Feb 24, 2026 City Commission Meeting

[CALL TO ORDER]

[00:00:09]

AS IS OUR WANT, I WOULD ASK YOU TO JOIN US BY BEGINNING OF THE MEETING WITH A MOMENT OF SILENCE. PLEASE JOIN US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU, MR. CLARK. IF YOU CALL THE ROLL. COMMISSIONER KILGORE, PRESENT.

[ROLL CALL]

MAYOR. LE GRAND. YES. COMMISSIONER PERDUE IS UNDERWAY. ALL RIGHT, SO WE EXPECT COMMISSIONER PERDUE MOMENTARILY. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR A MOTION TO EXCUSE COMMISSIONER ROBINSON. SO MOVED. SUPPORT. THANK YOU. THIS BRINGS US TO PARDON. ALL RIGHT, ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. THAT BRINGS US TO OUR NEXT ITEM. IF OUR INTERPRETER COULD COME UP AND INTRODUCE THEMSELVES, WE HAVE AN INTERPRETER FOR SPANISH, ENGLISH AND ENGLISH TO SPANISH AS NECESSARY. SO IF YOU CAN SAY THAT IN SPANISH, THAT'D BE GREAT. BUENAS NOCHES. ESTAMOS AQUI PARA OFRECER NUESTROS SERVICIOS INTERPRETACION INGLÉS.

ESPANOL ESPANOL INGLÉS. MIENTRAS ESTA LA REUNION PARA LOS COMENTARIOS PUBLICOS

[PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS]

THIS IS PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA. SO IF YOU COULD INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US WHERE YOU LIVE AND TELL US WHAT ITEM ON THE AGENDA YOU'RE ADDRESSING, WE'D WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS. ARE YOU DOING. HOW Y'ALL DOING? I'M D JONES, SPEAKING ON THE RESOLUTION OF YOU GUYS CHANGING YOUR PRELIMINARY, PRELIMINARY, PRELIMINARY FISCAL PLAN STARTED IN DECEMBER. AS YOU GUYS HAVE INVESTED INTO 3D PRINTING, CONSTRUCTION OR NOT, AND NOT DIRECTLY INVESTED INTO IT, BUT ACTUALLY ADOPTED IT INTO ITS PLAN UNTIL 2031 BECAUSE OF ME, I WOULD LIKE FOR THE CITY TO ACTUALLY INVEST INTO POTENTIAL 3D PRINTERS. SPECIAL MEETING AM I IN ORDER IF MY IMMORTAL DATE IT? WELL, IF YOU'RE TALKING. IF YOU'RE ADDRESSING OR CHANGING THE DATE, IF YOU WANT TO. IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO OUR CHANGING THE DATE OF THE MEETING, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. ALL RIGHT. COOL. SO I WOULD LIKE FOR Y'ALL TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS AT A TIME WHERE THE COMMUNITY CAN ACTUALLY GIVE FEEDBACK OR LISTEN TO THESE PRELIMINARY FISCAL BUDGET SESSIONS THAT YOU GUYS GIVE, BECAUSE THIS IS THE CITY'S FISCAL THIS IS THE CITY'S TAXES. I BELIEVE THAT THE COMMUNITY SHOULD DEFINITELY BE ENGAGED AND HIGHLY ENGAGED AND GIVE FEEDBACK ON THE PRELIMINARY, PRELIMINARY BUDGET. IT'S A LOT, BUT I WOULD REALLY LIKE FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GET ENGAGED, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. YOU GUYS DO CONTROL THE BUDGET FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, SO I WOULD LIKE FOR THE CITY TO DIRECTLY THE COMMUNITY TO DIRECTLY BE ENGAGED. ONCE YOU GUYS CHANGE THOSE DATES, CHANGE IT TO A DATE WHERE THE COMMUNITY CAN ACTUALLY COME AND GIVE FEEDBACK.

IF YOU GUYS COULD BE REALLY TRANSPARENT AND LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE OR SOCIAL OUTLETS, WE'D LIKE TO KNOW WHEN THOSE PRELIMINARY SESSIONS ARE HAPPENING SO WE CAN GIVE YOU GUYS DIRECT FEEDBACK ON THE BUDGET. I BELIEVE WE SHOULD HAVE SOME TYPE OF BRING BACK PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING, BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE COMMUNITY SHOULD DIRECTLY BE ENGAGED ON THE DATES. IF YOU GUYS CHANGE THE DATES FOR THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET SESSION SO WE CAN GIVE DIRECT FEEDBACK ON THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WHAT THE FUNDING SHOULD LOOK LIKE, FUNDING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH THE TRAGIC THINGS THAT'S BEEN GOING ON. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING MAYOR. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS STAFF, MY FELLOW CITIZENS. I'M DANIEL SCOTT, LONG TIME RESIDENT OF THE CITY. MY REAL IDENTITY IS I'M A FOLLOWER OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE RESOLUTIONS TWO AND THREE. I SEE IT'S ON THE AGENDA AGAIN. SO LET ME GIVE YOU A WARNING FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE AGAIN. SOME NEW SCRIPTURES THAT I HAVEN'T SHARED BEFORE. BUT THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS IN HIS WORD ABOUT MAKING AND SELLING AND USING ALCOHOL. THE DRUNKARD SHALL COME TO POVERTY. LIKE I SAID

[00:05:05]

LIKE THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER, I DIDN'T PLAN ON SAYING ANYTHING, BUT SINCE LONG ROADS LEGAL AFFAIRS WITH THE CITY ARE NOW ON THE TABLE, LET'S POP THAT CORK. I ACTUALLY DISAGREE WITH BOTH THE PREVIOUS SPEAKERS. ONE RESPECTFULLY ONE. DEFINITELY NOT. POVERTY. I CAME HERE BECAUSE OF BEER CITY USA. TAX MONEY THAT I SPEND ON THAT GOES TO THE OPPOSITE OF POVERTY AND YOU CREATE JOBS WITH THAT BUSINESS. DAVID, I'VE GOT TOTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE BOYCOTT.

MAKES PERFECT SENSE. I'VE QUIBBLED ABOUT HOW IT'S BEEN EXECUTED. THAT'S NOT PART OF THE DISCUSSION. THE RIDICULOUS CONTORTING OF INVISIBLE SKY WIZARD WORDS IN OLD BOOKS WRITTEN BY GAY SCRIBES THAT WERE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES UNDER AN OPPRESSIVE KING LONG AGO. THOSE ARE REALLY NOT A WAY TO COME AT TELLING YOU WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD HAVE A BUSINESS GETTING THE THINGS THAT OTHER BUSINESSES GET, SO I KNOW HOW MUCH IT WRINKLES WEST MICHIGAN'S IMMATURE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE FOR ME TO BOTH SUPPORT AND OPPOSE SOMEONE'S AFFAIRS. BUT I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH YOU INCREASING PRODUCTION. AND AS A BRAND SNOB, I THINK YOUR BRAND'S PRETTY GREAT. I'M PRETTY PRETTY JUDGMENTAL ABOUT THAT STUFF.

AND YOU DO A GOOD JOB WITH THAT BUSINESS ON THAT. AND I WOULD SUPPORT WHAT'S HAPPENING BECAUSE OF THAT GROWTH. SO THERE YOU GO. THE PRIME YOU UP FOR LATER WHEN I'M NOT QUITE AS NICE TO YOU. MY NAME IS EMMA. I LIVE IN GRAND RAPIDS. I ECHO JOHN'S COMMENTS ABOUT BOYCOTTING LONG ROAD DISTILLERY AND IT KIND OF BAFFLES ME. IT SEEMS LIKE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST THAT THE CITY SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN IT AT ALL, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE TIES

[00:10:08]

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

THIS IS MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY 10TH. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED?

[PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS]

[REPORTS OF CITY OFFICERS]

[CONSENT AGENDA APPROVAL]

[ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT]

DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED. IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SUPPORTED. COMMISSIONER BELCIK. YES. THIS IS A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH AN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT FOR LONG ROAD TO DISTILLERS AT 1750 ELIZABETH AVENUE NORTHWEST. IT IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXPANDING THEIR INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES, AND THEY WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR AN INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE FOR LONG ROAD DISTILLERS. AND THE APPLICATION MORE FULLY DESCRIBES WHAT THEY ARE DOING OUT AND THE PROJECT. AND I WILL NOTE THAT THE SECOND ITEM WILL BE RELATED TO THIS AS WELL. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? AGAIN, WE DISCUSSED

[00:15:02]

I DID MENTION THE EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE WHICH THIS MORE FULLY DETAILS. IT IS A 12 YEAR INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE FOR THE SAME ADDRESS FOR THE PROJECT OF EXPANDING THEIR CANNERY. AND THAT WILL BE A $680,000 PROJECT. IT IS GOING TO INCLUDE A TASTING ROOM, OR THEY CURRENTLY HAVE A TASTING ROOM AND A RESTAURANT. AND SO THIS WILL BE EXPANDING THAT TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL DISTILLERY CAPACITY, THE INSTALLATION OF THE CANNING LINE AND READY TO DRINK PRODUCTS THAT WILL COME FROM THAT. IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, THERE IS MORE INFORMATION IN THE PACKAGE. I THINK THAT SHOULD COVER US.

THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER, SEEING AND HEARING NO OTHER ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON THIS COMPANION ITEM. I'LL ALSO CALL THIS QUESTION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ITEM CARRIES.

SO WITH THAT, OUR CITY CLERK IS CALLING THE MAYOR BACK UP TO CONTINUE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM, WHICH ARE THE ORDINANCES. WE HAVE ONE TO BE ADOPTED AND CONSIDERED. THANK YOU.

[1. Ordinance adopting a Major Amendment to a Planned Redevelopment District at 1150 Adams Avenue SE]

THANK YOU, MR. CLARK. COMMISSIONER. PURDUE. YES, COMMISSIONER. KNIGHT. YES, MR. BOUCEK. YES, COMMISSIONER. KILGORE. YES, COMMISSIONER. YES, MAYOR. LAGRANGE. YES. AND THE MOTION CARRIES HAVING NO RESOLUTIONS IN FRONT OF US AND NO PUBLIC HEARINGS. THIS MOVES

[PUBLIC COMMENTS]

[00:20:05]

AND MY OTHER COUSIN, HIS BROTHER, WAS ALSO KILLED IN THE STREETS IN CHICAGO. I'M FROM CHICAGO. IT'S VERY BAD OUT THERE. AND FOR TO, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO BE A PERSON THAT HAS A COUSIN THAT WAS KILLED BY A STATE POLICE OFFICER AND THE COUSIN KILLED IN THE STREETS.

LIKE, WE NEED ECONOMIC CHANGE. WE NEED TO UNPLUG SOME OF THESE DEEP ROOTED SEEDS THAT ARE DEFINITELY KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY IMPOVERISHED AND HAVING HIGH CRIME POVERTY AREAS LIKE WE GOT HIGH POLICE IN HIGH CRIME, POVERTY AREAS AND HIGH AREAS. SOMETIMES IT'S NOT EVEN A CRIME. SOMETIMES THE POLICE ARE KIND OF INVOKING THIS AND ESCALATING THIS STUFF AND WE NEED REAL INVESTMENT. I WAS THERE AT THE GROUNDBREAKING FOR THE CENTER. I GOT TO SPEAK TO YOU GUYS AND IT WAS COOL. BUT WE NEED THAT CONTINUOUS ECONOMIC INVESTMENT AND WE NEED REAL POLICY CHANGE. WE NEED POLICY CHANGE ON THE DOGS. BECAUSE WHY ARE DOGS EATING AT PEOPLE'S NECKS AFTER THEY'VE BEEN SHOT AND THEIR HANDS ARE BEHIND THEIR BACK? Y'ALL NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT. ALL YOU POLICE OFFICERS, Y'ALL SHOULD BE DOING BETTER. Y'ALL SHOULD TRY TO BE THE STANDARD OF A POLICE OFFICER. SET A BETTER STANDARD BECAUSE THE STANDARDS. YOUR SETTING IS EMBARRASSING. IT'S EMBARRASSING AS A BLACK PERSON, AS A CONSTITUENT THAT LIVE HERE AND GOT TO SEE BLACK PEOPLE GET EXECUTED. Y'ALL SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED OF YOURSELF. SLAVE PATROL POLICE IS REALLY SLAVE PATROL. ACTUALLY. DO THE COMMUNITY POLICING ACTUALLY GET TO KNOW US? GET TO KNOW BLACK PEOPLE BEYOND THE SURFACE BECAUSE ALL OF US GOT A SOUL IN THE SPIRIT. GET TO KNOW US. THANK YOU. SO BEFORE I GET INTO IT, JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR DOING THIS. I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO RECEIVE A BIT OF A PUBLIC FLOGGING TONIGHT WITH ALL THE COMMENTS, BUT, YOU KNOW, I REALIZED HOW WORKING IN THIS FIELD, I UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT IT IS, THE JOB YOU ALL DO AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT YOU HAVE TO FACE AS A CONSEQUENCE OF YOUR DECISIONS. ANYWAY, I'VE MET MOST OF YOU.

IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER ME, I'M WESLEY, I'M IN THE FIRST WARD. WHAT I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU ALL ABOUT AS A FIRST WARD RESIDENT IS THE VACANCY THAT IS OBVIOUSLY COMING UP. I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T REPEAT THE MISTAKE OF THE PAST. I KNOW YOU MET AT THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE EARLIER THIS MORNING THAT WE DON'T HAVE A QUOTE UNQUOTE KIND OF CARETAKER THAT WE APPOINT. I WANT TO MAKE SURE MY WARD, WE APPOINT SOMEBODY WHO ACTUALLY WANTS TO BE THERE, AND WE DON'T EITHER LEAVE IT VACANT OR WE LEAVE IT, OR WE MAKE SURE SOMEBODY WHO PLANS ON RUNNING AND COMMITS TO RUNNING. AND THE REASON BEING IS WITH RESTRICTIVE TERM LIMITS. BY THE TIME YOU LEARN WHERE THE BATHROOM IS, YOU'RE ALREADY OUT THE DOOR. AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. I WANT MY CITY COMMISSIONER TO BE SOMEBODY WHO GETS THESE NEXT 6 OR 7 MONTHS, THAT THEY CAN GO AND KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING, BECOME AN EXPERT SO THAT WHEN JANUARY 1ST COMES, THEY'RE ALREADY READY THEIR EXPERIENCE AND READY TO GO. BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, WITH THESE TERM LIMITS, I KNOW IT'S A WHOLE OTHER THING WITH TERM LIMITS. AND IT'S A DIFFERENT DEBATE. PEOPLE ALREADY, BY THE TIME THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE AND REALLY KNOW HOW THE CITY WORKS, THEY'RE ALREADY GONE. SO I WANT TO GIVE THEM THE BEST CHANCE POSSIBLE. SO JUST MAKE SURE WHEN YOU APPOINT SOMEBODY, APPOINT SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO BE THERE AND WILL COMMIT TO YOU THAT THEY WILL RUN. AND LAST OF ALL, DON'T LEAVE IT OPEN. WORST CASE SCENARIO, THEY'RE JUST TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. MY NAME IS EMMA, AND I JUST WANT TO START WITH A BLESSING OVER DEQUAN. THIS IS FROM A BOOK WHERE SHE'S A BLACK WOMAN. IS RECOGNIZING HER KINSHIP TO WHALES THAT ARE HUNTED AND OTHER BLACK PEOPLE.

ALL MY LOVE TO THE HUNTED, THE TRADED, THE BETRAYED, ALL MY LOVE TO THE HAUNTING, THE DISCIPLINED, THE DISCREET. I KNOW WHAT IT IS TO BE SOMEBODY'S NIGHTMARE ALL DAY.

BUT WHEN I DREAM YOU, YOU ARE FREE. AND YOUR WINGS ARE UNHIDDEN. AND YOUR FACE RELAXES.

[00:25:02]

I'VE BEEN IN FRONT OF SOME OF YOUR FACES MANY TIMES, BUT I SAY THIS BECAUSE I KNOW GIVING GRIEF A VOICE IS WHAT KEEPS US ALIVE. YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF THREE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT, AMONG OTHERS, TRULY AFFECT WHETHER PEOPLE LIVE OR DIE. AND THAT IS HOUSING, POLICING. AND THAT IS NOT THOSE ADOPTING THOSE POLICIES THAT COSECHA HAS PUT FORTH. AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW ALSO THAT THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF DEATHS THAT ARE COME FROM THESE POLICIES. THERE ARE THESE MASSACRES THAT THAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK, BUT THERE'S ALSO THE SLOW DEATHS THAT HAPPEN. THERE ARE THOSE DEATHS THAT HAPPEN BECAUSE OF THE EXPOSURE TO THE COLD. THERE ARE THOSE DEATHS THAT HAPPEN BECAUSE OF TRAUMA AND THE IMPACT ON THE BODY. THERE ARE THE DEATHS THAT HAPPEN, THAT ARE HIDDEN, THAT WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT BECAUSE THEY DON'T MAKE THE NEWS. AND I NEED YOU TO KNOW THAT BECAUSE YOU WERE FUZE REFUSE TO TO. WE HAVE BEEN ASKING TO ABOLISH POLICE. YOU HAVEN'T EVEN YOU'VE BEEN INCREASING YOU HAVEN'T EVEN YOU HAVE NOT LISTENED. AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED. ANOTHER GRUESOME DEATH THAT IS ON YOU, THAT IS ON YOU. MY NAME IS JOHN. I LIVE IN THE THIRD WARD. SINCE PATRICK WAS KILLED, I'VE BEEN A BOOTS ON THE GROUND ACTIVIST IN THE GRAND RAPIDS BLACK LIVES MATTER COMMUNITY. I'M AN ABOLITIONIST. I BELIEVE IN THE ABOLITION OF ICE. I BELIEVE IN THE ABOLITION OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. I BELIEVE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WAS FOUNDED ON STOLEN LAND. AND WE SHOULD GIVE THE LAND BACK. WHEN A BLACK PERSON IS KILLED BY THE POLICE IN GRAND RAPIDS, I MAKE AN EFFORT TO BE A VISIBLE PRESENCE OF SUPPORT TO THE FAMILY OF THOSE WHO WERE KILLED, SO THAT THE PARENTS OF PATRICK LYOYA, SAMUEL STERLING, RILEY DOGGETT AND DAQUAN JOHNSON KNOW THAT THIS MAN FROM THE COMMUNITY CAME TO BE HERE FOR ME, TO STAND WITH ME, TO SHOW THAT HE LOVES ME AND CARES WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SON. I GO WITH THE ONLY INTENTION OF MAKING SURE THAT THEY KNOW I WAS THERE, AND I WAS THERE FOR THEM, SO THAT THEY AREN'T CARRYING THE PAIN ALONE. HE'S MEANT TO BE TRULY BE TRYING TO BRING YOU TO THE EDUCATION OF LIVING AMONG THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE. THIS IS AN INVITATION TO YOU AND THE ROOM.

