Broke: Detroit Stops Police Escorts For Funeral Processions

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - Getting a police escort for a funeral procession was a common service at one time. But as WWJ’s Rob Sanford reports, budget concerns have forced Detroit to join other major cities in ending the practice.

Budget deficits and declining personnel are the major forces behind the Detroit Police Department’s decision to end free funeral escorts. Police Chief Ralph Godbee said it’s a drain on resources and is unfair for officers to accompany some processions and not others.

Godbee said he plans to talk with funeral homes about offering police escorts for customers who chose it as part of the cost of a funeral. It’s not clear how much the service costs and there are no rules to cover who gets a police escort and who doesn’t.

The Motor City is one of the last major cities to offer the free service, but it’s been determined it’s just too expensive to continue. Other cities that have recently made the same decision include Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and Atlanta, some citing traffic safety issues.

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Department Of Homeland Security Funds Pissed Away On Snow Cone Machines

STANTON, MICHIGAN – The United States is fighting terrorism – one snow cone at a time.

Montcalm County recently received a $900 Arctic Blast Sno-Cone machine.

The West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC) is a federal- and state-designated agency responsible for managing and administrating the homeland security program in Montcalm County and 12 other counties.

The WMSRDC recently purchased and transferred homeland security equipment to these counties – including 13 snow cone machines at a total cost of $11,700.

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Detroit Bus Drivers Fear For Their Safety And Refuse To Drive Busses

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – People who catch the bus in Detroit may be waiting awhile Friday. About 100 Detroit Department of Transportation bus drivers are at work, but are refusing to drive their buses.

WWJ Newsradio 950′s Scott Ryan spoke with Henry Gaffney, spokesman for the D-DOT bus drivers union AFL-CIO Local 26, who said this was not an organized maneuver by the union.

Gaffney said it’s a matter of bus drivers fearing for their safety, citing an incident that happened Thursday afternoon.

“Our drivers are scared, they’re scared for their lives. This has been an ongoing situation about security. I think yesterday kind of just topped it off, when one of my drivers was beat up by some teenagers down in the middle of Rosa Parks and it took the police almost 30 minutes to get there, in downtown Detroit,” said Gaffney.

Speaking live on WWJ, Mayor Dave Bing spokesman Stephen Serkaian said they are working hard to resolve the matter and get drivers back on the road.

“We’re working diligently to work with the union and encouraging the drivers to get back on the buses and get on the street,” said Serkaian.

Gaffney said bus safety is an ongoing problem.

“If it’s to the point where if the driver is not safe on the bus, then the passengers are not safe, then the citizens are not safe. You know, what about them too? We have no security, you can’t get the police, nobody is doing anything to protect us. And I’ve been begging the mayor and the council for two years to do something to help us,” said Gaffney.

But, Serkaian said there are discussions in the city right now to improve bus safety.

“It is a concern. We want to protect drivers and passengers alike. We used to have police presence on the buses. We’re talking about the prospect of perhaps trailing buses with police cars. Nothing has been decided, it’s all in discussion right now,” said Serkaian. “It’s a short-term and a long-term matter… It’s all about money and it’s all about funding, and our transportation system is already stretched to the max.”

WWJ’s Vickie Thomas was at a deserted Rosa Parks Transit Center in downtown Detroit, which is typically booming with passengers and buses alike.

Saharah X. was waiting at the center for 30 minutes before flagging down a cab.

“They just try to find a way not to do their job. And then they got innocent old people, there an old lady on a cane sitting outside over there, that’s dangerous. And she got to walk? Wow. I mean, what is the world coming to? No love, no nothing. Everybody’s just thinking about themselves. Think about other people some,” she said.

Richard Moses, who rides the bus every day, was waiting a bus stop along Woodward Avenue when a D-DOT supervisor rolled up in an SUV and basically told him to find another form of transportation Friday morning.

“They said there’s no D-DOT buses running at this time and they don’t know when any will be starting back up. I just got off work, I work midnights. Luckily, I got dropped off right here or else I would have been sitting on 8 Mile and Woodward, and I’ve got to go all the way to Livernois and Warren,” said Moses.

