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Eviction shooting calls for quicker release of Detroit police videos

Eviction shooting calls for quicker release of Detroit police videos

Detroit — Detroit Police Chief James White launched an initiative last year requiring the department to release videos of officer-involved shootings and other serious uses of force within 45 days, although some Detroit police commissioners and a community group have pushed for a quicker one Disclosure and civilian oversight push the process.

Members of the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability presented a proposed ordinance to the Detroit City Council last week that would require Detroit police to release videos of shootings and other critical incidents within seven days. The document is a modified version of a draft regulation written last year by the Board of Police Commissioners’ Policy Committee, although the civilian oversight board never voted to submit the proposed rules to the council for consideration.

During last Tuesday’s City Council meeting, coalition members called on the City Council to pass the decree, which “includes incidents in which a DPD member used force that resulted or could have resulted in death or bodily harm, even if there was no allegation of one.” Misconduct is raised.” “It says in the draft regulation.

According to a PowerPoint presentation from the citizens’ group, the coalition also called on the council to “adequately budget the Board of Police Commissioners to ensure staff and technical resources to administer the video sharing ordinance.” The presentation included examples of Chicago’s city ordinance, which requires police to release video footage within 60 days of an incident unless a court orders it withheld.

The legislative push comes amid calls for Detroit police officers to release body camera footage of the July 12 fatal shooting of Sherman Butler by a 36th District bailiff who was evicting the 45-year-old man from his West Side apartment. Police said Butler charged at the bailiff with a sharp weapon and a Detroit police officer who accompanied the bailiff to the apartment used his Taser before the bailiff fatally shot the man.

Michigan State Police investigated the shooting and filed a report with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. Assistant District Attorney Mark Hindelang said last week the case was still under investigation.

Butler’s death was the subject of numerous protests and calls for Detroit police officials to release bodycam video of the incident.

Detroit police officials said there were several reasons why they denied the requests.

“As a general rule, the department does not release video evidence related to fatal shootings,” Detroit police said in a statement. “Last year, Chief White implemented a new policy that specifically permitted the release of relevant video footage of DPD officer-involved shootings. This decision was not based on any regulation or state law, it was a policy decision to increase transparency and trust of the Detroit Police Department.

“Unlike other officer-involved shootings where video evidence has been released, (the Butler) incident did not involve a DPD employee using deadly force,” the Detroit Police Department statement said. “Accordingly, video evidence of this incident remains confidential in accordance with DPD procedures to ensure the integrity of the warrant filing process and any criminal prosecution efforts that may ensue.”

Police policy questioned

Victoria Camille, a member of the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability and former secretary of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, said White issued the video sharing policy without having it approved by the board, as required by the city charter.

“When I was secretary, I asked several times for the specific policy number for this policy, but they didn’t give me one,” Camille said. “There is no policy that I have ever seen.”

Detroit police officials provided the Detroit News with a telex from White on Nov. 28, 2023, ordering videos of “critical incidents, such as officer-involved shootings,” to be released within 45 days.

“The reputation of this agency … is best served by the release of a critical incident community briefing video within 45 days of the incident,” White wrote in Teletype No. 23-0734. “The video will contain three sections: an introduction by the police chief, a narration of the incident by a designated command officer and an overview of the process followed by the department’s legal counsel. The purpose of the video is to publish relevant footage of an officer-involved shooting or other critical incident to provide context through a narrative of the events.

Since the initiative came into force, police have published eight “Critical Incident Community Briefings” on their YouTube page. The most recent news conference was about the July 7 shootout between rival gang members that left two people dead and 19 others injured – the most casualties in a mass shooting in Michigan history. Although no use of force by Detroit officers was reported at the Rossini Street party, White said in the video that he was releasing the briefing because “the community has so many questions.”

In its presentation to the City Council, the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability said the video should be released without comment from Detroit police, which it said distorts the process.

“All of the context (in the video narrative) comes from the investigators, who are also responsible for building the cases for the prosecutor regarding the suspects and officers,” the group’s PowerPoint presentation said.

Camille said releasing a video with police commentary was “unethical.”

“You have a narrator telling you what you see,” she said. “So when you think about a potential jury, the police have told them what to think of the video. To me, that poses a higher risk of falsifying the case than simply publishing the video without comment.”

Detroit Police Commissioner Ricardo Moore said a city ordinance would provide necessary oversight of the video release process.

“The Detroit Police Department has an extreme case of ‘bunker mentality,'” Moore said in a text message. “There is no legal reason for them not to release information to the public. The lack of transparency is in direct contradiction to the mission statement of the Detroit Police Department…the public has a right to know.”

Moore wrote a letter to the council and Council President Mary Sheffield on Oct. 14, urging them to support the proposed ordinance. Moore wrote that when the board drafted a proposed ordinance last year, it initially required police to release videos within 21 days of incidents.

“But because the public’s trust in the department’s decision-making has diminished so much, I believe seven days is appropriate,” the former Detroit police officer wrote.

Sheffield said in a statement: “I think it is always wise to remember that we serve the people and that transparency is critical to promoting police and community trust. “I support any action that expresses these values ​​while providing protection for the public and our citizens.” Peace officers in law enforcement.”

Regulation for examination

Councilwoman Mary Waters said she is considering the proposed ordinance and other materials that the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability presented to council last week. She has an item about the Butler shooting scheduled on Tuesday’s City Council agenda.

“My staff and I will review the material they provided to us and see if we would consider sponsoring an ordinance,” Waters said. “You definitely want a community to feel safe and feel like they have a police department that is transparent and isn’t hiding anything from the public.”

Darryl Woods, chairman of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, said he plans to meet with Detroit police officials to ask the department to release videos “as soon as they can be released.”

Woods said he was not pushing for the City Council to pass an ordinance requiring the Detroit Police Department to release videos, but said, “I’m in favor of changing the policy and working with the department.”

“The charter does not give us sole authority to write a policy ourselves, nor can they write one themselves,” Woods said. “What we have now is not a formal policy; it is more of a position or special assignment. We want to talk to DPD about this and we will fight to achieve the best possible scenario in terms of transparency.”

Community activist Trische Duckworth, who has organized several protests against police brutality, said a proposed city ordinance doesn’t go far enough.

“I think these things should be regulated by state law,” Duckworth said. “I think there needs to be a rule that addresses police departments across the state, so there is a standard.”

State law requires police in Michigan to retain body-worn camera footage for 30 days. However, there are no rules governing the release of the video other than Michigan Freedom of Information Act laws, which allow police to deny requests during an ongoing investigation.

Camille said police often use ongoing investigations as an excuse to withhold information.

“We have seen that videos were released during ongoing investigations that served the purposes of the DPD or the prosecutor’s office,” she said. “Their goal is to win, but that’s not fair because they control all the information and decide what gets published and what doesn’t.”

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