BEING IN THE ROOM WITH THEM AND HEARING WHAT THEY ARE FEELING AND WHAT THEY ARE THINKING AND HOW THEY SEE THINGS. THEN I'M ABLE TO ACT WITH CARE AND COMPASSION. THEN I'M ABLE TO MOVE WITH THE FAMILY, LIVE AMONG THE FAMILY, SHARE THEIR BURDEN. THEN I HAVE SOME CLUE HOW TO ACT IN THE INTEREST OF ON BEHALF OF. AT THE REQUEST OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING MOST IN THE ROOM, LIVING AMONG, BEING IN COMMUNITY WITH THOSE WHO ARE AFFECTED BY THE MOST.

INJUSTICE IS THE WORK, AND IT'S HOW YOU LEARN THE WORK. YOU NEED TO BE NEAR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HURTING SO THAT THEIR HEART IS RESONATING WITH YOURS. LIKE A TUNING FORK, YOU NEED TO GET YOURSELF IN TUNE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HURTING, OR YOU'LL SAY THINGS THAT SOUND TONE DEAF LIKE YOU DID. MAYOR, YESTERDAY YOU SAID YOU'RE ON A TOTALLY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.

YOU'RE CHANGING THE SUBJECT. THE PAIN OF THE COMMUNITY WHERE THE POLICE SHOOT PEOPLE IN THE BACK OF THE HEADS AND GET AWAY WITH IT. YOU'RE CHANGING THE SUBJECT. WE ARE GRIEVING HERE.

WE ARE SCARED AND SAD, AND SOME OF US STAND WITH THE FAMILY. AND IT'S NOT Y'ALL. WE NEED TO TAKE THE VOICE OF THOSE MARGINALIZED TO THE DARKEST CORNERS OF INJUSTICE AND SUFFERING, AND MOVE THEM TO THE CENTER. THEY HAVE THE ANSWERS WE NEED FULL STOP. PERIOD. WE AREN'T HELPING PEOPLE IF THEIR VOICES AREN'T LEADING US. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO COULD TRULY

[00:30:01]

JUSTICE FOR DAYQUAN TREY JOHNSON. THERE'S A RALLY THIS SATURDAY, AND THE COPS ARE GOING TO BE WATCHING IT BECAUSE BLACK ACTIVISTS, EVEN RIGHT NOW ARE IN JAIL FOR MONTHS FOR PROTESTING ALL THE WHITE PROTESTERS IN HERE. YOU GOT THE PRIVILEGE TO PROTEST BECAUSE GUYS IN JAIL AND YOU AIN'T BEEN STANDING WITH CHI, THE WHITE FOLKS IN THIS TOWN. PERIOD.

JUSTICE FOR ALL STOLEN LIVES.

LUCAS JR KNOW WHAT THESE ARE? YEAH. YOU DO LICENSE PLATE TABS. THESE ARE MINE FROM A YEAR AGO, WHEN I DECIDED TO START AN EXPERIMENT TO SEE HOW LONG I, AS A WHITE DUDE, COULD DRIVE AROUND WITHOUT THEM AND NOT GET PULLED OVER. LAST YEAR, WORKING ALL THE WAY ACROSS TOWN FIVE DAYS A WEEK, DRIVING THROUGH 4 OR 5 DIFFERENT POLICE JURISDICTIONS. I WAS NEVER STOPPED OR QUESTIONED ONCE, BUT PLEASE DO KEEP TELLING US THAT THERE'S NO RACIAL OR CLASS BIAS IN POLICING. I BET IF I STARTED RIDING MY BIKE AROUND WITH A GUN ON ME, NOBODY WOULD CALL.

BUT IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, GRPD HAS KILLED ON TWO OUT OF THREE CALLS FOR SIMPLY BEING BLACK AND HAVING A FIREARM, SUPPOSEDLY IN A STATE WHERE THAT IN ITSELF IS NOT ILLEGAL.

SPEAKING OF RACISM, LET'S TALK ABOUT DOGS. AS A WHITE GUY FROM THE SOUTH, I GOTTA SAY THAT WHEN I SEE A BLACK MAN RUNNING AWAY HAVING DOGS SICKED ON THEM, IT'S REMINISCENT OF THE PLANTATIONS OF THE OLD SOUTH WITH AN E. DELBERT RELEASED THE HOUNDS THAT BOY IS RUNNING. I CONCUR WITH THOSE WHO'VE CALLED FOR DRASTIC CHANGE IN THE DOG POLICY OF GRPD. I ALSO JOIN WITH THOSE WHO ARE VERY TIRED OF LISTENING TO A GROUP WHO DOESN'T EVEN RANK AMONG THE TOP 15 TO 20 MOST DANGEROUS PROFESSIONS BELLYACHE ABOUT HOW THEY SUPPOSEDLY FEARED FOR THEIR LIVES WHILE NESTLED SNUG IN THEIR BODY ARMOR. MAYOR, YOU URGE PEOPLE LAST NIGHT TO HAVE IDEAS RATHER THAN JUST COMPLAINING, BUT IDEAS ARE ALWAYS REBUKED BY COPS AS A CODDLED CLASS HIDING BEHIND ENDLESS EXCUSES, RED TAPE, ASSORTED JINGOISTIC MYTHOS AND AN ENDLESS PECKER MEASURING MACHISMO. LOOK, DAVID, I GET IT. YOU'RE INSULTED AND MAYBE A LITTLE BUTTHURT THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME WILL COME UP HERE AND GET ON YOU ABOUT YOUR PROMISES.

I SAW THE FACEBOOK UNFRIENDING. I READ THE COLD STOIC HANDSHAKE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, BUT YOU'RE THE ONE THAT PROMISED TO TAKE ON POLICING AS AN ISSUE IN YOUR CAMPAIGN, AND THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE ARRESTING PEOPLE ALL THE TIME FOR EVERY LITTLE THING. AND THEN YOU WENT AND MADE A VIDEO CARRYING WATER FOR EXACTLY THAT. NOBODY'S TRYING TO BELITTLE PROGRESS ON STUFF LIKE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES, BUT I CAN GUARANTEE YOU THAT HAS NEVER SAVED A LIFE. AND IMAGINE HOW MUCH FASTER YOU COULD MOVE IF YOU STOPPED CARING ABOUT WEALTHY PUPPET MASTERS AND FEELINGS AND EGOS IN THIS BUILDING. BESIDES, UNTIL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FOR ALL THOSE APPOINTEES IS A THING, THIS IS NOTHING BUT POLITICAL THEATER. SO I REITERATE MY QUESTION FROM LAST NIGHT THAT YOU DODGED ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL POLITICAL CAPITAL. YOU'RE UNIQUE. YOU CAN PUSH BACK. YOU'RE BETTER EQUIPPED THAN ANY PRIOR MAYOR TO THROW SOME ELBOWS. WHAT KEEPS YOU FROM FLEXING? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE. TONIGHT. I'M NOT STAYING. FOR WHATEVER GASLIGHTING EMPTINESS COMES OFF THE DAIS. I'M MAKING ROOM FOR SOMEBODY ELSE TO COME UPSTAIRS HERE TO THIS PODIUM. THIS HAS ALREADY DONE ENOUGH FOR MY MENTAL HEALTH. AND IT'S ONLY A FREAKING TUESDAY. MY NAME IS CHARLIE SNEDEKER. I'M A LIFELONG RESIDENT OF KENT COUNTY. THE STATISTICS AND FACTS I'M PRESENTING HERE TONIGHT ARE COMPILED FROM THE NONPROFIT POLICE SCOREBOARD PROJECT, WHICH IS A NATIONWIDE PUBLIC EVALUATION OF POLICING IN THE US. DATA IS TAKEN FROM OVER 16,000 MUNICIPAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, WHICH HAVE POPULATIONS RANGING FROM 100,000 TO 250,000. THIS DATA IS COMPILED AND SCORES ARE ASSIGNED BY FOR VARIOUS CATEGORIES RANGING FROM 0 TO 100. USING EXCESSIVE FORCE. A HIGHER SCORE OF 100 INDICATES A POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT USES REASONABLE FORCE. GRAND RAPIDS SCORES A 25 ON FORCE BEING USED PER ARREST. 100 REPRESENTS REASONABLE FORCE. GRAND RAPIDS

[00:35:05]

GRAND RAPIDS SCORES A 29 RACIAL DISPARITIES IN DRUG ARRESTS. GRAND RAPIDS SCORES 25. BLACK PEOPLE IN GRAND RAPIDS ARE ALMOST 5% MORE LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED FOR A LOW LEVEL, NONVIOLENT OFFENSE THAN A WHITE PERSON. OVER 85% OF THE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS ARE WHITE. IN 2025, THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS WAS INVESTIGATING 28 DIFFERENT COMPLAINTS AGAINST GRPD IN 20. IN 2024, 51 CLASS A COMPLAINTS WERE SUBMITTED TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS AT GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT, WHICH INCLUDED EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE AND RACIAL PROFILING. THESE ARE PUBLIC FACTS AVAILABLE TO ANYONE WITH A COMPUTER. SO THE QUESTION I HAVE TONIGHT FOR MR. WASHINGTON AND THE GRAND RAPIDS CITY COMMISSION IS, NUMBER ONE, IS IT NOT OBVIOUS GRPD IS GUILTY OF USING EXCESSIVE FORCE DURING PUBLIC INTERACTIONS.

NUMBER TWO, IS IT NOT APPARENT THAT GRPD OFFICERS ARE NOT BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE? NUMBER THREE, IS IT NOT REASONABLE TO ASSUME THAT BLATANT RACISM EXISTS IN GRPD? AND NUMBER FOUR, WHY ARE YOU NOT ADDRESSING AND SOLVING THESE PROBLEMS? THANK YOU.

LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS. I'VE GIVEN THE MAYOR AND THE COMMISSIONERS A PICTURE OF A YOUNG MAN NAMED DEANDRE, WHO HAD HIS MOUTH BIT OFF. BY A POLICE DOG. WE ALSO SAW THAT THE QUAN WAS MAULED, AND WHEN I WAS AT THE FUNERAL HOME WITH HIS MOTHER, WE GOT TO SEE A DOG MARKS THAT WE BELIEVE MAY EVEN CONTINUED AFTER HE WAS DECEASED. SO ON MAYOR'S MONDAY, WHEN I BEGIN TO SAY THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A REVIEW, DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT MAYOR LA GRANDE HAS HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS AND SPARKED UP SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE CANINE, SO I WANT TO DEFINITELY GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR THE MEETINGS THAT HE HAD WITH US IN THE COMMUNITY. BUT TODAY I WROTE THIS TO SEND TO YOU BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE YEARS TO WORK ON THIS. WE HAVE TO WORK ON THIS NOW. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS PICTURE, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY OUR COMMUNITY IS READY TO IMPLODE. I'M WRITING TO FORMALLY REQUEST A CONSENSUS, A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS CANINE DEPLOYMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES, RECENT INCIDENTS AND ONGOING COMMUNITY CONCERNS UNDERSCORE THE NEED FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND EVALUATION REGARDING THE USE OF POLICE CANINES. SPECIFICALLY, I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT THE CITY UNDERTAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS. DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW.

GATHERING PUBLICLY ASSESSED DATA RELATED TO CANINE DEPLOYMENTS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FREQUENCY AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF CANINE DEVELOPMENT. DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED, NATURE AND SEVERITY OF INJURIES OR FATALITIES. OUTCOMES OF INCIDENTS INVOLVING CANINE USE. NUMBER TWO TRAINING STANDARDS AND PRACTICE. CONDUCT A REVIEW OF TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR BOTH CANINE HANDLERS AND NON HANDLER OFFICERS, PARTICULARLY AS IT PERTAINS TO DECISION MAKING AROUND CANINE DEPLOYMENT.

DE-ESCALATION ALTERNATIVES, COORDINATION BETWEEN CANINE UNITS AND PATROL OFFICERS.

NUMBER THREE POLICY EVALUATION AND REFORM EXAMINE EXISTING CANINE POLICIES TO IDENTIFY PROVISIONS THAT MAY ELEVATE THE RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. WITH SUCH RISK IDENTIFIED, I URGE THE CITY TO PURSUE POLICY CHANGES THAT PRIORITIZE PRESERVATION OF LIFE PROPORTIONAL RESPONSES AND CONSTITUTIONAL POLICIES. THE USE OF POLICE CANINES CARRY INHERENT RISK AND IS INCUMBENT UPON US AS PUBLIC SERVANTS TO ENSURE THESE POLICIES GOVERNING

[00:40:04]

[00:45:02]

I WANT TO SAY FIRST OFF, I SEND MY DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO MRS. JOHNSON. AND THEN I WANT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME ON THE NIGHT OF JANUARY 5TH, WHICH WAS NOT RIGHT. IT WAS UNLAWFUL. AND I FEEL AS IF I WILL NEVER LOOK THE SAME. I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO THINK THE SAME. EVERY TIME I GO TO SLEEP AT NIGHT, I THINK ABOUT THE SAME THING. YOU KNOW HOW BIG THAT DOG MOUTH OPENED WHEN IT BIT ME IN MY FACE? THEY DON'T KNOW THAT. THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT. EVERY TIME I GOTTA LOOK AT ONE OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS, HOW MY MAMA FEELING ABOUT THIS, HOW MY DADDY FEELING. I CAN'T TELL MY DADDY ABOUT THIS. MY DADDY GOT STAGE FOUR CANCER RIGHT NOW. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? I CAN'T TELL MY DADDY NOTHING ABOUT THIS. BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHY? IT MIGHT CAUSE HIM. IT MIGHT CAUSE DISTRESS ON HIM.

YOU KNOW, I WENT THROUGH SO, SO, SO MUCH HERE. AND IT HURTS ME. IT HURTS ME DEEPLY TO KNOW THAT THAT HAPPENED TO ME. I NEVER IN MY LIFE WOULD THINK SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT I AM. I'M A I'M A HAPPY INDIVIDUAL. I TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE. YOU CAN ASK AROUND. EVEN IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS, I LOOK OUT FOR EVERYBODY. SO WHY ME? WHY ME? ESPECIALLY WHEN I'M COMPLIANT. WHEN MY HANDS ARE OUT OF MY WINDOW. WHY? NO REASON. IT'S GOING TO GET QUIET JUST AS SUCH. SO NOW I'M HERE DEMANDING THE ANSWERS. I'M NOT HERE FOR PEACE.

I'M NOT HERE FOR NONE OF THAT. I'M HERE FOR RESULTS. I DEMAND RESULTS. IF THEY CAN'T GIVE ME THAT, THEN HEY, SO BE IT. I AIN'T GOT NOTHING ELSE TO SAY, MAN. HELLO? HELLO, EVERYONE SITTING UP THERE. I'M GOING TO PRAY FOR ALL THE FAMILIES THAT ARE GOING THROUGH LOSING A LOVED ONE. IT'S A LOT. AND EVERYONE'S, LIKE, ANGRY BECAUSE IT'S LIKE WE'RE NOT BEING HEARD.

I AM 49. I FIGHT A LOT OF CASES DOWNTOWN AT THE COURTHOUSE BECAUSE MY PEOPLE GET PULLED OVER AND GET CHARGES THAT ARE SO RIDICULOUS. SO I ASKED THEM ALL TO FIGHT THEIR CASES, DO NOT PLEAD GUILTY TO THE CHARGES THAT THEY PUT ON US PURPOSELY KNOWING THAT DOWN THE LINE, WHEN YOU WANT TO DO BETTER, IT MESSES UP YOUR CRIMINAL HISTORY. THEN WE HAVE TO FIGHT TO CORRECT OUR RECORDS. IT'S LIKE WE'RE BEING SEEN FROM THE OUTSIDE AND NOT THE INSIDE. A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF, GREW UP IN THE INNER CITY. A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT JUDGE THE INNER CITY NEVER BEEN THERE, NEVER LIVED THERE. NONE OF Y'ALL REALLY KNOW THE STRUGGLE. SO YES, WE'RE GOING TO FIGHT AGAINST A LOT AND I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT. I PRAY FOR THESE FAMILIES. IT'S PAINFUL. AND THEN IT'S LIKE WE LOOK AT ALL OF Y'ALL, EVEN THE POLICE.

THE POLICE PULLED ME OVER 15 TIMES IN ONE WEEK AND ASKED ME WHERE WAS I GOING? WHY IS IT THEIR BUSINESS, WHERE AM I GOING? AND I WORK FOR THE STATE OF MICHIGAN. ONCE THEY SEE THAT I RUN WORK FOR THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, GUESS WHAT THEY DO? OH, YOU HAVE A GOOD NIGHT, MA'AM. WHAT? THEY STOP YOU AND ASK YOU? IT'S LIKE I ASKED SOME OFFICERS ONE NIGHT. DO THEY KNOW THAT THEY'RE INTIMIDATING THE PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS? AND THEY TOLD ME, YES, THAT'S A PROBLEM. THAT'S A PROBLEM. BUT EVERYBODY WANT RESPECT FROM THE INNER CITY. HOW DO YOU WANT RESPECT WHEN YOU'RE NOT SHOWING US ANY RESPECT? NO ONE DOWNTOWN EVER HAS THE RIGHT ANSWERS.

MAYBE YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW THE ANSWERS. WE DON'T KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS. BUT WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR WHAT WE KNOW IS BIASED AGAINST US AS A COMMUNITY. IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS. IT'S LIKE OUR VOICES, OUR SCREAMS, OUR CRIES ARE NOT BEING HEARD UNTIL IT HITS. ONE OF YOU GUYS IS HOMES. YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT WE AS A COMMUNITY GO THROUGH. SO I ASK ALL OF Y'ALL DO BETTER. THE POLICE ARE AGGRESSIVE. THEY NEED IN WHAT I'VE LEARNED. A LOT OF THEM HAVE CRIMINAL HISTORIES. THEY'VE BEEN VIOLENT IN THEIR PAST, BUT EVERY TIME WE GET PULLED OVER OR SOMETHING HAPPENS WITH US WHERE WE SOMETHING GOES ON WITH US, EVEN IF WE GET MURDERED, EVERYONE IS QUICK TO BRING UP OUR CRIMINAL HISTORY, OUR PAST. EVERYONE HAS A PAST, INCLUDING DOWNTOWN. A LOT OF THEM ARE VERY VIOLENT AND AGGRESSIVE, SO SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE UNTIL THEY KILL ONE OF YOURS. NOT KNOWING THAT ONE OF YOU GUYS WORKING IN THE OFFICE OR DOWNTOWN. HELLO, I'M MATTHEW SCOTT. I'VE BEEN I'VE BEEN HERE. AND YOU'VE

[00:50:16]

BUT WE AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST. AND WE VOTED GOING ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE AND. AND THERE'S A LOT OF EMOTION TONIGHT. BUT WE'RE HERE TO WE'RE HERE TO CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH.