Serkaian said they’re asking stranded riders who are waiting for the bus to get to school and work to hang on and be patient.

“We understand their frustration, we feel their pain. We simply have to ask folks to be a little bit more patient while we try to resolve this matter,” he said.

Detroit Public Schools has issued a letter to parents informing them of the situation, saying it doesn’t affect DPS yellow buses, which are running normally. They also said DPS Police Dept. personnel will provide additional watch near bus stops where children may be congregated.

A recording on the D-DOT customer service line said the department “sincerely apologizes for extreme delays in service.”

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Crazed Genesee County Michigan Sheriff Robert Pickell Sets Up Illegal Checkpoints On Interstate And State Highways

GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN – Motorists driving on expressways around Flint are getting surprised by a stunning tactic that the Genesee County sheriff has been using to fight the flow of illegal drugs — one that legal experts said will not withstand a court challenge.

At least seven times this month, including Tuesday, motorists have said they have seen a pickup towing a large sign on I-69 or U.S.-23 that depicts the sheriff’s badge and warns: “Sheriff narcotics check point, 1 mile ahead — drug dog in use.”

The checkpoints are part of a broad sweep for drugs that Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell and his self-titled Sheriff’s Posse said are needed, calling Flint a crossroads of drug dealing because nearly a half-dozen major roads and expressways pass in and around the city. Pickell said he decided to try checkpoints when he learned that drug shipments might be passing through Flint in tractor-trailers with false compartments.

“We’re doing everything by the book,” Genesee County Undersheriff Christopher Swanson said. “We think there’s major loads (of drugs) coming through here from all over, every day. And this is one of the tools we use — narcotics checkpoints.”

He said the dogs are used to sniff around the vehicles to check for drugs.

The practice has legal experts on searches and seizures at two law schools in Michigan, a constitutional law expert in Lansing and the American Civil Liberties Union calling the practice out of bounds and out of touch with state and U.S. Supreme Court rulings that ban such practices.

Based on a case out of Indianapolis, the U.S. Supreme Court held in 2000 that narcotics checkpoints where everyone gets stopped on a public road are not legal and violate Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches and seizures, professor David Moran at the University of Michigan Law School said.

Wayne State University Law School professor Peter Henning said police can set up roadblocks to search all who pass by, but only if a crime has just been committed.

And Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, who said he was not consulted by Pickell about the checkpoints, said that after a court challenge, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 1990 that so-called “sobriety check lanes,” put in place to nab drunken drivers, were illegal.

The new practice of narcotics checkpoints “certainly brings up probable-cause issues,” Leyton said Thursday.

Leyton said he has no power to stop the practice, however. That, he said, would require someone arrested at a checkpoint to contest the evidence in court.

The checkpoints have caused an uproar, officials said. And, as a result, the sheriff’s office has altered its methods: Instead of using the checkpoints daily — even Sundays when they started at the beginning of the month — they are used sporadically. And instead of stopping everyone, law enforcement has been putting the signs out and waiting for a motorist to make an illegal U-turn in the freeway median to try to avoid the checkpoint, thus giving them cause to pull the driver over and search the vehicle.

But even that method raises question, U-M professor Moran said. The technique has not been tested in Michigan courts, he said. But judges would take a dim view of it because “it’s perilously close to entrapment,” he said.

“It’s just the kind of shabby treatment that the Fourth Amendment was designed to prevent,” Moran said.

Among the groups of motorists most stunned by the checkpoints are state-registered medical marijuana users and caregivers. Pickell and Swanson said the checkpoints weren’t meant to target medical-marijuana users, but word of the new tactic spread quickly through that community.

Many registered users and caregivers told the Free Press they now fear driving near Flint, even when they possess their medical-marijuana registry cards.

At a checkpoint Tuesday afternoon just west of Flint on I-69, officers pulled over only those who saw the checkpoint sign, then made an illegal U-turn on the freeway, Jamie Fricke, 31, of Lapeer said.

“But my buddy went through this on Monday and he said they were pulling over all enclosed trailers. They had drug-sniffing dogs out that day,” on I-69 east of Flint, in Burton, she said.

