assistance, and domestic violence.”
We are in a moment of renewed imagination and possibilities about how we can live together more responsibly. It is time for people to choose sides.