AND WE AGREE WITH THE GUY WHO SAID IT IS SHAMEFUL. THAT IS LIMITED TO A MONTH. WELL, OTHER RACES, WELL, OTHER HOLIDAYS. CORRECTLY SO. SO ARE NOT LIMITED TO A MONTH. WE BELIEVE THERE SHOULD BE A 2 OR 3 MONTHS FOR BLACK HISTORY. AND WE KNOW WE WE KNOW SOME BLACK HISTORY, LIKE THE DAD'S GOING TO STATE AND WE STAND UP FOR THE BLACK PEOPLE. AND A MAJORITY OF THEM ARE BLACK THAT ARE BEING TORN APART, THAT ARE BEING VICIOUSLY MURDERED AT FOR 25 YEARS AND VICIOUSLY MURDERED AT. IT IS NOT PLANNED PARENTHOOD. WE CALL IT PLANNED GENOCIDE OR ANTI PARENTHOOD. AND WE WE ARE HERE WHO UNDER ONES WHO ARE ALSO THE ONES WHO ARE VICIOUSLY TORN APART AND MURDERED AT THE AT THE HOSPITALS AND WE ARE HERE TO SPEAK UP FOR THEM. AND WE ALSO HERE TO INVITE YOU TO CALL ON THE LORD AND BE SAVED. SO YOU SO YOU CAN JOIN US IN HEAVEN. AND WE ALSO INVITE YOU TO COME TO ONE OF OUR CHURCH SERVICES, AND EVEN WAS LIFE CHURCH. AND OUR CHURCHES ON EARTH AND DIVISION. THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS. THANK YOU MATTHEW. HE'S RIGHT. WE'RE NEITHER DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN WHEN IT COMES TO POLITICS. I'M HERE AGAIN TO SPEAK UP FOR THE UNBORN, BLACK, WHITE, HISPANIC, ANY OTHER NATIONALITY. BUT ALSO, AS MY SON SAID, TO RECOGNIZE BLACK HISTORY MONTH. DID YOU KNOW THAT JESSE JACKSON, WHO JUST PASSED AWAY ONCE MORE THAN ONCE, CALLED ABORTION GENOCIDE? JESSE JACKSON? I'VE QUOTED MARTIN LUTHER KING JR MANY TIMES HERE. HOW CAN THE DREAM SURVIVE IF WE MURDER THE CHILDREN? EVERY ABORTED BABY IS LIKE A SLAVE IN THE WOMB OF HIS OR HER MOTHER. THE MOTHER DECIDES HIS OR HER LIFE. DID YOU KNOW THAT REPUBLICANS VOTED TO ABOLISH SLAVERY? DEMOCRATS OPPOSED IT. DID YOU KNOW THAT REPUBLICANS GAVE BLACKS THE RIGHT TO VOTE? DEMOCRATS OPPOSED IT. REPUBLICANS PASSED THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT. DEMOCRATS OPPOSED IT. THE FIRST BLACK REPUBLICAN WAS ELECTED TO THE US SENATE IN 1871. HIRAM RHODES, THE FIRST BLACK DEMOCRAT, WASN'T ELECTED TO THE US SENATE UNTIL 1999. THE FIRST 22 BLACKS ELECTED TO THE US HOUSE WERE ALL REPUBLICANS. MARTIN LUTHER KING SENIOR WAS A REPUBLICAN. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR WAS AN INDEPENDENT. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, OF COURSE, WAS A REPUBLICAN. JIM CROW, WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT JIM CROW. HE WAS A DEMOCRAT. THE KKK OPERATED AS A PARLIAMENTARY WING OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. IF YOU GET BORED THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT, YOU CAN CHECK MY FACTS BY LOOKING UP HISTORY, ART, AND ARCHIVES. THE FOUNDER OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD, HER NAME IS

[00:55:10]

AND THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. GOD SAYS, THOU SHALT NOT KILL. THIS IS A BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL. WHAT SIDE DO YOU WANT TO BE ON? BECAUSE RIGHT NOW. IT'S EVIL. AND I PRAY FOR ALL THE FAMILIES WHO HAVE HAD TO ENDURE THIS PAIN. ALL THE HEARTS THAT ARE BROKEN FOR THIS SENSELESS EVIL. WHAT WE HAVE ON OUR MONEY HERE IN AMERICA AND GOD WE TRUST. WELL, I TRUST GOD TO FIGHT FOR US. BECAUSE IF YOU GUYS DON'T, WE WILL. AND HE WILL. OH, I'M TIRED OF Y'ALL PUTTING US AT THE BOTTOM OF A BARREL. WE GET PULLED OVER FOR DRIVING WHILE BLACK, WORKING WHILE BLACK, BEING BORN BLACK IS A CRIME. AND I WANT TO ASK THE POLICE, ARE YOU GOING TO RECONSTRUCT YOUR SYSTEM? BECAUSE CLEARLY SOMETHING IS NOT WORKING. WHY DO YOU SHOOT TO KILL? DO I LOOK THREATENING TO YOU? DO 90% OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM LOOK THREATENING TO YOU? YOUR POLICIES NEED TO BE EVALUATED. AND I HOPE AND PRAY THAT YOU GUYS LOOK AT IT LIKE ONE OF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS ARE BEING GUNNED DOWN IN THE STREET BECAUSE IT HAPPENS TO US EVERY DAY. AND I PRAY THAT GOD HAS MERCY ON EVERYBODY'S SOUL. THAT DOES NOT FIND A PROBLEM WITH WHAT'S GOING ON TODAY. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS LISA GRIFFIN. I'M WITH THE THIRD WARD. I HAVE BEEN IN THE LAST CLASS, WHICH IS WITH LINCOLN AND THE FELLOWS PROGRAM. SO THEY'RE THE FIRST ONES THAT ACTUALLY I STARTED GETTING INVOLVED WITH COMING DOWN HERE TO THE CITY COMMISSION MEETING, MOSTLY JUST TO SPEAK ABOUT THE TRANSFORMATION IN MY LIFE, HOW

[01:00:04]

DISAPPOINTMENT. I HAVE NINE BROTHERS AND SISTERS. I'VE GOT THREE BROTHERS THAT WERE SHOT AND KILLED. I'VE GOT 48 NIECES AND NEPHEWS. I HAVE A LARGE FAMILY WHO I LOVE AND I CARE ABOUT DEARLY. THERE HAS. I HAD TO OVERCOME A LOT OF OBSTACLES IN MY LIFE, AND I LOOK FOR RESOURCES, AND I'M LOOKING TO THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS FOR ALL TYPES OF HELP TO HELP ME WITH THE SITUATION. AND SO I COME DOWN WITH HER PAIN, DISAPPOINTMENT. I AM IN SHEER UTTER DISBELIEF AND SPEAKING TO LET TODAY TO LET THE CITY KNOW THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS TO ANSWER FOR WHAT IT HAS DONE. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE. WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING TREATED WITH DISRESPECT. WE WE HAVE NO SAFE AND PROTECTED COMMUNITY. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN SO SCARED OR INTIMIDATED IN OUR COMMUNITY TO EVEN HAVE TO WITNESS SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO WITNESS, THAT WE ARE GOING THROUGH, THAT DOES NOT EVEN HAPPEN TO US. TO HAVE TO WITNESS THESE THINGS IS SHEER AND UTTER DISBELIEF, ESPECIALLY THE THINGS THAT JUST RECENTLY HAPPENED GOING ON WITH PEOPLE BEING SHOT, MAULED BY DOGS, TREATED WITH UNJUSTLY, THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THIS COMMUNITY. YOU CAN'T TELL HOW EVIL PEOPLE AND MONSTERS REALLY LOOK LIKE BY THEIR CLOTHES OR THEIR PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, BUT YOU CAN'T TELL BY THEIR ACTIONS. STOP COMING TO THESE SCENES WITH YOUR CANINES, USING THEM AS WEAPONS AGAINST PEOPLE TO HURT, KILL, AND MAIM PEOPLE. STOP USING EXCESSIVE FORCE.

STOP BRUTALLY. STOP BEING. STOP HAVING BRUTALITY AGAINST US IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND OUR LOVED ONES. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM. I AM ASHAMED TO LIVE HERE. I AM A CERTIFIED MENTAL HEALTH WORKER FOR THREE YEARS. I KNOW FOR THREE YEARS I KNOW MENTAL RETARDATION PEOPLE WHEN I SEE THEM. YOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT NEEDS ASSESSMENTS IMMEDIATELY. THEY NEED TO BE EVALUATED. I SUGGEST THAT YOU SEND THEM TO PINE REST, HOPE NETWORK OR SPECTRUM COMMUNITY SERVICES BEFORE YOU HIRE THEM. I ALSO SUGGEST THAT YOU GET YOUR THREE MINUTES. IF YOU COULD FINISH YOUR THOUGHT. OKAY, LET ME SEE THIS PART. I WANT TO SAY YOU CAN, YOU CAN. YOU CAN'T TELL HOW EVIL PEOPLE AND MONSTERS REALLY LOOK LIKE BY THEIR CLOTHES OR THEIR PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, BUT YOU CAN'T TELL BY THEIR ACTIONS. SO I JUST PRAY THAT YOU GUYS GET THE THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT GETS THE NECESSARY HELP THAT THEY NEED.

OKAY. GEE, I WONDER IF YOU CUT ME OFF. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS JACE AT. AND I'M COMING TO YOU ON BEHALF OF THE GRAND RAPIDS ACTION COMMITTEE TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF SANCTUARY CITY POLICY, ENDING ALL COOPERATION WITH ICE AND PREVENTING AND PROSECUTING THE KILLER COPS. THIS CITY ALLOWS TO RUN RAMPANT BECAUSE DHS AND ICE ARE TWO HEADS OF THE SAME FASCIST MONSTER. I'M. I'M SURE HEARING THESE CONCERNS OF THE PEOPLE MAKE MAYOR LA GRANDE WANT TO RUN AS FAR AWAY FROM THIS MEETING AS POSSIBLE. IT SEEMS OUR VALIANT MAYOR HAS AN ALLERGIC PROHIBITION OF MAKING STRONG, PRINCIPLED, CLEAR STANCES TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHOSE TAXES PAY HIS SALARY. THAT, OR HE JUST DOESN'T CARE. AND I'M WILLING TO BET ON THE LATTER. CASE IN POINT, WHEN WE LAST TRIED TO BRING THIS ISSUE TO YOU, YOU EXPELLED OUR COMRADE. AFTERWARDS, YOU TURNED AND SAID, JUST SAVED US 30 MINUTES TO ONE OF YOUR COLLEAGUES. OUR TAXES PAY FOR YOUR SALARY. YET YOU YOU SEEM TO SEE US AS A BURDEN. OUR TAXES PAY FOR YOU TO LISTEN TO US. DAQUAN JOHNSON'S TAXES PAID FOR IT TO. YET YOU LIKELY HAVE JUST AS MUCH SYMPATHY FOR HIM AS YOU DO FOR ALL THE PEOPLE YOU ALLOW ICE TO ABDUCT. YOU KNOW HOW YOU KNOW HOW I KNOW? BECAUSE KAI HAS SPENT MORE TIME IN JAIL UNDER YOUR GOVERNMENT THAN ANY KILLER COPS. WE, THE WORKING PEOPLE, DON'T HAVE THE TIME FOR YOUR PATHETIC EXCUSES AND VIRTUE SIGNALING. OUR NEIGHBORS ARE DYING AND ALL POLICE AND STATE VIOLENCE.

ABOLISH ICE AND ABOLISH THE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT. SAY HIS NAME DAQUAN JOHNSON.

[01:05:01]

[01:10:09]

JUSTICE FOR RILEY DOGGETT. JUSTICE FOR HANK WEIMER. JUSTICE FOR JOEY NAGLE, JUSTICE FOR DAQUAN JOHNSON AND FREE KAI. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS LILY EGGERS. I COME BEFORE THE COMMISSION TONIGHT AS A RESIDENT OF THE THIRD WARD AND IN SOLIDARITY WITH MY NEIGHBORS, THE JOHNSON FAMILY AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN GRAND RAPIDS, AND ALL PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED HARM AT THE HANDS OF GRPD. I ECHO MANY OF THE COMMENTS ALREADY MADE TONIGHT.

I LIVE IN THE FRANKLIN EASTERN AREA. I'VE BEEN THERE FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS, AND IT'S JUST A FEW BLOCKS FROM WHERE DAQUAN JOHNSON'S LIFE WAS TAKEN BY THE GRPD OFFICER. MY BLOCK IS MADE UP OF NEIGHBORS THAT LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER, CHILDREN THAT LOVE TO PLAY OUTSIDE, AND PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS. I LOVE GRAND RAPIDS BECAUSE OF ITS PEOPLE, BUT THE PUBLIC SAFETY APPROACH THAT THIS CITY TAKES CAST A DARK SHADOW ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY. I SEE IT ON A NEARLY DAILY BASIS AND HAVE HAD MY OWN EXPERIENCES WITH THE DISRUPTION, THE EXCESSIVE PRESENCE OF THE GRPD IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD BRINGS. OUR CITY'S POLICE FORCE NOT ONLY HAS A POLICY PROBLEM, BUT A CULTURAL PROBLEM, ONE WITH A DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF RACISM AND SEES THE PEOPLE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT AS THREATENING CRIMINALS. SO THOUGH IT IS ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING, IT IS UNSURPRISING THAT WE SEE ANOTHER BLACK MAN KILLED BY THE GRPD IN SOUTHEAST GRAND RAPIDS. AS ALI SAID, THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN CALLING FOR CHANGE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY FOR YEARS. AND INSTEAD OF CHANGE, THE CITY'S LEADERS AND POLICE FORCE CONTINUE TO HARM, KILL AND CRIMINALIZE THE VERY COMMUNITY MEMBERS THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT. I BELIEVE THAT THE BLOOD OF JAQUAN JOHNSON IS NOT ONLY ON THE HANDS OF THE OFFICER THAT TOOK HIS LIFE, NOT JUST THE GRPD, BUT ON ALL PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE SYSTEM AND STRUCTURES THAT HAVE ALLOWED THIS TO CONTINUE TO HAPPEN.

ANOTHER FAMILY IS GRIEVING. THE COMMUNITY IS AGAIN TRAUMATIZED BY NOT CHANGING OUR APPROACH TO PUBLIC SAFETY. YOU'RE ALLOWING VIOLENCE, DEATH, AND BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE TRAUMA TO CONTINUE IN OUR COMMUNITY. I WANT TO THANK COMMISSIONER PERDUE FOR TALKING

[01:15:05]

AS YOU CAN SEE, MOST LIKELY THAT AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN. OH MY BAD. NO QUESTION. ARE YOU READY? WE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT OURSELVES. OUR COMMUNITY. WE TOO WORRIED. WORRYING ABOUT ANSWERS FROM THEM AND NOT HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE THINGS THAT WE DO. IF YOU NEVER CHANGE THE PERSON IN THE MIRROR, YOU CAN'T EXPECT SOMEBODY ELSE TO CHANGE IT FOR YOU. SO SINCE I'VE BEEN SITTING THERE, EVERY PERSON THAT I'VE SEEN COME UP HERE HAS BEEN SPEAKING TO THEM. THEY MAY GIVE YOU EYE CONTACT. THEY MAY NOT. THAT SHOULD TELL YOU EVERYTHING.

THEY DO NOT CARE. IT STARTS WITH US. WE HAVE TO STOP. I WON'T EVEN SAY VICTIM BLAMING IS THE IS THE RIGHT TERM. MISS JOHNSON. SHE DESERVES JUSTICE. OUTSIDE OF THAT, WE GOTTA HOLD EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE. THIS IS. DID Y'ALL. I APPRECIATE YOU. YOU ARE IN THESE MEETINGS DAY IN, DAY OUT. AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN THIS. MANY PEOPLE COME AND RALLY FOR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING. AND IT'S SAD THAT IT HAD TO BE A SITUATION LIKE THIS. WE GOTTA HOLD OUR WE GOTTA HOLD OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE. WE WORRIED ABOUT WHERE THE DOLLARS GOING TO COME FROM, FROM THEM. WHO THEY GOING TO FUND, WHO THEY GOING TO DEFUND. WE GOING TO FUND US.

Y'ALL GOING TO GET THAT TAX MONEY. WHAT Y'ALL GOING TO DO WITH IT. YOU GOING TO GO BUY THE NEW J'S. YOU GOING TO GET THE NEW WEAVE IN YOUR HAIR. YOU GOING TO GET YOUR NAILS DONE.

YOUR TOES DONE. TWO. YOU ASKING FOR THEM TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE COMMUNITY. TAKE THAT MONEY.

DO SOMETHING FOR THE COMMUNITY. STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHAT THE NEXT MAN GOING TO DO OR NOT DO FOR US, AND LET'S DO IT FOR OURSELVES. IF WE START THERE, YOU CAN'T TELL US NOTHING.

APPRECIATE Y'ALL. HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING TONIGHT? MY NAME IS KENNETH CORTEZ. I AM AN ADVOCATE OF THE THIRD WARD AND THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS ON A LARGER WHOLE, AS WELL AS BLACK PEOPLE AND ALL DISENFRANCHIZED PEOPLE ACROSS THIS NATION AND ACROSS THE WORLD. I THINK THAT WE SHOULD ALL BE ONE, BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT IT'S NOT CUT LIKE THAT. I'M NOT GOING TO STAND UP HERE AND SPEND THE NEXT TWO MINUTES LAMENTING ABOUT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW IS AN ISSUE. I JUST HAD THIS YOUNG LADY WHO WANTS TO GET INTO THE SOCIAL JUSTICE FIELD, AND SHE PULLED ME ASIDE AND SHE ASKED ME, SHE SAID, HOW DO YOU KEEP DOING IT? AREN'T YOU NUMB BY NOW? YOU'VE BEEN ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, KEN, AND YOU COVERED DEATH AFTER DEATH AFTER DEATH.

YOU KEEP GOING TO TALK TO FAMILIES AND YOU CONTINUE TO DO THIS WORK, RIGHT. HOW DO YOU DO IT? I SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? TO BE HONEST, I AM KIND OF NUMB. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS DOES NOT GET EASIER. EVERY TIME I HAVE TO COME UP ON THE MICROPHONE AND TALK TO THE

[01:20:01]

I'M NOT DIRECTLY MAD AT THAT, BUT IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO DO THE JOB THAT THE PEOPLE ARE ASKING YOU TO DO. IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO STAND UP AND TAKE A STAND AGAINST THIS. BECAUSE, AS MY COLLEAGUE ALI DID SAY, WHEN THEY DIDN'T CONVICT CHRISTOPHER SCHURR, THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN AND IT WAS GOING TO BE WORSE. I WAS THERE IN 2019. I WAS STANDING NEXT TO THE MAN THAT ALMOST GOT HIS FACE BLEW OFF BY A GAS CANISTER THAT GOT SHOT OUT OF A CANNON.