Fricke, a state registered medical-marijuana user, said she had a small amount of the drug with her, but her car was not searched.

Larry and Diane Foster, both of Muskegon, said they saw a checkpoint Oct. 5 in which officers were stopping every motorist on eastbound I-69.

“We were going in the opposite direction or we would’ve been stopped,” said Diane Foster, 55, a state-registered medical-marijuana user and caregiver. “I had medication (marijuana) on me, so I don’t know what the outcome would’ve been.”

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FBI Agent Fred Kingston And Federal Prosecutor Get Away With Crashing Rare $750,000 Ferrari F50 During Joyride

DETROIT (AP) — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the wreck of a $750,000 Ferrari driven by an FBI agent, saying federal law grants immunity if property is being held by law enforcement.

The wreck of the rare 1995 F50 sports car was “certainly unfortunate,” but the government cannot be sued in such a case, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn said.

Motors Insurance, based in Southfield, Mich., believes an FBI agent and a prosecutor were out for a joyride when the agent lost control of the Ferrari in a Lexington, Ky., industrial park in 2009. The government has refused to pay for the car.

The car was stolen in Rosemont, Pa., in 2003, eventually recovered and then kept by the FBI in Kentucky as part of an investigation. The government has declined to reveal much about the incident. But in an email that was released to the insurance company, Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Hamilton Thompson said he was invited for a “short ride” before the Ferrari was to be moved from an impound garage.

The driver, FBI agent Fred Kingston, lost control and the car hit bushes and a small tree, Thompson said.

The insurance company claimed the Ferrari was not actually in custody because the insurer had granted permission for the government to hold the car. The judge disagreed.

“The government’s purpose in holding the vehicle was not to create a status of either consent or punitive coercion. … Rather, the object was to control and preserve relevant evidence,” Cohn said in an 11-page decision on Sept. 27.

The insurance company’s attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.

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Neighorhoods Go Dark – 1400 Streetlights Repossessed After Highland Park Michigan Can’t Pay Bills

HIGHLAND PARK, MICHIGAN – Most of the city’s street lights have been repossessed because officials failed to pay a multimillion-dollar utility bill, giving rise to concerns about safety and crime in darkened neighborhoods.

DTE Energy crews have removed about 1,400 light poles from Highland Park as part of a settlement that allowed the city to avoid paying $4 million in unpaid bills going back several years. DTE, which says the work will be completed by Oct. 31, has replaced 200 lights with newer models on street corners, but most neighborhoods remain in the dark.

Highland Park, plagued by financial trouble, was able to reduce its monthly utility bill from $62,000 to $15,000, an amount officials say fits the city’s budget.

But residents and business owners complain that the resulting darkness is like a welcome mat for criminals.

“After they took the street light from in front of my business, someone climbed onto my roof and stole an air conditioning unit,” said Bobby Hargrove, owner of Hargrove Machinery Sales on Oakland Avenue, who also claims a police officer asked him for money to beef up his protection. “I feel like I’m being punished — I’ve always paid my bills on time, but they took the street light anyway.”

Highland Park Mayor Hubert Yopp insists that crime has not increased since the lights were removed.

“I had the police chief work up the crime stats, and found that most of our burglaries are taking place during the daylight hours,” Yopp said.

But resident Robert Davis, secretary of the city’s school board, said three schools were broken into at night, right after the street lights were removed. “Thankfully, DTE agreed to put new lights in front of the schools, although they’re not all up yet,” he said.

DTE spokesman Len Singer said Highland Park is “a unique situation.”

“We did everything we could to try to help the city come to a level of service they could manage,” Singer said. “We wanted to work with the city to maintain some level of service, and do so in a way that would allow the city to cover the bill each month. They simply weren’t able to maintain the costs for having all the previous lights.”

Singer said the utility is under no obligation to maintain service to communities that don’t pay their bills. “But obviously, we wanted to work with the city to provide some lighting for their residents and businesses,” he said.

DTE began removing the light poles in August, rather than just cutting off the power, to avoid lawsuits and confusion, he said.

“Mostly, it was a liability issue; we didn’t want to have poles there that were de-energized, and likely won’t ever be energized again,” Singer said. “Also, we wanted to avoid the confusion of having lights up that don’t work. In the end, we figured it was better to just take them out.”

