Michigan's fifth district congressman Dan Kildee is co-sponsoring legislation to create more federal grant programs to support smaller police departments.
The bill is targeted to assist departments with fewer than 200 officers in Saginaw, Midland and Bay counties.
“Everyone should feel safe in their community. I’m proud to introduce legislation to increase funding for mid-Michigan law enforcement, so they can hire more police officers and keep our neighborhoods and communities safe,” Kildee said in a written statement.
The funding would help departments access mental health resources, body cameras and assist with recruitment and retention efforts.
The announcement of the legislation comes just days after a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, Mike Berg, released a statement saying “Dan Kildee can’t be trusted to stand up to Nancy Pelosi or the ‘defund the police’ movement.”
In the same May, 9 release, Berg noted Kildee had not signed a letter to Nancy Pelosi to hold a vote on legislation to increase police funding in the U.S.
This #NationalPoliceWeek, and every week, I am grateful for our local law enforcement, and leaders like Sheriff Swanson, who work to keep our communities safe.
— Rep. Dan Kildee (@RepDanKildee) May 12, 2022
In Congress, I have written legislation to fund local law enforcement so they can hire and train more officers. pic.twitter.com/niDqCNBVKZ
The legislation is not being well received by leaders in Black Lives Matter Michigan, including Angela Austin, the organization's co-founder based in Lansing.
"I'm really disappointed in the lack of any level of accountability before making these kind of investments," Austin said. "So what it says to me is that there's a whole lot of money behind this bill, a whole lot of lobbying behind this bill, and not very much attention to crime, that is actually committed by police."
Kildee said during a recent press conference that congress has an obligation to provide public safety to its constituents and to provide resources so that departments can carry out that mission. Kildee added that he strongly opposed any attempt to de-fund the police.
Congressman Dan Kildee did you know living wages and a real safety net for people out of work during a pandemic are a far more effective and equitable use of recovery funds than investing in police? Policing and public safety are not synonymous.
— Black Lives Matter Michigan (@BLMMichigan) May 14, 2022
Austin argues there is a misunderstanding of the meaning behind public safety and what the public wants in their community.
"The idea that you enhance public safety by funding, recruitment, retention and training of officers," said Austin. "We have talked to many people across the state of Michigan about what public safety actually means to them, and policing is nowhere on the list."