THEY ACTUALLY TWISTED THE CAN AND ROLLED IT RIGHT BETWEEN MY LEGS. GAS BURST EVERYWHERE I WAS THERE. I WAS IN LOUISVILLE MULTIPLE TIMES. I WAS UP IN MINNEAPOLIS MULTIPLE TIMES. I KNOW WHAT THESE RIOTS LOOK LIKE, AND I KNOW HOW PEOPLE GET OFF ON THE VIOLENCE. DO Y'ALL WANT THAT AGAIN? BECAUSE IT'S COMING. I'M PROMISING YOU THAT. AND IT'S NOT FOR ME. IT'S FROM THE PEOPLE. MARTIN LUTHER KING SAID THAT BEST, AND I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO REPEAT IT. I'M ELATED TO REST. MY TIME IS DONE. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS COLIN. I'M A RESIDENT OF THE FIRST WARD, FORMERLY THE SECOND WARD, BUT I MOVED BACK TO THE FIRST AND WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND MY MOTHER HAD BEEN PUSHED TO TWO STEPS TO THE EDGE OF HER SANITY, HER GO TO PHRASE TO ALERT US TO THAT WOULD BE I'M SPEECHLESS. THE FUNNY THING ABOUT THAT IS THAT SHE WOULD THEN SPEND THE NEXT 20 MINUTES EXPLAINING WHY, WHICH SEEMS KIND OF WHICH SEEMS LIKE A SILLY MOVE, BUT I FEEL THE SAME WAY. BUT THANKFULLY, I AM BEHOLDEN TO THE THREE MINUTE CLOCK. EVERYTHING ABOUT THE MURDER OF DEQUAN TREY JOHNSON IS HORRID. THAT MAN WAS FORCED ONTO HIS STOMACH, SHOT THREE TIMES WHILE A K-9 UNIT MAULED HIM, AND WE ARE STILL SITTING HERE, EXPECTED TO BE POLITE ABOUT IT. WE ARE EXPECTED IT TO BE NICE ABOUT IT. WHEN WE WATCHED A MAN, I WATCHED A MAN AT THE VIGIL. I. I WATCHED HIM BE MURDERED IN REAL TIME. WHEN THE FOOTAGE WAS RELEASED, I STOOD NEXT TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND COMMISSIONER WOMACK WATCHING THAT HAPPEN. GERMAN SHEPHERDS HAVE A BITE STRENGTH. BETWEEN 230 AND 290 PSI. TO CRUSH AN APPLE, YOU NEED 150 PSI. THAT'S THE FORCE THAT THIS MAN WAS BEING MAULED WITH BY A K-9. WE KNOW WHO WAS KILLED, WHAT POSITION HE WAS IN WHEN HE WAS KILLED. WE KNOW WHERE THE PURSUIT STARTED AND ENDED. WE. WELL, THE WHY ISN'T TERRIBLY RELEVANT, IN MY OPINION. AND THE HOW IS THE MOST OBVIOUS. HE WAS SHOT BY A COP IN THE BACK, LAYING ON THE GROUND WITHIN 18 HOURS OF THAT MURDER. I KNEW THE VICTIM'S NAME, THE SOUND OF HIS MOTHER'S SOBS, AND WAS ATTENDING A VIGIL TO REMEMBER HIM. THAT'S THE PROBLEM, BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY DOESN'T KNOW WHO DID IT. WE DESERVE TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE OF THE COP WHO SHOT HIM. WE CAN GET INTO THE HYPOTHETICALS OF, OH, BUT WHAT IF SOMEBODY DOES THIS OR THAT? AND IN TRUTH, RETALIATION WOULD BE WRONG. BUT LET'S NOT LET THAT TRUTH OVERSHADOW THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION.

DAQUAN MURDER DAQUAN JOHNSON WAS MURDERED BY A POLICE OFFICER ON HIS BACK, SHOT THREE TIMES WHILE BEING MAULED BY A K-9 UNIT. I WAS THERE 18 HOURS AFTER THE FACT AT A VIGIL WATCHING THE VIDEO WHERE HE WAS MURDERED. SO I SUGGEST THREE THINGS TO THIS COMMISSION TONIGHT. BAN K-9 UNITS FROM BEING INVOLVED IN ON FOOT PURSUITS. REEVALUATE THE CITY'S DISCIPLINARY POLICY BECAUSE ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE IS NOT ENOUGH WHEN YOU HAVE LYNCHED A MAN IN OUR COMMUNITIES. AND ALSO LASTLY, RELEASE THE FULL UNEDITED BODY CAM VIDEO AND 911 CALL AUDIO TO THE PUBLIC. A MOTHER HAS LOST HER SON. ANOTHER ONE. AND IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO LET WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND TURN IT INTO WHAT YOU'RE WILLING TO DO, ANOTHER MOTHER WILL LOSE HER SON SOON. THANK YOU. HI, MY NAME IS JADEN. I WASN'T PLANNING ON SPEAKING

[01:25:04]

ALL RIGHT? IT PISSES US OFF. AND THAT'S REALLY ALL I GOT TO SAY. JUSTICE FOR DAQUAN. WE'RE GOING TO BE HERE EVERY DAY UNTIL THE KILLING STOP. HELLO. MY NAME IS HARRISON, AND I LIVE IN THE FIRST WARD. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF THAT AND SAY THE COP IN THE BACK ON HIS PHONE. I WITNESSED HIM HELPING OUT ICE, LIKE MAYBE TWO MONTHS AGO. HE ARRESTED TWO COMRADES, SO SHAME ON HIM. YEAH, I STAND HERE HEARTBROKEN FOR FOR DAKEN'S FAMILY AND FOR THIS COMMUNITY THAT'S HERE TODAY. IT'S IT'S AMAZING TO SEE THIS TURNOUT ON ON SUCH HORRID CIRCUMSTANCES. JUSTICE FOR DEQUAN, JUSTICE FOR SAMUEL, FOR RILEY, FOR PATRICK, FOR HANK, FOR KAI. I'M SICK OF. I'M SICK OF GRPD. YOU GUYS SUCK. I'M SICK OF SEEING MY FRIENDS CHASE DOWN ON ON BIKES AND BEING HARASSED. I'M SICK OF MY HOUSELESS NEIGHBORS BEING INCRIMINATED FOR NOT HAVING A HOME. I'M SICK OF SEEING DOG BITE WOUNDS, AND I'M SICK OF MY FAMILY FRIENDS BEING TASERED AND PEPPER SPRAYED. I'M SICK OF SEEING MY NEIGHBORS EXECUTED, ARE YOU NOT? THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WE PAY. DO YOUR JOB, PLEASE. WE BUILT THIS SYSTEM.

WE CAN BUILD ANOTHER. OKAY. THANK YOU. HELLO. I'M ANDRA, I CURRENTLY LIVE IN KENTWOOD, BUT PRIOR TO MOVING TO KENTWOOD, I LIVED ON KNEELAND DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM JOE TAYLOR PARK. WE HAD TO MOVE BECAUSE I WANTED MY KIDS TO BE SAFE AND ABLE TO PLAY OUTSIDE. IN ONE YEAR'S TIME, MY STREET WAS BLOCKED OFF AT LEAST FOUR TIMES THAT I CAN RECALL FOR DRIVE BY SHOOTINGS.

THE HAPPENED RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH. I FOUND BULLET HOLES IN THE SIDING ON MY FRONT PORCH. MY NEIGHBOR HAD BULLETS FLY INTO HIS HOME WHILE HE WAS ASLEEP IN HIS BED. MY SON, WHO WAS ONLY SIX AT THE TIME, WOULD HAVE BEEN STRUCK ONE TIME HAD MY NEIGHBOR NOT BEEN STANDING RIGHT ON THE PORCH AND INSTINCTUALLY GRABBED HIM UP AND PULLED HIM INSIDE. AS BULLETS WERE FLYING ONTO MY PORCH, I WOULD HEAR GUNSHOTS MOST NIGHTS IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, LIKE 12 A.M. TO 4 A.M. MY CAR WAS SHOT OUT WHILE I WAS PARKED ON THE STREET. I NEVER SEEN COPS DRIVE BY JUST PATROLLING THOSE STREETS. NEVER. I ONLY SEEN THEM SHOW UP AFTER SOMEONE WAS SHOT, NOT EVEN WHEN GUNS WERE GOING OFF NONSTOP DID I SEE THEM? BUT WHEN THERE WAS A DRIVE BY AND THE PERSON WAS EITHER DEAD OR CRITICAL, THEN I'D SEE THEM. IT IS TRUE THAT THEY OVERPOLICED THE SOUTHEAST SIDE, BUT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THEY MOSTLY PATROL THE OUTSIDE PERIMETER. THEY PATROL THE BUSINESSES ON WEALTHY AND WEALTHY STREET MARKET. THEY PATROL EASTERN, FULLER, FRANKLIN, ETC. AND AS LONG AS YOU STAY IN YOUR LITTLE NEST, THEY DON'T CARE. THIS IS WHAT HUEY NEWTON TALKED ABOUT. HE TALKED ABOUT BLACK COMMUNITIES ESSENTIALLY BEING INTERNAL COLONIES. IT'S ALMOST LIKE THE SOUTHEAST SIDE IS SEGREGATED. AND AS SOON AS YOU CROSS THAT PERIMETER, THEY'RE HARASSING AND PROFILING YOU. YOU CAN SEE IT WITHOUT EVEN HAVING TO LIVE IN THOSE SPOTS. YOU CAN BE DRIVING DOWN FRANKLIN AND SEE IT GRADUALLY GO FROM REALLY NICE TO RUN DOWN. SAME WITH THE OTHER SIDE OF FULLER. IT GOT SO BAD THAT I USED TO WONDER IF THE COPS THEMSELVES WERE SHOOTING OFF GUNS AT NIGHT. THEY DIDN'T STOP THEM FROM BUILDING NEW HOMES IN GENTRIFYING EVERYTHING. BUT GRPD IS NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF TAKING DOWN ACTUAL CRIMINALS BECAUSE THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE THEY'RE AT. THEY'RE ONLY INTERESTED IN RACIAL PROFILING. EASY TARGETS LIKE BLACK MEN ON BIKES, SAID, I THINK ANYONE WHO OWNS A GUN SHOULD BE ASHAMED. MAYOR, YOUR PRIVILEGE IS SHOWING HOW OUR BIPOC AND MARGINALIZED GROUPS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM GRPD. WHEN YOU REFUSE TO DO ANYTHING

[01:30:01]

JUSTICE FOR DAQUAN JOHNSON. HELLO, COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS RILEY. I'M A RESIDENT OF THE FIRST WARD. I'VE LIVED IN GRAND RAPIDS FOR ALMOST A DECADE NOW. I MOVED HERE FROM FLINT. WHERE THE TRUST AND THE POLICE IS VERY LOW. THE VIOLENCE IS HIGH. THAT WILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN HERE. TO ECHO WHAT ROBERT S SAID EARLIER, WE NEED POLICY CHANGE. A LOT OF US HAVE BEEN OUT HERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME. SOME OF US IN THE ROOM LONGER THAN OTHERS, SOME OF US. IT'S OUR FIRST MEETING. HOW MANY MORE MEETINGS UNTIL WE ARE ABLE TO GET THAT POLICY CHANGE? I'M HORRIFIED AND NOT SURPRISED AT THE YET AGAIN EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE BY THE GRPD. AFTER ALL OF THE NAMES THAT WE HAVE ALL HAD TO MEMORIZE. AND HERE TONIGHT, I'M GLAD THAT THIS YOUNG MAN IS NOT ANOTHER ONE OF THEM. THE FACT THAT WE ARE STILL USING DOGS AS A MEANS TO SUBDUE, AND ALSO TRYING TO COMMUNICATE THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS NOT AN INHERENTLY RACIST ORGANIZATION, I WOULD ASK THAT THOSE PEOPLE EDUCATE THEMSELVES ON THE USE OF DOGS IN SLAVE CATCHING. I AM I'M GETTING FRAZZLED. IF YOU COULDN'T TELL BECAUSE I'M UPSET ABOUT THE SITUATIONS IN OUR CITY. PATRICK LYOYA WAS SHOT IN MY GRANDMOTHER'S DRIVEWAY. AND A LOT OF HER CHANGED AFTER THAT.

SHE WENT OUT AND SHE WAS ABLE TO KEEP THE CANDLES LIT FOR MANY WEEKS AFTER HE WAS GONE, AND AFTER THE MARCH WAS SLOWED DOWN. AND IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD NOW, WHERE IT WAS ONLY A FIVE MINUTE WALK TO HIS VIGIL, WE HAVE SIGNS UP THAT SAY STOP SHOOTING, WE PLAY. HERE ARE THOSE FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS OR ARE THOSE FOR THE OFFICERS? THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. FIRST OFF, MY NAME IS MICHAEL KING AND I AM HERE TO TALK TO YOU GUYS. AND I AM ALSO HERE TO TALK TO MY PEOPLE AS WELL. WE HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH THESE THINGS. YOU KNOW WHAT I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT WE HAVE WE HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH A LOT OF THESE THINGS SO MANY TIMES. SO MANY TIMES WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH THESE THINGS LONGER THAN I HAVE BEEN ALIVE, LONGER THAN MANY OF US HERE HAVE BEEN ALIVE. WHEN THIS ACTION IS GOING TO BE TAKEN, LIKE, WHEN ARE YOU GUYS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ACTUALLY AFFECTED? WHEN ARE YOU GOING WHEN, WHEN ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO START TARGETING THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE BEING TARGETED? 24 OVER SEVEN? HE WAS A SON. HE WAS A FRIEND, SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS SHOULD CARE ABOUT. HE WAS ALSO A COMMUNITY MEMBER. YOU GUYS SHOULD NOT JUST BE HERE LISTENING, JUST JUST SO THESE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND PEOPLE THAT'S ACTUALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT THESE THINGS, THESE WORDS SHOULD NOT BE GOING IN ONE EAR AND OUT OF THE OTHER. PRESIDENT, I MEAN, NOT PRESIDENT. MAYOR LA GRANDE, I HAVE BARELY SEEN YOU LOOK UP FROM YOUR PHONE THIS WHOLE MEETING. ONLY WHEN THINGS ARE ADDRESSED, ONLY WHEN WE ARE ADDRESSING YOU OR SOMETHING IMPACTS YOU DIRECTLY. I HAVE SO MUCH RESPECT FOR YOU. BUT BUT THAT'S THE THING. BUT THAT'S THE THING. TRANSPARENCY, HONESTY. YOU GUYS ARE SO QUICK TO RELEASE MUG SHOTS OF CRIMINALS AND THAT DOES ROB SOME PEOPLE, BUT THEN Y'ALL CAN'T RELEASE THE NAMES OF THE OFFICERS WHO HAVE COMMITTED THIS EXECUTION. I'M TIRED OF HEARING MURDER. THIS IS NOT A MURDER. THIS WAS AN EXECUTION. AND SO I AM VERY SHAKEN RIGHT NOW. I'M VERY PASSIONATE. I'VE WORKED WITH MANY OF YOU GUYS HERE. I HAVE RESPECT FOR YOU GUYS. HOWEVER, THIS IS ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY. YOU GUYS WERE YOU GUYS WERE ELECTED AND YOU GUYS POSITION BECAUSE OF ACCOUNTABILITY. WE HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH THESE THINGS FOR SO MANY TIMES. I AM NOT HERE REPRESENTING I'M HERE. I AM NOT HERE REPRESENTING INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATIONS. I'M HERE REPRESENTING MY PEOPLE. I AM HERE REPRESENTING THE FUTURE, AND I AM HERE REPRESENTING TRANSPARENCY AND JUSTICE. A LOT OF PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY, A LOT OF PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY, LET'S CHANGE POLICY. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO START CHANGING THINGS? WHEN ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO START LISTENING? AND EVERYTHING AND BEYOND BEYOND JUST YOU GUYS.

WHEN, WHEN ARE THE PEOPLE WHEN OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE ALSO GOING TO BE LISTENING TO SOME OF THE

[01:35:03]

HE WAS A FAMILY MEMBER. I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU GUYS LOOKING AT ME AND HAVING EYE CONTACT WITH ME. WHAT I CARE ABOUT YOU GUYS IS LISTENING AND ACTUALLY TAKING ACTION AND ACTUALLY PUTTING SOME CHANGE TO YOUR RESUMES, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I'M NOT SEEING ANYTHING. THANK YOU.

GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS RICHARD GRIFFIN, AND I BELIEVE WHAT I HAVE TO SAY IS BASICALLY A FEW QUESTIONS TO THIS BODY. OKAY. NO PROBLEM. LET'S MAKE SURE YOU'RE CLEAR. SHALL I PROCEED? GO AHEAD. GOT YOU. I GOT IT. OH, OKAY. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS RICHARD GRIFFIN. MANY OF YOU I KNOW FROM COMMUNITY, I'VE WORKED IN PROXIMITY TO MOST OF YOU IN DIFFERENT AREAS.

I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS FOR THIS BODY. FIRST OF ALL, ARE YOU GUYS TIRED? YEAH. Y'ALL HAD ENOUGH. HAVE YOU ALL HAD ENOUGH? I'VE LISTENED TO THE FOLKS FROM THIS COMMUNITY COME UP HERE AND EXPRESS THEIR THOUGHTS, THEIR CONCERNS, AND I CAN'T HELP BUT TO RECALL THAT I'VE NEVER HEARD ANY OF YOU ADDRESS ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS AT ANY TIME. IS THERE GOING TO BE A SPACE WHEN YOU ANSWER THESE FOLKS QUESTIONS? BUT BACK TO MY ORIGINAL QUESTION IS, HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH? YOUR POLICE AGENCY HISTORICALLY IS OPERATING AS SLAVE PATROL IN THE THIRD WARD.

THIS ISN'T A THIS ISN'T JUST SOME HALF COCKED IDEA. THIS IS WHAT I WITNESSED DAY IN AND DAY OUT. I'M A RESIDENT OF THAT COMMUNITY. I WORK IN THAT COMMUNITY. I OWN BUSINESS IN THAT COMMUNITY. THESE MEN ARE BEING HUNTED BY GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT. HAVE YOU ALL HAD ENOUGH OF THAT? HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH OF FOLKS COMING IN HERE AND TELLING YOU WHAT IS GOING ON BEFORE YOU TAKE A POSITION TO SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? BECAUSE THE ALTERNATIVE, WE'VE HEARD STATISTICS FROM FOLKS SAYING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS ABOVE AND BEYOND ASSERTIVE IN THEIR USE OF AUTHORITY, THEIR ABUSE OF AUTHORITY. BUT YOU'VE ALSO HEARD FROM THIS COMMUNITY THAT THEY'RE TIRED, THEY'VE HAD ENOUGH. I WOULD IT BEHOOVES YOU TO ACT VERY QUICKLY BEFORE THIS COMMUNITY DOES. HI, MY NAME IS LINDSAY. FIRST OFF, I'D LIKE TO START THIS BY ADDRESSING MAYOR LE GRAND. I TRULY THINK YOU OWE AN APOLOGY TO QUITE A LOT OF PEOPLE. BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST, ALL OF THE BLACK AND BROWN FOLKS IN THIS ROOM WHO HAVE COME UP TO SPOKE, TO SPEAK. YOU'VE REFUSED TO GIVE CONSISTENT EYE CONTACT WITH.