Some cities own their street poles and pay DTE for the electricity. “But we own the lights in Highland Park,” Singer said.

The old poles were sold as scrap metal, Singer said. The 200 new poles will be fed power via overhead lines, rather than underground, which makes maintenance easier, Singer said.

Hargrove claims a Highland Park police officer tried to cash in on his loss.

“He contacted me about a week after my air conditioner was stolen and told me he’d make sure my place didn’t get broken into — if I paid him $650 every two weeks,” he said. “That’s like paying protection to the Mafia.”

Hargrove reported the alleged incident to city officials. Yopp said he’s investigating the claim.

“Our residents already pay for police protection; we’d better not be charging them twice,” he said. “I’m definitely going to get to the bottom of this.”

Jessie Flowers, 85, who has lived in Highland Park since 1947, said she’s “not happy” about the situation.

“I’m concerned about people breaking into my house,” she said. “The street lights should be on.

“I’m so flabbergasted I don’t even know what to do.”

Yopp said he understands the frustration and is trying to secure federal or state funding to restore lighting to the city’s neighborhoods.

“We’re no longer in debt, and our bill is lower each month,” he said. “But I’m certainly not happy about the level of lighting in the city, and I’m doing whatever I can to work something out.”

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Detroit Michigan Police Officer Joseph Weekly Charged With Shooting And Killing 7 Year Old Girl During Botched Police Raid That Included Video Crew From A&E Reality Show “First 48″

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley has been arraigned on charges of involuntary manslaughter and careless and reckless discharge of a firearm in the death of Aiyana Stanley Jones. The 7-year-old girl was shot and killed during a police raid in May of 2010.

The shooting made national headlines because police were accompanied by a camera crew filming the A&E reality cop drama “First 48.”

Weekley is a 14-year veteran who had been a member of the department’s Special Response Team (SRT) since 2004. He reportedly told his sergeant moments after the shooting, “A woman inside grabbed my gun. It fired. The bullet hit a child.”

But the Stanley-Jones family lawyer Geoffrey Fieger told the Detroit Free Press he was shown a video immediately after the shooting that shows police as the aggressors. The video in question has not been found was reportedly not investigated by police.

“All I know is that the [missing] video is pretty dramatic,” he said. “You can see the gunman shooting into the house from the outside.”

The video that police have “is very different,” he said. “It doesn’t show a thing.”

Fieger is arguing the shot came from outside of the house and struck Aiyana while she was sleeping with her grandmother on a living room couch.

The Michigan State Police conducted a 10-month investigation into Aiyana’s killing, and in March submitted a warrant request to prosecutors.The Detroit police department has also been federally sanctioned twice in less than a decade for excessive force and inhumane conditions at the city’s county jail.

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Romulus Michigan Police Officers, Former Police Chief, And Chief’s Wife Arrested In Corruption Probe

ROMULUS, MICHIGAN – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy announced charges in the corruption probe of several Romulus Police Department law enforcement officers.

The press conference was held on the 12th floor of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in Detroit.

Former Romulus Police Chief Mike St. Andre, his wife and five officers were arrested or turned themselves in to the Michigan State Police Monday.

All seven were released on personal bonds after being arraigned in 34th District Court Tuesday afternoon.

The presiding judge is allowing the officers to keep their firearms but they have been ordered to stay away from all former informants and current witnesses involved in the case.

Charges are as follows:

Former Chief Michael St. Andre is facing 10 felony counts that include Conducting a Criminal Enterprise which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

For his wife Sandra Kay Vlaz-St. Andre, she faces four counts including Conducting a Criminal Enterprise and Receiving and Concealing Stolen Property over $20,000.00.

Detective Richard Balzer is facing seven felony criminal counts including Conducting a Criminal Enterprise and Misconduct in Office.

Officer Donald Hopkins is facing a seven counts including a charge of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise and Misconduct in Office.

Detective Richard Landry is charged with a seven count felony. He’s accused of conspiracy and embezzlement.

Officer Jeremy Channells is facing a three felonies including Misconduct in Office and Neglect of Duty.

