Grand Traverse County residents had the opportunity to voice their opinions on police reform in a county board meeting on Wednesday, June 17.
An anti-racism task force is proposing a list of reforms in effort to help increase public safety. The group is composed of community members, including local resident, Marshall Collins.
"This is a great opportunity for the community, the people of color and law enforcement agencies to come together and make these adjustments in our community," Collins said. "My question would be, why not? Why can’t we become the first community to say this is what we’re doing here."
Over thirty people shared support for the reforms. Supporters agreed on reallocating funds, rather than defunding the police department.
Three residents voiced concerns with the proposed reforms.
The County Sheriff said a private meeting is planned with members of the anti-racism task force.
Officials said the conversation will resume in future meetings. Meetings take place each Wednesday.
1. END PROFILING PRACTICES: City and county LE immediately cease practice of profiling response calls when citizens profile our neighbors by calling police on someone who is breaking no laws but simply because the think the person ‘doesn’t belong,” “looks suspicious” or other codes for saying these neighbors are BIPOC, possibly experiencing homelessness or mentally ill etc.
2. REPLACE WITH RESOURCE REFERRALS: instead of responding with an armed officer to such profiling calls, train your police and 911 to screen and ask questions to point the citizen to Homeless Outreach or CMH, or simply to reiterate that a person has a right to be on a public street or sidewalk, to exist in the community without being questioned and harassed.
3. ESTABLISH ANTI-PROFILING POLICY AND PROCEDURE: Within 3 weeks, produce policy stating this profiling practice is prohibited and adopting best practices for the 911/police referral process.
4. CITY AND COUNTY - BODY CAMERAS AND DASH CAMERAS INSTALLATION AND MANDATORY USE: divert funds from *current* budget, rather than increasing police budget. Establish mandatory policy that every officer wears a body camera, to be left on at all times. Police officers shutting off camera while on duty should trigger immediate disciplinary action and shutting camera off in a criminal incident should result in firing/termination.
5. COUNTY SHERIFF DEPT PROVIDE ANNUAL IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING: We acknowledge and support the city police’s implicit bias training. We call on the Sheriff to support his officers and staff by providing immediate and annual implicit bias training. By June 30, launch mandatory implicit bias training for all LE (city and county) with a training program selected by BIPOC led anti-racism task force.
6. END RACIST ICE/CBP HOLDS: Sheriff department immediately halt all ICE and CBP holds of nonviolent people detained by local police, a practice that is believed to be unconstitutional and is a totally voluntary current practice. Do not call ICE/CBP when stopping Latinx people in our community.
Within 30 days, written sheriff policy stating it will not cooperate with ICE and CBP for voluntary holds of non violent people detained by local police.
7. REALIGN BUDGET PRIORITIES toward proactive community support. Transparent budget breakdown for sheriff dept budget which is 40% of 40mil budget is sheriff office within the next 2 weeks. The sheriff department’s budget is 40% of the county’s general fund budget of $40 million. 30% is considered high for municipalities nationally to spend on law enforcement. Work with black and other BIPOC to realign general fund budget to divert 15% of sheriff budget to non-policing community health and safety issues.
8. COMMITMENT FROM POLICE UNIONS not to protect membership who engage in criminal behavior toward people in their custody.
9. ESTABLISH AND FUND FROM THE SHERIFF & CITY POLICE BUDGET, an independent citizen oversight commission, with membership being human rights commission representatives, civil rights attorneys as well as a majority of at large black and other BIPOC and other marginalized constituencies such as disability, LGBTQ+ and migrant workers. Budget should provide for infrastructure to allow proper oversight. Police cannot and should not investigate themselves. The Commission should act as a review for complaints and refer to AG or Civil Rights Commission as needed.
10. ALL ANTI-RACIST GT COUNTY AND CITY RESIDENTS PLEDGE TO ACT IN AN ONGOING WAY ON THESE DEMANDS - pledge to stand with black and BIPOC neighbors in this community by vigorously pursuing these policy changes with your elected and appointed sheriff and chief of police, police unions, city and county commissions until they are all in place and properly funded. #BlackLivesMatter
The meeting went live at 8 a.m. on June 17. Since, the meeting has over 180 views.