IT'S JUST A BLATANT SIGN OF DISRESPECT AND LACK OF CARE ABOUT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT. I ALSO HAD THE CHANCE TO WATCH SOME OF THE MAYOR'S MEETING, AND THAT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT TO WATCH. I DON'T KNOW HOW, AS A WHITE MAN, YOU CAN START A STATEMENT BY SAYING, I HAVE A DREAM. THAT'S DISGRACEFUL. I DON'T GET WHERE YOU DO THAT.

ESPECIALLY IT'S BLACK HISTORY MONTH. I JUST DON'T GET IT. ANOTHER PART OF THAT IS YOU SEEM TO VICTIM BLAME WITHIN THE MAYOR'S MEETING IN TERMS OF SAYING THAT YOU FEEL SHAMEFUL OR I'M NOT SURE THE EXACT WORDS, BUT IN REGARDS TO ANYONE WHO OWNS A GUN, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY VICTIM BLAMING STATEMENT AND A POINT IN CONCERN. I ALSO LIVE IN THE 49507 AREA CODE, BURTON AND EASTERN AREA, AND THE WAY YOU STALK THE COMMUNITY IS SCARY. I HAVE FRIENDS AND PEOPLE I REALLY CARE ABOUT WHO DON'T WANT TO COME TO MY PLACE AFTER DARK BECAUSE OF MY LOCATION AND THE WAY THAT GRPD STALKS. SINCE MOVING INTO MY HOME IN 2021, YOU'VE KILLED PATRICK LYOYA LITERALLY SIX BLOCKS FROM MY HOME. AND THEN NOW YOU'VE KILLED THE CU

[01:40:04]

JUSTICE FOR ALL THE LIVES LOST. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS FRANK. FRANK VAN PELT. YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW ME FROM ADAM. AND THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY ELOQUENT PEOPLE SPEAKING TONIGHT, I THOUGHT I'D SHARE A LITTLE BIT. I GO BY MANY NAMES FROM MY FAMILY AND MY FRIENDS. FRANKLIN, FRANKIE, PACO, PONCHO. UNCLE FRANK IS MY FAVORITE. AND GREAT UNCLE FRANK IS MY VERY FAVORITE.

I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES IN MY LIFE TO STUDY ABROAD. I GREW UP IN THE BYRON CENTER CUTLERVILLE AREA, BUT I'VE HAD THE CHANCE TO STUDY IN IN SPAIN, IN MEXICO, IN CHILE, AND I GREW UP. MY NEIGHBORS ACROSS THE STREET WERE THE BLANCO FAMILY, CUBAN FAMILY, AND I JUST FEEL PRIVILEGED TO HAVE ALL OF THIS IN MY LIFE. BUT I, I DO UNDERSTAND MY WHITE PRIVILEGE. I'VE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE POLICE, EVER. I'VE BEEN PULLED OVER, JUST FINISHED DOING A ROUTE 66 TRIP WITH MY FAMILY, AND WAS PULLED OVER TWICE ON THE TRIP, AND THE OFFICERS WERE KIND. YEARS AGO, WHEN I WAS A KID OR A YOUNG ADULT, I WAS PULLED OVER IN SAUGATUCK AND THEY GOT ME OUT OF THE CAR AND I DID THE THE TEST AND BLEW INTO THE THING, AND THEY WERE SO KIND. THEY SAID, MR. VAN PELT, YOU DON'T BLOW LEGALLY DRUNK. BUT WE THINK BY THE TIME YOU DRIVE INTO GRAND RAPIDS, YOU WILL BE.

SO WE THINK YOU SHOULD JUST GO BACK AND MAYBE GET A ROOM FOR THE NIGHT. SO I UNDERSTAND MY PRIVILEGE. BUT I'M VERY NERVOUS AS A WHITE GUY, AN OLD WHITE GUY OF WHAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF COLOR. IT'S TERRIFYING. IT'S SCARES ME FOR MY NIECE AND MY NEPHEW AND MY GREAT NEPHEW, WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE GROWING UP INTO. I NEVER

[01:45:07]

IT'S GREAT. WE'RE NOT DONE. THE UGLY MONSTER KEEPS RAISING ITS HEAD. THE MAGA WORLD SCARES ME TO DEATH. AND I THINK IT'S I LOOK AT YOUR FACES AND AND I STILL I STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TRUST. I STILL WANT TO GIVE THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, BUT MY TRUST IS IS WANING. I DON'T HAVE VERY MANY MORE BENEFITS OF A DOUBT. AND IF YOU DON'T START LISTENING TO THESE PEOPLE AND DO SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS MORE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, IT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET THIS ISN'T GOING TO END. IT ISN'T GOING TO END WELL. THANK YOU. HELLO, COMMISSIONERS.

MY NAME IS SONIA FROM THE WEST SIDE. JUSTICE FOR JAQUAN JOHNSON, PATRICK LYOYA, EVERYBODY ELSE WHO'S BEEN BRUTALIZED BY THE GRPD AND BY ICE. THE LAST TIME I SAW THIS ROOM, THIS PACKED, WAS ABOUT A YEAR AGO. SHORTLY AFTER TRUMP WAS ELECTED, AND WE WERE DISCUSSING SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES AND THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS. THERE ARE ABOUT 200 PEOPLE OR MORE HERE AT THAT TIME, AND WE HAVEN'T MADE ANY PROGRESS ON THAT FRONT SINCE.

WE'RE STILL DEMANDING SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES. IF THE EVENTS OF THE LAST MONTH HAVE TAUGHT US ANYTHING, THEY SHOULD TELL US THAT ICE, THE POLICE, DHS AND THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ARE PREPARED TO ESCALATE AND CONTINUE ESCALATING UNTIL THEY'RE FORCED TO RETREAT. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY FULLY INTEND TO COMMIT TO CONTINUE COMMITTING ACTS OF CRUELTY AND SADISM AND TO CONTINUE GETTING AWAY WITH IT. AND THEY WILL GET AWAY WITH IT UNLESS PEOPLE ARE BOLD ENOUGH TO STAND UP TO THEM. WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR MORE LEGAL OBSERVERS. WE'RE ASKING OUR CITY GOVERNMENT TO ASSERT ITSELF AND TAKE BOLD ACTION TO PROTECT ITS PEOPLE AND TAKE MEANINGFUL ACTION TO PUSH BACK AGAINST THE INCREASING MILITARIZATION OF THE POLICE, THE STATE, DHS, AND ICE. WE WANT YOU TO PUT UP A FIGHT. AND THE ONLY OTHER THING I WANT TO SAY IS THAT IF MINNEAPOLIS SHOWED US ANYTHING, THEY'VE SHOWN THAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO SIT IDLY BY WHILE THESE PEOPLE ABDUCT AND MURDER IN OUR STREETS. THEY SHOT MINNEAPOLIS DOWN. AND IF PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF BEING TARGETED, ABDUCTED OR MURDERED BY THE STATE, THAT IS THE NEXT STEP. WELL, WELL, WELL, WELL, WE ARE BACK, RIGHT? LAST TIME I WAS HERE, IT WAS WHEN PATRICK GOT KILLED. THAT'S CRAZY. RIGHT? IT'S SAD. RIGHT? I THINK GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN DESERVES BETTER. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN DESERVES A LOT BETTER. THE NERVE TO SAY THAT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE GUNS. THE NERVE. THE NERVE FOR THESE POLICE OFFICERS TO CONTINUE TO HARASS AND POINT US OUT. THE NERVE FOR THEM TO BE IN MY COMMUNITY ON THE SOUTHWEST SIDE. THE SOUTHEAST SIDE. KILLING, KIDNAPING, THROWING MY PEOPLE IN VANS, KILLING THE BLACK AND BROWN FOLKS LIKE IT'S JUST HUNTING SEASON. WHY DO WE HAVE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT IF THEY'RE NOT SERVING US? I HAD I HAD SO MUCH TO SAY. I'M JUST GOING TO PUT THE PHONE DOWN. YOU GOT PEOPLE THAT ARE ARE PATROLLING OUR STREETS THAT DON'T EVEN LIVE HERE. HOW MANY HOURS? THREE, FOUR, FIVE HOURS AWAY. YOU COME DOWN HERE TO PATROL. OUR STREETS OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. ARE WE SERIOUS? HELLO, DAVID. MAYOR, CAN CAN I HAVE SOME EYE CONTACT? CAN YOU LOOK AT US? ARE WE NOT THICK ENOUGH FOR YOU? I COME

[01:50:08]

WE'RE EXHAUSTED. GET IT TOGETHER. I'M STEVE BENNETT, I'M A RESIDENT OF THE THIRD WARD OF GRAND RAPIDS. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF PASSION OUT HERE, AND I BELIEVE THERE'S PASSION UP THERE. YOU'RE NOT. YOU'RE NOT THERE JUST TO COLLECT THE MONEY. YOU'RE HERE TO AFFECT CHANGE, TO MAKE THIS A BETTER COMMUNITY. I BELIEVE THAT. AND YOU'RE GETTING PERSONAL ATTACKS JUSTIFIED OR UNJUSTIFIED, I CAN'T DETERMINE. BUT MY PASSION NOW, SOMEBODY TALKED ABOUT CHANGE. HOW DOES A PERSON CHANGE? I DID 39 YEARS AGO. I CHANGED, SOMEONE, REFERENCED SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE REFERENCED SCRIPTURE. FOR ME, IT WAS THE 12 STEPS. AND IF YOU'RE AT ALL FAMILIAR WITH RECOVERY PROGRAMS, IT'S ABOUT SELF-EXAMINATION. IT'S ABOUT HONESTY. AND I THINK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU ARE DOING THAT NOW. THE PLEA THAT IS BEING STATED IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS IS TO DO SOMETHING. MR. MAYOR, LAST NIGHT YOU WERE PASSIONATE IN YOUR ABSOLUTE HATRED OF THE ACTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. I BELIEVE YOU YOU ALSO TALKED ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO EFFECT THE CHANGE. I KNOW THAT FORMER PUBLIC SERVANT MYSELF. BUT IF YOU COMMIT YOURSELF, ACTUALLY COMMIT YOURSELF. MR. WASHINGTON, I FEEL BADLY FOR YOU. PEOPLE ARE PICKING ON YOU, AND I THINK THAT YOU ARE A TRUSTED PUBLIC SERVANT. I REALLY BELIEVE THAT I'VE SEEN YOUR ACTIONS. I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT OF GRAND RAPIDS FOR 27 YEARS NOW. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE HERE FOR A COUPLE MINUTES AND MET HER, AND I AIN'T NEVER LEAVING. AND I'M GRATEFUL TO BE A RESIDENT OF GRAND RAPIDS. I'M GRATEFUL TO HAVE RAISED MY CHILDREN AND TO HEAR THEM SPEAK FONDLY OF THEIR HOMETOWN WHEN THEY COME BACK TO VISIT, AND THAT'S GOOD. BUT AS MANY PEOPLE HAVE POINTED OUT, WHITE PRIVILEGE LIKE THE GENTLEMAN EARLIER, I DID THAT EXPERIMENT, DIDN'T PUT THE NEW TAGS ON MY CAR. TOOK 18 MONTHS AND IT WASN'T A GRAND RAPIDS COP. I WAS IN KENTWOOD. THAT'S WHEN I FINALLY GOT PULLED OVER.

I BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN DO SOMETHING. I BELIEVE YOU WILL DO SOMETHING. DOGS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YEAH, I ASKED ABOUT JUST TAKE AWAY THE GUNS FROM THE COPS. KEEP THEM. KEEP THEM IN THE CAR. OH, WE KEEP THE LONG GUNS IN THERE. WE CAN MAKE THE CHANGE. PEOPLE DO IT. THANK YOU. KIM COMBS. I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT OF ZIP CODE 49,507 AND 49503. MY ENTIRE ADULT LIFE, I WAS VERY ANXIOUS AND EAGER TO LEAVE INDIANA, WHERE ONE OF THE LARGEST KKK CLUBS HAS EXISTED FROM THE BEGINNING. I WAS EXCITED TO COME TO A BOOMING CITY AND LIVE IN A VERY DIVERSE, ECLECTIC NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE I'VE ALWAYS FELT SAFE AROUND MY NEIGHBORS. THE ONLY TIME I DO

[01:55:03]

BUT WHY DO WE HAVE GRPD DRIVING IN FROM OUTSIDE OF THE CITY? IS IT SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO CHANGE IN OUR CONSTITUTION OR OUR BYLAWS OR WHAT? BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF CHANGE THAT WE NEED TO MAKE. WE NEED TO MAKE IT NOW. NOW, PLEASE. HELLO, MY NAME IS KAREN. I'M IN THE SECOND WARD AND I'M JUST HERE HOPING ALSO TO APPEAL TO YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR HUMANNESS THAT WHAT WE'RE WATCHING WITH OUR NEIGHBORS GETTING RIPPED OFF THE STREET ON THE WAY TO WORK. JAQUAN JOHNSON BEING EXECUTED, THE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY IS ACTIVATED. WE ARE READY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. AND SO I KNOW THAT EACH OF YOU WENT INTO OFFICE BECAUSE YOU WANT TO TAKE ACTION. AND SO THE COMMUNITY IS BEGGING FOR ACTION RIGHT NOW. AND I JUST WANTED TO BE HERE TO BEAR WITNESS AND STAND IN SOLIDARITY. I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWERS. I THINK I KNOW FOR SURE WE HAVE TO ABOLISH ICE. I THINK THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT, THERE SHOULD BE JUSTICE. I THINK THEY SHOULD BE. THEY SHOULD BE PUNISHED WHEN THEY BREAK THE RULES. JUST LIKE WE ARE PUNISHED IN OUR JOBS. WHEN WE BREAK THE RULES. WHY IS THERE A DIFFERENT STANDARD FOR THE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT? AND SO I WOULD SAY IT'S A GREAT IDEA TO HAVE THE COMMUNITY BE IN CONTROL OF THE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.

HELLO. RUSSELL OLMSTED, WEST SIDE, GRAND RAPIDS. THE FIRST TIME THAT I EVER SAW A CITY COMMISSION MEETING THIS FULL WAS WHEN FIVE YOUNG BLACK BOYS WERE WALKING HOME FROM PLAYING BASKETBALL FROM THE KROC CENTER, AND THE POLICE PULLED THEM OVER AND PULLED THE GUNS ON THEM.

AND I WAS SITTING. I WASN'T PLANNING ON SPEAKING TONIGHT, BUT I WAS SITTING IN BACK THINKING THAT THOSE BOYS ARE IN THEIR 20S NOW. AND YET WE STILL ARE FIGHTING THESE SAME PROBLEMS. AND THAT'S JUST A SMALL SEGMENT OF TIME, OF WHAT THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND PEOPLE OF COLOR IN GENERAL IN THIS CITY HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING THESE SAME ISSUES. DECADES OF MEETINGS, OF FEEDBACK OF ORGANIZATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS. AND I WANT I KNOW, I KNOW THAT

[02:00:05]

I'VE WORKED ALONGSIDE YOU, COMMISSIONER PERDUE, COMMISSIONER, USAC, ON THESE ISSUES IN THE PAST. I KNOW THE PASSION. I KNOW THE COMMITMENT AND THE WILLINGNESS. AND I HOPE THAT THIS IS NOT ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO FIX THESE PROBLEMS THAT WE LOSE. THAT'S SOMEBODY ELSE'S LIFE IS LOST OR PAIN TO THE COMMUNITY IN VAIN. IT'S TOO MUCH. AND I HOPE WE RESIST THE URGE AS A CITY, AS A PEOPLE, AS YOU, AS LEADERS, TO ANALYZE THIS PROBLEM. AGAIN, WE'VE ANALYZED THIS PROBLEM. WE DON'T NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S CAUSING IT. WE KNOW WHAT'S CAUSING IT. WE NEED ACTION. WE HAVE YEARS AND DECADES OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY, OF FEEDBACK FROM THIS COMMUNITY ON WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AND WHAT THEY WANT, WHAT THEY EXPECT, WHAT THEY DESERVE. SO I HOPE THAT YOU LISTEN TO THAT. I KNOW THE OPA HAS RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND SOME OF THAT THAT THEY PUT FORWARD BACK IN 2021. THAT HASN'T HAPPENED.

I KNOW THAT THERE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS MOVING FORWARD AS WELL FROM BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS INSIDE OF THE CITY, BUT PLEASE DON'T JUST ANALYZE. PLEASE DON'T TRY TO COMFORT THROUGH THAT. ANALYZE THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT IS A NATURAL REACTION. LET'S LET'S ACTUALLY TAKE ACTION. BE BOLD. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. AND IF IT DOESN'T WORK, TRY SOMETHING ELSE AS WELL. DON'T BE AFRAID TO TAKE CHANCES BECAUSE WE HAVE TO FIX THIS. THANK YOU. HELLO, FRIENDS. MARK FROM GRAND RAPIDS. HERE WE GO AGAIN. WHEN IS IT GOING TO STOP? WELL, I FIRST CAME TO THESE MEETINGS. I SAID I WAS FROM THE TRIANGLE. I HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER WHO WAS A FORMER POLICE DETECTIVE. I HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WERE WHO HAD RUN INS WITH THE LAW. I REMEMBER WHO WAS KILLED BY POLICE. HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG. HE WAS SITTING HE WAS IN HIS HOUSE HOLDING HIS INFANT GRANDSON. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE CAME BARGING HIS HOUSE WITH ASSAULT RIFLES AND HANDGUNS, OPENING FIRE ON THEM. AND HE WAS KILLED INSTANTLY. FORTUNATELY, HIS INFANT GRANDSON, WHO IS NOW AN ADULT, SURVIVED. I DON'T KNOW HOW, BUT HE SURVIVED. HE'S ABOUT THE SAME AGE AS DAQUAN JOHNSON. MY GREAT AUNT NEVER GOT THE JUSTICE THAT SHE DESERVED. THE JOHNSON FAMILY DOES GET THE JUSTICE THAT THEY DESERVE. HOW CAN YOU HAVE HIM ALREADY IN CONTROL? AN OPEN FIRE WITH OPEN FIRE FIVE TIMES IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD? THAT MAKES NO SENSE.

SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN. AND I'M TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW, OUT OF TOWNERS ARE GOING TO COME IN AND WREAK HAVOC. TRUST ME ON THAT. BUT YOU KNOW, WE HAVE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE ATTORNEYS JUST LIKE THEY DID WITH MY COUSIN. YOU'LL FRAME THE NARRATIVE AND TRICK IT UP AND VICTIM BLAME. DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN. DON'T WANT IT TO HAPPEN HERE. IT SHOULD BE TRACKED. WHAT THEY SAID IMMEDIATELY. WE WANT THAT HAPPENING NOW. BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THE ORANGE VALLEY GAVE ALL POLICE OFFICERS NATIONWIDE FULL IMMUNITY. BUT YOU CAN MAKE A

[02:05:06]

THERE ARE THREE OTHER PEOPLE THAT THEY ARE TO CALL BEFORE 911 NOW. AND SO IT'S MY DESIRE THAT SOMETHING GETS DONE NOW. SO I'M HERE AS, AS A AS A RESIDENT. I'M HERE AS A FATHER.

I'M HERE AS A BLACK MAN. I'M HERE AS A BLACK FATHER IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT I LOVE, THAT I CHOSE TO BE IN, TO WORK IN, TO LIVE IN AND TO PLAY. BUT THE TIME IS NOW. THE TIME IS RIGHT NOW TO DO SOMETHING MORE THAN WHAT'S BEING DONE AT THIS VERY MOMENT. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING.

MY NAME IS ERIC BROWN, LIFELONG RESIDENT, THIRD WARD PROUD THIRD WARD OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. GREW UP FIVE AND A HALF MILES. WELL, EXCUSE ME ABOUT THREE AND A HALF BLOCKS FROM WHERE OUR MOST RECENT SITUATION OCCURRED. LIKE OTHERS TODAY, I AM GOING TO READ SCRIPTURE AS I DO BELIEVE IN IT. IT SAYS, WOE TO THOSE WHO MAKE UNJUST LAWS, TO THOSE WHO ISSUE OPPRESSIVE DECREES, TO DEPRIVE THE POOR OF THEIR RIGHTS, AND TO WITHHOLD JUSTICE FROM THE OPPRESSED OF MY PEOPLE. THAT WORD JUSTICE COULD BE TRANSLATED RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND THAT WORD CAN THEN GO FURTHER ON. WE SAY, TO MAKE SOMETHING RIGHT. I'VE STOOD BEFORE YOU GUYS AND MANY TIMES ON THE SHOULDERS OF THOSE THAT THAT HAVE COME BEFORE FOR DECADES.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RECOUNTING THE LAST COUPLE OF 4 OR 5 YEARS, THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN COME FORTH FOR DECADES PLEADING WITH YOUR PREDECESSORS, MY PREDECESSORS, TO MAKE CHANGE OF HOW WE POLICE IN OUR COMMUNITY, PLEADING. I'VE ALSO SAID WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY RECENTLY TO REPAIR FISSURES THAT WERE HAPPENING WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AS IT RELATES TO POLICE AND IN OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW WE RELATE. I'M SAD TO SAY THAT THAT FISSURE IS NOW A CHASM. WE HAVE TO WE MUST ACT. LOOK AT HOW WE DO POLICING WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. HELLO, MY NAME IS RANDY MORALES AND I'M A CITIZEN FROM THE FIRST WARD. AND ONE OF THE THINGS I REMEMBER DISCUSSING WITH YOU, MAYOR LEGRAND, WAS THAT YOU WANTED US TO COME UP HERE WITH NOT JUST DEMANDS, BUT COMING WITH FULL IDEAS AND STEPS FOR WHAT WE SEEK IN THESE DISCUSSIONS. AND I THINK ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS I CAN BRING UP WAS TO REITERATE THE IDEAS OF REVIEWING THE CANINE POLICIES IN OUR CITY, ANOTHER ONE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS IMPORTANT, IS REVIEWING THE POLICIES ON OUR PURSUITS. AND SEVERAL OF THE INCIDENTS THAT I CAN THINK OF

[02:10:03]

THERE IS NO JUSTIFIABLE REASON FOR THAT TO BE THE CASE. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A KID GETTING HIS FACE CHEWED UP BY A BY A HOUND DOG NOW, LIKE, COME ON, WE GOT TO BE ABLE TO DO BETTER THAN THIS. AND THE THE THIRD THING IS, IS THAT ONE OF OUR, ONE OF OUR THE DEMANDS THAT. PEOPLE ARE PUTTING OUT FOR THE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE IS ENDING OUR CONTRACT WITH FLOC. NOW, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL ARE AWARE, BUT OUR CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS WITH A COMPANY CALLED FLOC. THEY ARE AN AI COMPANY, LIKE ALL TECH COMPANIES ARE NOW, APPARENTLY, BUT THEY RUN A NATIONWIDE DRAGNET OF LICENSE PLATE TRACKERS. I'M A CITIZEN OF THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS. I DON'T WANT TO BE TRACKED. I DON'T WANT I DON'T WANT THE CITY. I DON'T CARE IF THE POLICE ARE ANGELS AND THEY'RE NOT TO KNOW WHERE I'M DRIVING ALL THE TIME WITHOUT A WARRANT.

THAT ALSO IS UNACCEPTABLE, RIGHT? AND IT CAN'T BE CHEAP. OKAY, SO I, AS A CITIZEN, REALLY WANT ANSWERS AS TO WHY THAT MONEY IS GOING TO FLOC AND WHAT THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS IS USING IT FOR, AND HOW THEY'RE SHARING INFORMATION WITH FLOC, AND FURTHERMORE, HOW THEY'RE SHARING INFORMATION AND RESOURCES WITH ICE WHO ARE THREATENING OUR NEIGHBORS. IT'S UNACCEPTABLE. AND I KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE HERE BECAUSE YOU WANT TO HELP PEOPLE. NO ONE GOES INTO CITY GOVERNMENT TO JUST, I DON'T KNOW, BE HARANGUED BY THE PUBLIC. YOU GUYS ARE HERE BECAUSE YOU WANT TO HELP PEOPLE. YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT. YOU HAVE

[02:15:04]

WOW. IT'S A IT'S A HEAVY DAY. YEAH. TEN YEARS. MY FAMILY DOESN'T EXIST NOW. THANK YOU.

GRPD. YOU TOOK MY MY HUSBAND AWAY. AND WE ALL KNOW HE. YOU KNOW, THEY BEAT HIM ALMOST TO DEATH ON OUR FRONT STEPS WITH MY KID WATCHING AND MYSELF. AND THEN PATRICK LYOYA WAS BEST FRIENDS WITH MY TENANTS. SO, YEAH, MY HEAD HAS BEEN A REAL EFFED UP NOW FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS. WITH ALL THE 30 YEARS OF VIOLENCE THAT I WITNESSED FROM GRPD. AND I REALLY WISH YOU GUYS WOULD WAKE UP. OKAY, LIKE I CANNOT WATCH THIS ANYMORE. AND MELINDA, USAC, I'M GOING TO BE OVER IN YOUR WARD NOW. YOU GET TO HAVE ME NOW. YES, MELINDA, YOU YOU YOU GET TO HAVE ME. AND I HAVE BEEN IN MY HOME NOW FOR 17 YEARS, AND I HAVE ALL THESE LOVELY, VIOLENT MEMORIES. AND IT FEELS NOW LIKE I LIVE IN A WAR ZONE, WITH THE HELICOPTERS FLYING OVER MY HEAD AND SHAKING MY LITTLE OLD HOUSE. AND I FEEL FOR DIXON'S FAMILY THAT THE HOUSE THAT I'M MOVING INTO, THAT I'M HALF INTO, IT'S A HALF A BLOCK FROM WHERE THIS POOR MAN HAS, HAS BEEN EXECUTED.

BECAUSE THAT'S ALL THE OFFICERS SEEM TO KNOW HOW TO DO. AND A YEAR AGO I WAS DRIVING 44TH IN DIVISION. MY PASSENGER WAS REMOVED OUT OF MY CAR AND MY RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED. MELINDA, WILL YOU PLEASE LISTEN AND LOOK UP? THAT WOULD BE SO NICE. HE WAS A LATINO MAN THAT WAS UNDOCUMENTED, THAT HAD NOT BEEN IN GUATEMALA SINCE HE WAS THREE. HE WAS PULLED OUT OF HIS CAR.

AND I WROTE A LETTER TO US, TO ALL OF YOU AND MAYOR LEGRAND. I WROTE IT SIX PAGES INTO THE ACLU. NO ONE CARED. NO ONE CARED. STILL, NOBODY CARES BECAUSE YOU'RE STILL SHOOTING AND MURDERING MY RESIDENT NEIGHBORS. AND I STILL COOPERATES WITH GRPD. AND I STILL GET MONEY FROM ALL THE PASTORS ON THE SOUTH SIDE WHO LET THEM PARK IN THEIR PARKING LOT, AND THEN THEY GO OUT AND HUNT THE NEIGHBORS. I'M NOT CRAZY. I AM SO SICK OF IT. I'M

[02:20:02]

THEY COME OVER FOR DINNER AND EAT AT MY TABLE. OKAY? THEY'RE WELCOMED IN MY TABLE. AND IF THEY DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO SLEEP IN MY BASEMENT, OKAY, I DON'T CARE IF THEY STINK.

PLEASE WAKE UP AND FIX THIS. AND WHERE'S THE CIVILIAN APPEALS BOARD? OKAY. DO YOU REMEMBER 1990? WHATEVER, 1990. PAUL MAYHEW, CALL HIM ON THE PHONE. I USED TO SIT ON THESE BOARDS, AND THAT'S WHY I RUN MY MOUTH. AND THAT'S WHY YOU STILL SEE ME HERE. OKAY. MELINDA.

MELINDA? YES? YOU GET TO HAVE ME AGAIN. OH, I'M ON YOUR BLACK. ALL RIGHT, LET ME LOWER THIS REAL QUICK. I'M JUSTIN GOMEZ. I'M A RESIDENT OF GRAND RAPIDS FOR OVER 40 YEARS. MY WHOLE LIFE. I SEE SO MANY OF MY, MY, MY PEOPLE IN MY COMMUNITY, I SEE EVERY DAY. AND I JUST ASK, LIKE, WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING, DO YOU FEEL SAFE WHEN YOU SEE THE POLICE? DO YOU FEEL PROTECTED? I'M KIND OF GETTING SICK OF ASKING, AND IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE NOBODY'S LISTENING. SO I MEAN, TO HEAL THE HOOD, IT'S GOING TO TAKE US, BUT WE NEED US TO ALL NOT JUST BE HERE, BUT TO TAKE ACTION WHEN WE LEAVE HERE. SO, MAN, JUST STAY PRAYED UP. MAN, I LOVE Y'ALL. WAIT. I GOT TWO MINUTES. SORRY. ALSO, THE STEPCHILD OF MY FATHER WAS A PERMANENT RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. HE WAS DEPORTED EIGHT YEARS AGO. IT'S HARD HAVING TO SEE MY MOTHER CRY EVERY DAY FOR HER HUSBAND. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO. IT'S GOING TO HURT ME FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. PERMANENT RESIDENT JUST TOLD IT WAS UP TO THE ICE AGENT. EXCUSE ME? IT WAS UP TO THE JUDGE WHO WAS A FORMER ICE AGENT, AND I AIN'T SEEN MY DAD IN EIGHT YEARS. I'LL BE 41 THIS YEAR. MY FATHER HAS BEEN IN MY LIFE FOR 39 YEARS. I'M READY FOR CHANGE AND I'M NOT LAYING DOWN ON THE GROUND, TAKING A BOOT TO THE FACE. TAKE THAT. HOW Y'ALL WANT? HELLO. MY NAME IS AALIYAH SAIFULLAH AND I'M UP HERE BECAUSE THE BIGGEST THING IS I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WE HAVE AN ALL WHITE POLICE FORCE WORKING IN INNER CITY. ANY OTHER BIG CITY YOU GO TO, YOU SEE BLACK POLICE OFFICERS. THERE'S NO WAY ON EARTH THAT YOU HAVE 90 PLUS PERCENT OF A POLICE FORCE THAT IS ALL WHITE, TRYING TO INTERACT WITH THE INNER CITY, BECAUSE THE PROBLEM IS THEY'RE NOT INTERACTING WELL. THEY'RE NOT INTERACTING WELL. WHY DON'T WE MANDATE THAT YOU GUYS HAVE A LITTLE MORE DIVERSITY ON THE GRPD? I MEAN, THERE'S FOR YEARS, IT'S PROBABLY NOT EVEN BEEN 100 POLICE OFFICERS THAT HAVE BEEN BLACK SINCE 1980, IN GRPD. AND WE'RE THE SECOND BIGGEST CITY IN MICHIGAN. AND EVERY TIME YOU LOOK AROUND, THERE IS NO BLACK POLICE OFFICERS. IT PROBABLY DOESN'T MATTER TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT IT MATTERS BECAUSE ONE THING, THE HARDEST JOB TO HAVE IS TO BE A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA. AND WITH THAT SAID, IS IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO INTERACT AND TALK TO ANYBODY THAT IS NOT WHITE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A PROBLEM. AND IT'S NOT THAT IT'S A WHITE THING VERSUS A BLACK THING, BUT IT'S A WHITE THING AND A BLACK THING. WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE, OFFICERS WHO HAVE NEVER STEPPED FOOT IN GRAND RAPIDS UNTIL THEY HAVE BEEN ON THE POLICE FORCE, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO INTERACT WITH THESE PEOPLE. SO WHEN YOU DON'T INTERACT WELL WITH PEOPLE, YOU'RE GOING TO GET CONFLICT, BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY ON EARTH THAT WE'VE HAD, WHAT, TWO MURDERS? NO, THREE IN THE LAST SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS BY POLICE OFFICERS BASED OFF SOMEBODY'S NOT FOLLOWING RULES. TAKE THEM TO JAIL, GIVE THEM ANOTHER CHARGE, BUT TO KILL PEOPLE, THAT'S BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO INTERACT WITH THEM. YOU KNOW, WHY DON'T YOU GUYS MANDATE FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE DIVERSITY ON THE GRPD? I MEAN, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT YOU GO TO ANY OTHER CITY. YOU SEE DIVERSITY ON A POLICE FORCE HERE. YOU I PROMISE IT'S NOT BEEN MORE THAN 100 BLACK OFFICERS SINCE 1980. IN GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. YOU

[02:25:06]

THEY ILLEGALLY PUT THEIR HANDS ON PEOPLE. SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S MORE THAN THEM JUST KILLING PEOPLE THAT HARASS PEOPLE. THEY DO ILLEGAL THINGS AND NOTHING IS EVER DONE. SO WITH THAT SAID, IS IS LIKE TO SIT UP HERE AND TO VOTE FOR WHAT? BECAUSE YOU GET MORE ENERGY WHEN IT'S TIME TO VOTE EVERYBODY. THEY PUT A Y'ALL PUT STICKERS ON DOORS. Y'ALL GOT BIG BULLHORNS CALLING OUT NAMES. EVERYBODY WANT TO VOTE. BUT WHAT ARE WE VOTING FOR? WE'RE NOT GETTING NOTHING. NO ONE ELSE. I WILL TURN TO MY COLLEAGUES AND FOR THEIR

[COMMENTS BY COMMISSIONERS]

QUITE HONESTLY, I'M NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BULLIED ME ONLINE AND ASK HER HOW THE POLICE ENDED UP AT HER HOUSE AND WHY HER HUSBAND ISN'T HERE ANYMORE. SO THAT'S GOING TO BE MY COMMENT ON THAT. I WILL NOT BE BULLIED BY BEING UP HERE, SO PLEASE MAKE THAT KNOWN.

CAN I SAY TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO CAME TODAY? THANK YOU. QUITE HONESTLY, THE RHETORIC AND CITY MANAGER, YOU AND I AND AND PHIL, YOU AND I, THE THREE OF US WERE UP HERE AND. SORRY, JOEL, WHEN THERE WASN'T THE LAST OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING, BUT A OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING THAT RESULTED IN THE KILLING OF PATRICK LEAH. AND THE COMMENTS. IT I HATE TO COMPARE IT, BUT THE COMMENTS TODAY I TOOK SO MANY DIFFERENT NOTES BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS THAT I FELT LIKE WE COULD CHANNEL INTO ACTION AS A COMMUNITY. I THINK WHEN WE'RE DEALING WITH ANY DEATH KILLING, THERE IS SO MUCH GRIEF AND PROCESS. AND IT'S TRUE WHEN IT'S SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW. THE WHEN I STARTED CRYING WAS WHEN MY FRIEND JAMAL EDDIE, WHO WE'VE KNOWN SINCE COLLEGE, STARTED TALKING ABOUT HIS SONS THAT I KNOW. AND SO I SAID TO MAYOR LEE GRANT, I WANT TO BE THE FIRST PERSON TO SPEAK BECAUSE I THINK. REALLY EVERYBODY OUTSIDE OF MISS HICKS, I'LL JUST SAY AGAIN, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL COMING OUT TONIGHT. I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS. I APPRECIATE PEOPLE'S COMMENTS ALL IN THIS LAST WEEK. AND IT HAS BEEN A CYCLE. I'M, YOU KNOW, HEARING YOU TALK, RUSS, LIKE, THESE WERE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE WERE HAVING LAST NIGHT AT THE MAYOR'S MONDAY. I HEARD THESE QUESTIONS, ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT SURVEILLANCE AND WHAT WAS INCLUDED IN SURVEILLANCE LAST NIGHT. SOMEBODY WHO WASN'T THE MAYOR SAID, YOU KNOW, FLOCK CAMERAS ARE SUBJECT TO SURVEILLANCE POLICY. THEY ARE NOT. THEY WERE GRANDFATHERED PRIOR TO THE SURVEILLANCE POLICY PRIOR. THEY WERE GRANDFATHERED. SO THEY ARE NOT SUBJECT TO TO THAT OVERSIGHT. WHAT WE DID SEE TODAY IN OUR PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING IS THAT WE DID HAVE A REPORT ON FLOCK, BECAUSE LAST YEAR, AT THE BEHEST OF A NUMBER OF COMMISSIONERS, INCLUDING THE CITY MANAGER, INCLUDING OUR CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, SAID THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE TEN PLUS YEARS WE'VE WORKED WITH IT, AND THERE ARE SO MANY QUESTIONS THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS FACING AS IT RELATES TO ICE. WE WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS TECHNOLOGY. WE WENT BEYOND WHAT THE POLICY SAID, AND I HEARD SOMEBODY SAID, AND THE GENTLEMAN WHO TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CULTURAL OVER POLICY, IT'S TRUE. AND SO IN THAT REGARD, WE THAT WASN'T OUR POLICY, THAT WAS OUR CULTURE.

AND I'M SHAKING BECAUSE IT'S SCARY. IT'S SCARY TO PUT YOURSELF UP ON HERE. AND YES, WE'RE GETTING PAID. AND YES, WE DECIDED TO BE HERE. AND YES, SOME OF US MYSELF, THE ONLY ONE UP HERE, I DON'T HAVE TO RUN FOR REELECTION. AND SO SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE I HAVE THE LEAST TO LOSE AT THIS POINT. SO I'M JUST GOING TO SAY WHAT I REALLY THINK AND WHAT I'VE REALLY LEARNED OVER THESE LAST SIX AND A HALF YEARS. SO IN THAT INSTANCE, CULTURE DID EAT POLICY. ABSOLUTELY. YESTERDAY AT THE MAYOR'S MONDAY, THERE WAS A QUESTION ASKED ABOUT WHY WE DIDN'T RELEASE THE NAME OF THE OFFICER. AND QUITE HONESTLY, AN INVESTIGATION ISN'T DONE.