Detective Larry Droege faces Misconduct in Office and Neglect of Duty.

The arrests follow a more than three-year investigation into alleged misconduct in the department’s drug enforcement unit, sources tell Action News.

Michigan State Police raided the police department in March and have been leading the investigation in conjunction with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Also raided at that time was St. Andre’s home in Garden City and his wife’s tanning salon in Westland.

The Action News Investigators broke the story of how MSP has been looking for evidence to support allegations that tens of thousands of dollars had been taken from the police department’s drug forfeiture accounts. At least one kilo of cocaine used by undercover officers in reverse drug buys was also missing.

Prosecutor Worthy says some of the charges relate to hookers and drugs used by the officers. There also are allegations that some officers on the drug enforcement team may have “padded overtime,” putting in for extra hours they really didn’t work.

Romulus Mayor Alan Lambert released the following statement about the charges:

“For several years, we have cooperated fully with an investigation by the Michigan State Police into the Romulus Police Department,” Mayor Lambert said. “After hearing the Wayne County Prosecutor discuss the charges, I am very disappointed in the actions that were alleged. The end result will be a matter of due process.

“As a former police officer, I know the importance of public trust and integrity – especially in matters of public safety. I will work with other elected officials and our new Police Chief Robert Dickerson to strengthen the faith and trust between our residents and our Police Department. I hired Chief Dickerson because he has a strong background in law enforcement and police administrative operations and I will work with him to move this department forward.

“The charges against these five officers and our former police chief are not indicative of our entire Police Department. Our police officers are dedicated, professional individuals who uphold the law. They agree with me: that keeping our neighborhoods safe is our top priority.”

The new Romulus Police Chief Robert Dickerson spoke at the city council meeting on Monday night as well as the Mayor, assuring the people that this should not be a reflection of the entire department; it is just a handful of individuals. Dickerson said “I can move on without a cloud over the department.” And the Mayor Alan Lambert said, “I want the people to know the Police Department will protect them.”

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Warren Michigan Police Killed Handcuffed Man With Taser Weapons

WARREN, MICHIGAN – Neighbors say police may have used excessive force because victim not threatening

A neighbor of a 27-year-old Warren man who died after he was Tasered by police said a few minutes prior the incident the man appeared “freaked out” but not threatening.

The neighbor, a 43-year-old man who did not want to be named, said Sunday that Richard Kokenos knocked on the front door of his home on Kendall Street shortly after midnight Saturday morning and asked to use the telephone to call his mother because his grandmother needed help.

“He looked like he was freaking out, like something might have happened at home,” the neighbor said. “It was strange. He was acting weird.”

When the neighbor returned to the door with his cell phone, Kokenos already had gone next door and knocked on that door. Kokenos went to a third house before returning to the second house, where the 43-year-old man again approached Kokenos to offer his phone.

But Kokenos left and walked a few houses to Eureka Street, where he tried to enter a home, according to a TV report. When police responded to the scene, Kokenos reportedly was seen slamming his body into the home.

Officers handcuffed and placed Kokenos in a patrol car. Kokenos attempted to break out of the squad car, and one of the officers attempted to stop him by stunning him with a Taser gun, according to the TV report.

Spay paint markings made by police indicating the location of Kokenos’ body could be seen Sunday in the parking lane of northbound Eureka, across the street from St. Mark Church, which abuts the Fitzgerald High School football field.

No one answered the door of the home early evening Sunday where it is believed Kokenos tried to enter.

The 43-year-neighbor and another neighbor, Dave Magiera, said based on what they heard, the police’s actions seem excessive. They said Kokenos was not threatening, as he was heavy and short.

“I think maybe it’s overkill,” the 43-year-old man said. “He was not a threatening guy. It’s just too bad.”

Magiera said he learned that a dozen police officers responded.

“They had enough force there to contain him” without Tasering him, Magiera said. “I’m pissed. I think they used excessive force. He was kind of a chubby kid, not a threat.”

Magiera said Sunday morning he talked to Kokenos’ mother, with whom Kokenos had been living since earlier this year.

“She was a wreck,” he said. “She told me they Tasered him three or four times.”

The use of Taser stun guns by police have come under fire off and on in recent years in Macomb County and nationally due to occasional deaths involving them.

The incident is at least the third death following a police Tasering in Macomb County, and second in Warren, in recent years.

Robert Mitchell, 16, of Detroit, died in April 2009 after he was struck several times by a Taser fired by a Warren police officer in a Detroit house after Mitchell ran from an Eight mile Road traffic stop . Although the marijuana was found in the 16-year-old’s system, two forensic pathologists concluded that the Taser contributed to his death by affecting his heart. The teen’s family sued in federal court. The outcome of that case was unclear Sunday.

In 2007, 47-year-old Steven Spears, a body builder and hairdresser from Shelby Township, died after he was involved in a tussle with police that included the deployment of a Taser gun. Although autopsy reports attributed his death to cocaine, his family filed an excessive force lawsuit against the township and settled for $1.95 million.

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Central Michigan University Police Officer Jeffrey Allen Card Charged After Taking Two Female Students To Remote Area And Convincing Them To Show Boobs

MICHIGAN – A former Central Michigan University police officer allegedly convinced two female students to show him their bare chests earlier this month, leading to his resignation and criminal charges.

Jeffrey Allen Card, 34, is charged with misconduct in office, a five-year felony.

Card is accused of driving two women to a remote dirt road while giving them a ride home from O’Kelley’s bar in the early morning hours Sept. 11.

Card allegedly had a conversation with the two women, who are both, 21, before one of the two asked him for a ride to her boyfriend’s house on South Main Street, according to court documents.

Card allegedly agreed but asked the two if they wouldn’t mind going on a nuisance party call with him before he took them home, according to court records.

Both women told investigators that instead of going to a nuisance party call, Card drove them to the “country” on a “desolate dirt road,” where he allegedly told the women he was going to give them portable breath tests after they got out of the car, according to court documents.

The women told police that Card told them they would have to expose their bare chests if the test results were higher than a limit Card set, according to court documents.

Both women agreed, and when the test results were higher than the limit Card allegedly set, they bared their chests, according to court documents.

Both women told investigators that they believe Card took advantage of them because they were drunk, according to court documents.

Once the women put their clothing back on, they agreed to pose for a photograph for Card on the back of the patrol car, according to court documents.

Investigators later found the photograph on Card’s cell phone.

Card, who lives in Mt. Pleasant, resigned from the department Sept. 15, CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley said.

Card is scheduled to be in court at 8:15 a.m. Sept. 29 for a hearing before Judge William Rush.

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Fighter Jets Escoted Airliner – Detroit Michigan Law Enforcement Cuffed And Strip Searched Ohio Mom Simply Because Of Her “Appearance” On Airline

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – A woman says she was taken off an airplane in handcuffs, strip-searched and interrogated by authorities in Michigan on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks “simply because” of her appearance.

Shoshana Hebshi said Tuesday she was one of three people escorted off a plane in handcuffs from a Denver-to-Detroit Frontier Airlines flight. The 35-year-old mother from Ohio says they didn’t know each other but were in the same row.

Hebshi says the men were Indian and describes herself as half-Arab, half-Jewish, with dark complexion.

Two fighter jets escorted the plane after its crew reported suspicious activity.

The FBI says it questioned Hebshi and released her after finding no reason to suspect her. Messages seeking comment were left for Frontier and police.

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Broke: Detroit Michigan Police Stop Responding To Burglar Alarms

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Detroit police are making some
changes regarding burglar alarms in what appears is an attempt to keep
more officers on the streets.

A memo, obtained by WWJ Newsradio 950, says the Detroit Police
Department has reviewed calls for service and found that false alarms
have the greatest financial and staffing impact on the department.

According to the memo, sent to alarm companies and signed by Detroit
Police Chief Ralph Godbee, 98 percent of alarms handled by the DPD are
false.

Effective Monday, August 22, the police department will no longer
respond to burglar alarm calls from monitoring companies unless the
alarm company verifies the alarm.

That can be by have a security guard go to the business or home and
verify an officer needs to respond, or having the homeowner or business
owner go to the premises and verify a break in.