BUT WHY DIDN'T WE RELEASE THE NAME OF THE OFFICER AGAIN? RUSS. KELSEY, WE WERE PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING ON A NUMBER OF THESE ISSUES BEFORE WE WERE ELECTED, BEFORE YOU WERE ON A BODY, POLICE OFFICERS, POLICE OFFICERS, PUBLIC OFFICIALS WHO WORK, WHO ARE PUBLIC SERVANTS HAVE A LOT OF PROTECTIONS. THEY HAVE A LOT OF EMPLOYMENT PROTECTIONS THAT ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN THE PROTECTIONS THAT WE HAVE. I DID NOT MAKE UP THAT RULE. THAT'S HOW I WOULD ANSWER THAT QUESTION. LAST NIGHT. THERE WAS A QUESTION YESTERDAY ABOUT WHY DON'T WE

[02:30:06]

AND SO THAT WAS A MOVE THAT WE MADE. I CAN'T REMEMBER CITY MANAGER, BUT THAT WAS PROBABLY MY THIRD, SECOND OR THIRD YEAR IN COMMISSION. AGAIN, TOTALLY AGREE. CULTURE EATS POLICY AND THAT NOBODY MADE US GO TO GRCC, GRCC SAID. WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO? HOW CAN WE RESPOND? HOW CAN WE GET MORE BLACK? LET'S SAY EXPLICITLY BLACK AND BROWN OFFICERS ON THE POLICE FORCE, MORE WOMEN, YOU KNOW, AND MORE WOMEN OF MORE BLACK AND BROWN WOMEN. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE DID, AND I'M NOW SERVING ON OUR PUBLIC SAFETY BODY AS BACK THIS WAS BEFORE THIS WAS BEFORE ME AND AGAIN BEFORE A NUMBER OF US HERE. BUT THE IDEA THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE MORE CIVILIANS ON OUR PUBLIC SAFETY BODY, PUBLIC SAFETY, IS A STANDING COMMITTEE THAT WE HAVE FOR THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS. HOW DO WE BRING MORE VOICES INTO THAT TODAY? PASTOR GOLSON, THANK YOU FOR YOUR MY APPOINTEE. THANK YOU FOR BEING MY APPOINTEE SERVING THE SECOND WARD WELL. AND YOU ASKED A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION. HOW ARE WE MEASURING THE AMOUNT OF OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED? 2022 WAS THE QUESTION. AND WHAT DID WE SAY AT THAT MEETING TODAY? THERE WAS SOME BACK AND FORTH ABOUT THE NUANCE, AGAIN OF PUBLIC PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES AND WHAT ARE THEIR RIGHTS AS EMPLOYEES. BUT HOW COULD WE WORK AROUND THAT? AGAIN, GOING BEYOND POLICY TO SAY, HOW CAN WE GET AT THAT INFORMATION? WE'VE COMMITTED TO THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE KIND OF WENT BACK AND FORTH ON THE DATE. BUT WE SAID THE MOST NEXT AVAILABLE PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING. THANK YOU, PASTOR GOLSTON. AGAIN, SOMEBODY SERVING AN INDIVIDUAL SERVING UNDER PUBLIC SAFETY BODY TODAY WHEN WE HAD THIS SURVEILLANCE REPORT, WE HEARD ABOUT A NUMBER OF THINGS, INCLUDING, AGAIN, SOMETHING AS IT RELATES TO TO DRONES. AND I KNOW THEY'RE CALLED SOMETHING ELSE, BUT DRONES. THIS WAS AN ISSUE THAT WE WERE WORKING ON PRIOR TO COVID. PRIOR TO ME BEING ON CITY COMMISSION, I WAS ON PUBLIC SAFETY, WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE NAACP, MODELING WHAT WE HAD IN THE CITY. I CAN'T REMEMBER THE CITY IN CALIFORNIA, SANTA CLARA, I BELIEVE IT WAS WHERE WE WERE SAYING, HOW DID WE INTRODUCE TECHNOLOGY? QUITE HONESTLY, KNOWING THAT WE ALL HAVE THESE PIECES OF TECHNOLOGY, MULTIPLE PIECES OF TECHNOLOGY THAT WERE UTILIZED AND THAT WERE BEING TRACKED, WE HAD TO WAIT FOR SOME TIME. COVID HIT AGAIN. WE HAD A ROBUST CONVERSATION. SOME OF US WERE SUPPORTIVE OF IT, SOME OF IT WEREN'T. SOME OF US WERE NOT FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. BUT AGAIN, WE HAD A ROBUST DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW DO WE INTRODUCE NEW TECHNOLOGY.

WHY AM I SAYING ALL THIS? BECAUSE I AM SITTING HERE QUESTIONING, HOW HAVE I SPENT THE LAST SIX YEARS OF MY LIFE? WHAT HAVE I DONE? WHAT HAVE WE ACCOMPLISHED? AND IN THIS MOMENT, IT SEEMS LIKE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. AND THEN I'M SITTING HERE AND I SAW MY COMMISSIONER, MY PAST COLLEAGUE, COMMISSIONER JONES, AND I TALKED TO COMMISSIONER LANIER, AND I HAVE TO REMIND MYSELF THAT THAT'S NOT THE CASE. EVEN AS A NICE. I THINK MR. JOHNSON'S MOTHER IS NO LONGER HERE. BUT THANK THANK HER FOR COMING OUT THIS EVENING. AND HOW DO WE LIVE IN THIS BALANCE OF THE REALITY IS, I WILL HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT. MANY OF YOU KNOW, THE GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED WHEN MY HUSBAND WAS ASSAULTED, HAS BEEN WORKING ON THE CASE OF MY COUSIN WHO WAS MURDERED ON THE IN THE FIRST WARD. THAT STILL REMAINS UNSOLVED. SO AS THE COMMISSIONER, I CAN FULLY SAY HERE I SIT IN THAT YOU SAID THIS TODAY, COMMISSIONER, THAT WE LIVE IN THIS BOTH AND WORLD.

[02:35:04]

THAT'S WHEN PATRICK LEO WAS KILLED. 2023. WE HAD AN ELECTION. WE HAD NEW COMMISSIONERS. 2024 WAS A MAYOR WHO HAD BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS. HER LAST YEAR, 2025, WE HAVE THREE NEW COMMISSIONERS. AND I SAID, WHAT HAVE WE ACCOMPLISHED? AND I CAN SAY HERE AND I SAY THAT THIS THESE SIX YEARS WERE NOT IN VAIN. THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY NOT IN VAIN. AND I APPRECIATE ALL MY COLLEAGUES UP HERE, BECAUSE WHILE WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES AND HOW WE EXPERIENCE LIFE, I DO KNOW THAT YOU ALL INDIVIDUALLY CARE AND YOU ARE ALL INDIVIDUALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE DO WE FIT INTO THIS CONVERSATION? BECAUSE GRAND RAPIDS WANTS TO BE KNOWN FOR A LOT OF THINGS, AND I, I DON'T WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR BEING A CITY THAT PEOPLE DON'T FEEL SAFE IN, THAT DON'T FEEL SAFE AND CONNECTED TO THEIR PUBLIC SAFETY SYSTEM, THAT FEEL THAT THEIR CITY OFFICIALS DO NOT CARE FOR THEM. THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR. I'VE GOT TWO AND A HALF MORE YEARS, AND THE REALITY IS ALL OF US HAVE DIFFERENT THOUGHTS AND IDEAS OF WHAT WE WANT TO WORK ON. AND LET'S BE HONEST, SOMETIMES THEY'RE NOT THE SAME. AND SO DOES THAT STIFLE A COLLECTIVE DECISION BEING MADE? SOMETIMES, YES. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S NOT BECAUSE WE DON'T CARE. AND SO I THINK THIS IS AS MANY TIMES OF WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS, THERE IS A CYCLE OF SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS THAT CAUSES THIS CONCERN, AND THEN IT GOES AWAY AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENS AND IT CAUSES A CONCERN, AND THEN IT GOES AWAY AND IT WILL CONTINUE. AND I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF LIKE, THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE, BUT I KNOW THAT I FEEL THAT ALEXANDER HAMILTON LIKE RUNNING OUT OF TIME. I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME. I'M NO, I'M NOT THE NEW KID ANYMORE. AND I JUST REALLY HAD TO KIND OF PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE AND QUITE HONESTLY, WAS TRIGGERED BY SOMEBODY CALLING ME OUT WHO HAS BEEN JUST QUITE HONESTLY, LIKE ABUSIVE TO ME ONLINE. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR LISTENING TO ME GO DOWN THIS COLLECTIVE HOLE, QUITE HONESTLY, OF WHERE DO WE SIT AND WHERE DO WE STAND? BUT I WANT COMMUNITY TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M THINKING. I WANT OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT TO KNOW WHAT I'M THINKING. I WANT OUR CITY MANAGER AND MY ELECTED LEADERS AND APPOINTED LEADERS TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I THINK I'M THINKING. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. THANK YOU ALL FOR WHO SHARED STORIES. FOR THOSE WHO, YOU KNOW, SHARED SOME TRAUMA AND IT WAS HARD. THANK YOU FOR BEING VULNERABLE. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WORK IN SYSTEMS, LET'S CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER AND I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER BELCHER. HI. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER.

THAT WAS A PERFECT SEGUE. I THINK FOR EVERYTHING WE'RE DEALING WITH. I AGREE, THE LAST FEW DAYS HAVE FELT VERY, VERY HEAVY. THERE'S A LOT GOING ON. WE ARE DOWN A COMMISSIONER. WE TALKED TODAY AT COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ABOUT HOW TO REPLACE THAT ROLE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE GOOD REPRESENTATION IN THE FIRST WARD AND FOR THE ENTIRE CITY. THESE ISSUES ARE THINGS THAT AFFECT ALL OF US, WHETHER IT'S HOUSING, WHETHER IT'S THE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY, WHETHER IT'S THE POLICING AND JUSTICE, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE HAVE A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT.

AND SO I REALLY FEEL LIKE WE NEED ALL OF US TO BE ACTIVE. AND I KNOW THAT'S HARD TO SAY WHEN SO MUCH HAS ALREADY FELT LIKE IT'S STALLED OR NOT HAPPENING, BUT I THINK THAT'S I HEARD SOME OF THE COMMENTS TONIGHT. BESIDES THE PAIN, THE FEAR, THE VERY LONG, LONG LOOK BACK INTO HISTORY, I ALSO HEARD PEOPLE ASKING SOME GOOD QUESTIONS AND ASKING OURSELVES AS CITIZENS, AS RESIDENTS, AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS, SOME GOOD QUESTIONS. AND I REALLY APPLAUD

[02:40:02]

THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT. HEARING YOUR TESTIMONIES WAS REALLY IMPACTFUL AND I'M REALLY GLAD THIS BODY AT THIS TIME COULD HEAR EVERYTHING YOU ALL SAID IN THE WAY THAT YOU SAID IT. YOU KNOW, I GREW UP ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE. I'M BORN AND RAISED HERE IN THE CITY. I GREW UP IN A HOUSE A FEW BLOCKS FROM WHERE THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED, WHERE DAQUAN JOHNSON WAS KILLED, AND THAT'S WHERE I RODE MY BIKE. THAT'S WHERE I WALKED. THAT'S WHERE I WENT TO GO TO MISS TRACY'S AND SAM'S TO GET SOME CHIPS AND SOME POP. AND WHAT I WOULD WHAT I WOULD CONFIRM TO EVERYONE HERE AND EVERYONE LISTENING IS THERE WERE NO LIES TOLD TODAY, FOLKS TALKING ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE. WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT FOR. WE'VE BEEN SAYING THAT FOR DECADES. A LOT OF WHAT WAS SHARED TODAY, THE FEAR, FEELING, HARASSED, FEELING TARGETED, FEELING AND SEEING THAT YOUR COMMUNITY IS NOT BEING INVESTED IN THAT YOU AS A COMMUNITY ARE UNDERESTIMATED AND UNDERVALUED IN YOUR OWN CITY, TO THE POINT WHERE WE ARE HAVING A HARD TIME EVEN RETAINING FOLKS, PARTICULARLY WITHIN THE BLACK COMMUNITY. FOLKS ARE READY TO GO TO PLACES THAT FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT THERE IS MORE FOR THEM TO DO, AND THERE ARE

[02:45:04]

AND WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE AT 9 A.M. THE NEXT DAY THERE TO PROVIDE RESOURCES. WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN KNOCKING ON ALL THE SCHOOLS WITHIN A MILE DISTANCE TO SEE HOW WE CAN PARTNER THEM WITH THEM, WHAT SUPPORT WE NEED. I AM NOT PLEASED WITH OUR PREPAREDNESS TO PARTNER AND TO SERVE, AND TO SHOW UP IN MOMENTS LIKE THIS. I THINK IT ADDS TO THE DISSERVICE. I THINK IT ADDS TO THE BROKEN TRUST, AND IT'S PART OF THIS PROCESS OF OF FAIRNESS, OF JUSTICE AND OF HEALING. YOU KNOW, I WAS A VICTIM OF GUN VIOLENCE ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO. AND AFTER THE POLICE LEFT AND SOMEONE SAID EARLIER AND I HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE AFTER MY HOUSE WAS SHOT UP NINE TIMES, I GOT A DUCK IN THE BATHROOM, BULLET HOLES GOING THROUGH MY DRYWALL, THROUGH MY WINDOWS. THE FIRST PERSON I CALLED WAS NOT THE POLICE. MY FIRST GUT INSTINCT.

IT WASN'T EVEN A THOUGHT. IT WASN'T A LOGICAL. IT WASN'T A CONSCIOUS THOUGHT. IT WAS AN UNCONSCIOUS THOUGHT. WHO I WOULD CALL NEXT. AND THEN I CALLED THE POLICE. AND THEN I'M SHAKING AND I'M IN SHOCK. LITERAL SHOCK. RIGHT? AS SOMEONE WHO WASN'T ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY ARMED, AND IT FELT LIKE THERE WAS MORE INTEREST IN FIGURING OUT THE DAMAGE FOR THE INSURANCE CLAIMS THAN IT WAS FOR PROTECTING PROTECTING MY MY SOUL, PROTECTING MY MENTAL HEALTH. AND SO I THINK ABOUT ALL THE BABIES, ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE, ALL THE GROWN PEOPLE.

WE ARE ALL IMPACTED WHEN THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN, WHETHER WE SAW IT IN REAL TIME, WE SAW IT ON THE VIDEO, OR WE KNOW THAT IT KEEPS EXISTING. THAT CHANGES US AS A COMMUNITY. AND SO I, A LOT OF PEOPLE SAID IN IN DIFFERENT WAYS, LIKE, WHERE IS THE ACTION? AND THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER YAZZIE. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO'S I MEAN, YOU ARE SENIOR COMMISSIONER, YOU'RE PRESIDENT OF THE COMMISSION. AND YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS EVEN TO GET INCREMENTAL CHANGE AND ALL. I MEAN, WE ALL DO AT THIS POINT, ALL THE FIGHT THAT GOES INTO SOMETHING THAT SEEMS RELATIVELY SMALL. AND I THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU NAMED US, ALL THE FIGHT THAT YOU DID, SEEN AND UNSEEN AND UNAPPRECIATED BECAUSE ALL THOSE THINGS REALLY DO MATTER. AND WE KNOW THERE'S MORE FOR US TO DO. RIGHT. SO WITH THAT, I THE ACTIONS THAT ARE TOP OF MY MIND AND I WANT TO ASK VERY DIRECTLY AND EXPLICITLY, CITY MANAGER AND CITY ATTORNEY TO CONSIDER THESE, TO TAKE THE LEAD ON THESE, AND THAT IS TO ONE, IMMEDIATELY BEGIN TO REVIEW OUR PURSUIT POLICY. I THINK IT'S TIME. I DON'T THINK THAT REQUIRES US TO WAIT UNTIL MSP DOES THEIR THING. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN REVIEW SEPARATE FROM THIS INCIDENT. SEPARATE FROM THIS INCIDENT. LOOK AT OUR PURSUIT POLICY AND I THINK PUBLIC SAFETY WILL BE AN APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE TO DO THAT AT. WE HAVE SOME STRONG RESIDENT MEMBERS WHO ARE PART OF THAT ALONG WITH COMMISSIONERS. SO I THINK THAT'S ONE ACTION ITEM THAT WE CAN LEAVE FROM TODAY ON. THE OTHER PART IS, I WOULD LOVE TO US TO LOOK AT OUR CANINE POLICY AS WELL. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I THINK, THAT A CANINE HAS, HAS THAT I'VE EVER

[02:50:05]

THIS PERSON WILL ALSO HELP GUIDE HOW RISK AVERSE WE MAY OR MAY NOT BE WHEN THINGS HAPPEN IN THE WORLD. AND I'M THINKING A LOT ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE FEDERAL, THE WORK THAT THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION IS LEADING AND ALL THE CRAZINESS THERE. SO I THINK SO. WRAPPING UP, THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. MY MY SINCEREST CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY AND TO OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY. WHEN THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN, AFTER THE POLICE TAPE IS GONE, AFTER THE CAMERAS GONE, AFTER THE GAVEL IS, IS IS STRIKES THE TABLE AND WE ALL GO HOME. THIS CONTINUES TO SIT WITH US LONG AFTER. AND AS SOMEONE WHO'S WORKED IN HEALTH, COMMUNITY HEALTH, HEALTH AND PUBLIC HEALTH DATA AND RESEARCH SHOWS THAT STUFF LIKE THIS CAN LINGER LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG AFTER AN ACTUAL INCIDENT. AND SO I, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE SOME RESOURCES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WISDOM CENTER TO SUPPORT PEOPLE FROM THAT, THAT ASPECT RIGHT NOW AND THEN MOVING FORWARD, THAT PURSUIT POLICY, THE CANINE POLICY AND THE OPA COMPLAINT INTAKE PROCESS. I THINK OUR ACTIONS THAT WE CAN TAKE RIGHT NOW IN RESPONSE TO WHAT WE HEARD FROM YOU ALL TONIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR MY COLLEAGUES SHARED QUITE A BIT ON SOME OF THE THOUGHTS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING OR THAT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THROUGH THIS, THIS CONVERSATION TONIGHT. MY FIRST OF ALL, MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE FAMILY FOR THEIR LOSS. WHEN YOU HAVE SONS, IT MAKES YOU THINK A LOT DIFFERENTLY. AND I PONDER THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN OUR COMMUNITY AND IN THIS IN THIS WORLD. AND MY FIRST THING IS TO THANK GOD THAT MY BOYS HAVE BEEN PROTECTED THIS LONG. MY YOUNGEST BEING 26, AND I BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT THE PAIN AND THE LOSS AND WHAT SPECIFICALLY HIT ME WHEN YOU WERE TALKING, COMMISSIONER PERDUE WAS THINKING ABOUT THE THE BOOK MY GRANDMOTHER'S HANDS BY RESHMA MANICKAM, AND THINKING ABOUT HOW THINGS HAVE HAPPENED CONTINUALLY OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND ACROSS THIS WORLD THAT HAVE CAUSED US SO MUCH TRAUMA THAT WE CAN'T EVEN HAVE TIME TO HEAL, TO FIND THE JOY FROM EACH DAY. JUST THAT SMALL GLIMMER OF HOPE OF WHAT CAN HELP US TO MOVE FORWARD, TO BIND US TOGETHER, TO GIVE US THE THOUGHT THAT WE JUST MIGHT MAKE IT RIGHT. AND THEN SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENS AND SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENS. AND WE

[02:55:09]

HOW DO WE DO THIS TOGETHER AS A UNIT, NOT PITTED UP AGAINST EACH OTHER, NOT BEATING EACH OTHER DOWN, NOT TEARING EACH OTHER APART? BECAUSE WE ALL PLAY A PART IN THIS. I HOPE FOR CHANGE TOMORROW, NEXT WEEK, NEXT YEAR, RIGHT NOW. HOW DO WE DO IT? I CAN'T SNAP MY FINGER AND MAKE IT HAPPEN, BUT WE DEFINITELY WILL BE DOING IT. BUT WE HAVE TO DO IT TOGETHER.

SO WHEN THE LIGHTS DIMMED DOWN AND EVERYTHING'S QUIET, Y'ALL GOING TO BE HERE TOMORROW. NEXT WEEK, NEXT MONTH. WHEN THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN THE CITY, IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THERE'S ANYTHING POPPING OFF. SO EVERYBODY GETS QUIET. WE NEED YOU TO SHOW UP THE SAME WAY.

NEXT MEETING. AND THE MEETING AFTER AND THE MEETING AFTER, AND HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS WHEN THE CAMERAS AREN'T ON. LET'S HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS IN THE COFFEE SHOP AND IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE COMMUNITY BUILDINGS AND ON THE STREET. LET'S HAVE THESE SAME CONVERSATIONS AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO MAKE CHANGE. BECAUSE I DO NOT THINK ONE PERSON HERE DOES NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN. AT ALL. MY YOUNGEST GOT BAPTIZED LAST NIGHT. MY HEART WAS FULL AND YET IT'S STILL FULL OF PAIN. I CAN'T REALLY REJOICE. I MEAN, I CAN, BUT YOU KNOW. BECAUSE I STILL FEEL THE PAIN OF SOMEONE ELSE'S LOSS. THAT'S HOW WE INTERCEDE FOR ONE ANOTHER. THAT'S HOW WE STAND IN THE GAP. THAT'S HOW WE LIFT ONE ANOTHER UP. WHEN YOU CAN FEEL THE PAIN OF YOUR NEIGHBOR. SO I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, FOR YOUR COMPASSION, FOR YOUR ENERGY, FOR YOUR HEART. I ASK YOU TO REMAIN THAT WAY AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD.

[03:00:10]

WHAT I CONTINUE TO HEAR FROM EVERYONE WHO SPOKE TODAY, WHO SPOKEN IN PAST MEETINGS, WHO'S COMMUNICATED WITH ME AND COMMUNITY IS DO YOU SEE ME? DO YOU HEAR ME? AND I THINK THAT IS WHY PEOPLE WERE SAYING THINGS LIKE, SHOULD WE LOOK UP? SHOULD WE MAKE EYE CONTACT? I GET ALL OF THIS. THAT IS SIMPLY ALL PEOPLE ARE ASKING US TO DO HERE IS SEE THEM, HEAR THEM, AND HAVE ACTUAL, ACTUAL, FEASIBLE CHANGE. BOTH OF THE LAST, MOST CHALLENGING CONCERNS HAPPENED WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF MY HOME. COMMISSIONER NIGHT WAS RIGHT.

WE LIVE IN THESE COMMUNITIES. I HAVE ENJOYED THE FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD, MLK PARK NEIGHBORHOOD FOR MY WHOLE LIFE, AND WHEN THE THREE FOLKS WERE MURDERED FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, I SAID ONE LIFE WAS TOO MUCH AND I FEEL THE SAME WAY WITH THIS ONE. LIFE IS TOO MUCH. AND SO MY COMMITMENT IS CLEAR THAT OUR PATH TO JUSTICE MUST BE LESS VIOLENT. PERIOD. I WANT TO BE SUCCINCT TONIGHT. NOT THAT I DON'T HAVE MORE TO SAY ON THIS, BUT I WILL BE HAVING A COFFEE HOUR MARCH 13TH FROM 9 A.M. TO 12 P.M. YOU CAN DROP IN AT 107 IN BOSTON SQUARE. COFFEE IS ON ME. AND PLEASE CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION WITH ME. THIS IS NOT DONE. WE HAVE I HAVE HEARD YOU. I AM COMMITTED TO DOING OUR PART AND TAKING ACCOUNTABILITY. WHAT WE CAN DO AT THE CITY LEVEL, WHICH WILL BE FORTHCOMING AS THIS INVESTIGATION PLAYS OUT. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR COMING. YES, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. TODAY WE BROUGHT A PRESENTATION TALKING ABOUT THE FIRST WARD VACANCY. VERY GOOD. ROBUST CONVERSATION WAS DONE BY THE MAYOR AND THE COMMISSIONERS TO COLLABORATE ON A PROCESS. AND AND SO I HAD I HAD A KIND OF A PROCESS DRAFTED BEFORE OF WHAT IT COULD BE. I HEARD A LITTLE BIT OF TALK OF SHRINKING THAT A LITTLE BIT. SO I SENT THAT TO THE THE MAYOR TODAY TO FOR HIS REVIEW. WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT AND SEE HOW WE CAN GET THAT AND THEN WORK ON THE AND GET IT TO YOU FOR WHAT THAT WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE AND FOR WHAT THAT TIME FRAME IS. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT. SO I'VE BEEN HERE ALMOST EIGHT YEARS SITTING ON THIS SIDE OF THE TABLE. SO THIS FOLLOWS UP COMMISSIONER KILGORE WHAT YOU JUST MENTIONED. SO THERE'S THERE'S TWO THERE'S TWO VIEWS IN THIS ROOM. THERE'S THOSE THAT ARE SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE, SITTING ON TELEVISION OR SITTING AT THEIR COMPUTERS WATCHING COMMISSION. AND THEN THERE'S THOSE OF US THAT ARE SITTING UP HERE WATCHING THE AUDIENCE AND WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. SO FOR EIGHT YEARS I'VE WATCHED MAYORS OR TWO MAYORS NOW AND SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS, AS WE HAVE THIS PUBLIC COMMENT

[03:05:04]

AND AND I COMMIT TO DOING THAT THROUGH THIS ENTIRE PROCESS. AND FOR ANY OTHER CRITICAL INCIDENT THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN OUR CITY. SO RIGHT NOW I'M IN LISTENING MODE AND I'M HEARING YOU AND I'M HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE. YOUR YOUR BOTH MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, THE STAFF THAT'S HERE, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF MY EXECUTIVE OFFICE AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT'S HERE TODAY WHO ARE LISTENING. WE'VE HEARD A LOT TONIGHT, A LOT OF PAIN, A LOT OF DISCOMFORT AND A LOT OF TENSION IN THE ROOM. AND WE WE WE NEEDED TO BE IN THAT MOMENT OF LISTENING AND HAVING LISTENED, I DO HAVE A FEW THOUGHTS I'D LIKE TO SHARE. FIRST OF ALL, LET ME ALSO THANK THE MEMBERS OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY WHO ALSO CAME, BUT NOT JUST TO BE DECORATION. THEY TOO SHARED THEIR THOUGHTS AND THEY WERE QUITE CHALLENGING. NOBODY UP HERE GETS A PASS, SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. SO I WANTED TO SHARE. I APPRECIATE COMMISSIONER SASSY'S FRAMING.

THE MOMENT THAT THAT IS PREDICATED MAY IT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE MUCH HAS BEEN DONE, BUT I WANT TO OFFER WHERE WE'VE BEEN, AT LEAST IN MY JOURNEY HERE AND THEN AS A FOUNDATION, BUT NOT THE FINISH LINE. WE KNOW WE HAVE MUCH MORE TO GO. SO JUST SEVERAL THINGS I WOULD ADD TO WHAT SHE SAID. WHEN WE'VE LISTENED TO COMMUNITY, WHEN WE'VE ENGAGED COMMUNITY, AND WHEN IT HAS BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY BOTH FOR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS THE STAFF, THAT INCLUDES THE OFFICERS, TO COME TOGETHER AND TRY TO MAKE CHANGE. AND THAT'S THE WAY IT'S IT HAS TO HAPPEN.

IT CAN'T HAPPEN UNIFORMLY JUST FROM THE DYESS OR JUST FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS SOLELY. SO WE HAVE TO ENGAGE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AS PART OF THE CHANGE. AND SO HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED. YOUTH INTERACTION POLICY TO HELP US BETTER POLICE WHEN WE'RE INTERACTING WITH YOUTH. OUR FOREIGN NATIONAL POLICY THAT YOU'VE HEARD US SHARE, THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE UNTIL WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM COMMUNITY TO IMPROVE.

[03:10:02]

OBVIOUSLY, WE CAN GET BETTER. THAT'S NOT THE FINISH LINE. SO I HEARD THE CALL TO BENCHMARK AND MATTER OF FACT, AS WE ADJOURN THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING TODAY, INTERIM DEPUTY EXCUSE ME, DEPUTY CHIEF, SOON TO BE INTERIM POLICE CHIEF, SAID, HEY, WHEN WE COME BACK TO PUBLIC SAFETY, WHY DON'T WE SHARE MORE TRANSPARENTLY WHAT OUR K-9 UNIT DOES? AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT CONVERSATION WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. THERE WAS ANOTHER INCIDENT BACK IN 2022 THAT DID INVOLVE A PRETTY VISIBLE INTERACTION WITH K-9.

BUT ON THE OTHER END, IN WHICH IT WAS USED TO DE-ESCALATE AND AVOID CHARMING, DEADLY, LETHAL USE OF FORCE IN 2022, IN WHICH THE DOG WAS ACTUALLY THE ONE THAT WAS INJURED IN THAT INCIDENT. SO I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT OUR POLICY AND COMPARE IT TO OTHER POLICE DEPARTMENTS.

MY EXPERIENCE TELLS ME HOW WE POLICE AND USE OUR K-9 UNIT RIGHT NOW IS NO DIFFERENT FROM SOME OF THE OTHER LARGE AND MID-SIZED CITIES, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CANNOT GET BETTER. I'M WILLING TO HAVE CERTAINLY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION IN LIGHT OF THE, YOU KNOW, ANY TIME THERE'S A DEATH. WE TALKED ABOUT 13, 14 PEOPLE THAT WERE KILLED LAST YEAR IN GRAND RAPIDS. AND ONE IS TOO MANY, BOTH WHETHER IT IS CAUSED BY CITIZEN OR IF IT'S, AS WE SAID EARLIER, NO ONE WANTS TO TAKE ANYONE'S LIFE. NO ONE WANTS TO TAKE ANYONE'S LIFE.

SO MY SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCES FOR TO MISS JOHNSON, WHO WAS HERE EARLIER THIS EVENING, I WAS NOT AWARE OF THE INCIDENT WITH DEANDRE. I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S STILL HERE UNTIL EARLIER TODAY THERE YOU ARE NOT AWARE OF THAT. AND CERTAINLY I SAW THAT YOU HAD MADE CONTACT WITH OUR OVERSIGHT OFFICE AND THERE WAS A FORMAL COMPLAINT PROCESS. IF ONE HAS NOT BEEN FILED YET AND CERTAINLY WANT TO WANT TO LOOK INTO THAT AND AND I WILL IN ON ON A A, I GUESS POSITIVE NOTE, THE OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE IS AND THANKS, I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT TO THE OPENING OF THE MARTIN LUTHER KING COMMUNITY CENTER. AND THAT IS IN THIRD WARD, AND IT WAS A $20 MILLION PROJECT, ONE OF THE LARGEST CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS OUTSIDE THE DOWNTOWN AREA, NEIGHBORHOOD INVESTMENT. AND THAT WAS DUE IN PART TO THE FUNDING AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, STATE LEVEL, AS WELL AS LOCAL LEVEL AND THE THIRD WARD EQUITY FUND. AND SO ALL OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAVE ALL THE THOUGHTS THAT HAVE BEEN SHARED TODAY ARE NOT LOST ON ME, AND WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT AS WE TRANSITION, STARTING SHORTLY,

[03:15:06]

I WANT TO AND I CERTAINLY ALSO I THINK THERE MAY HAVE BEEN MORE PEOPLE AT MAYOR'S MONDAY'S LAST NIGHT. AND LARGELY THE CONVERSATION REVOLVED AROUND EXACTLY THESE ISSUES, BECAUSE EVERY THREE MONTHS I DEVOTE A MONTH TO CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JUSTICE AND POLICING, AND WE HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS IN AN ATTEMPT TO NOT JUST HAVE PEOPLE COME UP AND HAVE THREE MINUTES OF THE MIC, BUT TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS. MAYBE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE MAD AT ME NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. MAYBE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO IMPUTE MALICE OR LACK OF EMPATHY TO ME, NO MATTER WHAT I SAY OR DO. BUT I WILL SAY THAT I'VE BEEN DEEPLY DISTRESSED BY MANY INCIDENTS IN OUR CITY, AND I CONTINUE TO BE DEEPLY DISTRESSED. ANY TIME I SEE PAIN, ANY TIME I SEE SOMETHING THAT I THINK LOOKS LIKE INJUSTICE TO ME, ANY TIME I SEE PEOPLE UNTREATED, UNFAIRLY, AND I'VE SPENT MY ADULT LIFE TRYING TO MAKE OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM BETTER, AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO BE DONE IN MY LIFETIME. IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO EVER BE DONE WITH, BECAUSE OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM IS ALWAYS GOING TO NEED TO BE IMPROVED. IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO NEED TO GET BETTER. AND I ALSO DEEPLY, DEEPLY FEEL THE NEED FOR MANY VOICES IN THAT CONVERSATION, BECAUSE JUSTICE IS A COLLECTIVE CONVERSATION. IT HAS TO BE. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE IMPOSED. IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE AGREED TO. IT HAS TO BE SOMETHING. IT IS A BYPRODUCT OF COMMUNITY. IT SHOULD NEVER BE A BYPRODUCT OF AUTHORITY OR FORCE. AND SO TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN KEEP THOSE CONVERSATIONS GOING WITH THAT ON THE FOREFRONT OF OUR MIND, I PROMISE YOU THAT'S MY PRIORITY. IT'S NOT GOING TO SHIFT. IT HASN'T SHIFTED FOR DECADES. I KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW THERE'S A LOT OF ANGER, BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS A LOT OF ANGER WHEN SOMETHING TRAUMATIC HAPPENS. IT'S CERTAINLY TRUE FOR ME THAT ANYTIME I FEEL LIKE I'M THE VICTIM OF OF AN INJUSTICE, I FEEL ANGRY. THAT'S WHERE I START. AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL IMPATIENT, AND THE DAY DOESN'T GO BY WHEN I DON'T FEEL IMPATIENT ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO IMPROVE. BUT IT'S ALSO TRUE THAT WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TALK BEFORE WE ACT, AND WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO LISTEN BEFORE WE TALK. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT AND GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO YOU. I PROMISE THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO LISTEN, AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO LISTEN WITHOUT ACTING, DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO LISTEN WITHOUT TALKING WITH YOU. WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT BECAUSE JUSTICE CANNOT WAIT. IF WE CAN FIND WAYS TO DO THINGS BETTER IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE SHOULD DO THEM AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN. MAKE SURE THAT IT IS THE RIGHT THING FOR US TO DO. BUT THERE'S ALWAYS ANYTIME WE DEAL WITH MORAL ISSUES, THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE A DISCERNMENT PROCESS, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL THAT WE ARE REALLY DOING THE RIGHT. AND SO I PROMISE YOU, WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS. I WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS.

MY COLLEAGUES WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS. FOUNDATIONAL QUESTIONS ALWAYS HAVE TO BE

[03:20:03]

THEY HAVE TO BE REEXAMINED. RE DECIDED AND THEY HAVE TO HAVE ONGOING VALIDITY. AND IF THEY DON'T, THEY NEED TO BE CHANGED. AND THAT'S HOW WE DO DEMOCRACY. WE DON'T HAVE A CENTRAL DICTATOR WHO MAKES THINGS HAPPEN BY FORCE OF WILL. WE DO THESE THINGS TOGETHER. AS A MATTER OF FACT, IN A MAYOR'S MONDAY LAST NIGHT, I EXPLAINED THE NEED FOR THE COMMUNITY TO DO THINGS TOGETHER, AND ONE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE SAID, TRUMP DOESN'T DO THAT. AND I SAID, WELL, THAT'S REALLY NOT MY MODEL FOR PUBLIC SERVICE. AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY UP. HERE'S MODEL FOR PUBLIC SERVICE. WE WE CAN'T RUSH AHEAD AND IMPOSE DECISIONS.

WE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO LISTEN AND DELIBERATE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE GET TO THE RIGHT ANSWERS FOR WHAT JUSTICE LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, JUSTICE IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO ALL OWN TOGETHER. SO I REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR ENGAGEMENT ON THE ISSUE. I PROMISE THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AND URGENTLY AS POSSIBLE. AND MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING ABOUT MY FACE, I DON'T KNOW, BUT I WILL TELL YOU, I'M DEEPLY DISTRESSED WHEN I WHEN I SEE THINGS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT THAT I FEEL LIKE NEED IMPROVEMENT AND CRY OUT FOR BETTER TREATMENT AND FOR MORE JUSTICE. AND I LOSE SLEEP OVER IT. I, I, I WEPT THREE TIMES TODAY. SOME OF YOU KNOW ME, AND SOME OF YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN WORKING AT THIS. AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW ME AS WELL AND HAVEN'T WORKED WITH ME AS LONG, I WOULD INVITE YOU TO CHALLENGE ME, CHALLENGE ALL OF US, HELP US TO BE BETTER, HELP US TO FOCUS AND HELP US TO REALLY INCLUDE EVERYONE IN THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE WE HAVE TO INCLUDE EVERYONE IN WHATEVER OUR COLLECTIVE VISION IS. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. THANK YOU ALL FOR THE THE THE MIDDLE OF A LONG CONVERSATION, IN THE MIDDLE OF A LONG PURSUIT OF A BETTER

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.