Verification can also be from remote observation which some alarm companies already have in place.

The memo does note that the DPD will continue to respond to human-activated alarms, including hold-up, panic or duress.

- View a copy of the memo (.pdf format) -

The changes will take effect a little over a week following a 24-hour rash of gun violence in the city, during which 16 people were shot and seven were killed.

WWJ has a call in to Detroit Police for comment.

TSA Admits “Bad Judgment” After Detroit TSA Agents Harassed Disabled Man With The Mental Capacity Of A 2 Year Old

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – A Detroit father said agents with the Transportation Security Administration singled out his special-needs son for a pat-down while the family was headed to Disney World, MyFoxDetroit.com reported, an incident that the TSA admitted was a “case of bad judgment.”

David Mandy said agents at Detroit Metro Airport took his son Drew, 29, and asked him about the padding underneath his pants, which turned out to be adult diapers. Drew, who is severely mentally disabled, had trouble understanding the agents’ orders because his family said he has the mental capacity of a 2-year-old.

When the father tried to intervene and explain Drew’s disability, he said the two agents said, “Please, sir, we know what we’re doing.”

The agents confiscated a six-inch plastic hammer, something Drew had carried with him for 20 years for comfort. Agents called it a security threat, his father said, adding that they tapped the wall with it and said, “See, it’s hard. It could be used as a weapon.”

The family was told they’d have to ship the hammer if they wanted to keep it, David Mandy said.
“I understand they’re trying to keep people safe,” Mandy said told MyFoxDetroit.com. “But come on, does he look like a terrorist?”

In a statement to FoxNews.com, the TSA said it’s reviewing the incident but early findings indicate this was an “isolated case of bad judgment.” The TSA reached out to the Mandy family to apologize and said the man’s toy hammer should have never been confiscated.

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TSA Thugs Harassed Special Needs Man At Detroit Airport

ROMULUS, MICHIGAN – The Mandy family says they were on their way to the happiest place on earth (Disney), but had to go through hell to get there.

“I realize they’re trying to keep people safe, but come on, does he look like a terrorist?” said Dr. David Mandy.

The family was going through security when two TSA agents singled Drew Mandy out for a special pat down. Drew is severely mentally disabled. He’s 29, but his parents said he has the mental capacity of a two-year-old, which made the experience that followed at metro Detroit’s McNamera Terminal that much harder to deal with.

“You have got to be kidding me. I honestly felt that those two agents did not know what they were doing,” Mandy told us.

Dr. Mandy claimed they asked Drew to place his feet on the yellow shoe line, something he didn’t understand. They proceeded to pat his pants down, questioning the padding which was his adult diapers. When the agents asked Drew to take his hand and rub the front and back of his pants so they could swab it for explosives, his dad stepped in and tried to explain that Drew was mentally challenged.

“They said, ‘Please, sir, we know what we’re doing,’” Mandy said.

The TSA agents saw Drew holding a six-inch plastic hammer.

“My son carries his ball and his hammer for security. He goes everywhere with (them),” said Mandy.

The TSA it seems saw the toy as a weapon.

“He took the hammer and he tapped the wall. ‘See, it’s hard. It could be used as a weapon,’” Mandy explained. “So, Drew’s also holding the ball, and I said, ‘Well, how about the ball?’ He (said), ‘Oh, he can keep that.”

Dr. Mandy was told he would need to have the toy shipped if he wanted to keep it, a process which caused them to almost miss their plane, so he pitched it.

“It just killed me to have to throw it away because he’s been carrying this like for 20 years,” Mandy said.

Disgusted, he wrote TSA a letter. A response wasn’t far behind.

“Very polite. Very apologetic. He was embarrassed. He (said) we have to review how we deal with special needs individuals. Obviously, he (said), we’re doing a terrible job,” Mandy told us. “It made me feel that there is still hope, that there is still justice and that there’s still somebody who listens to people’s problems (in) the federal government.

That’s because federal security told him there are 800 TSA agents at Metro Airport and they are all going to be retrained based on Drew’s case.

We also spoke to a federal security director who said this incident is still under investigation, but as far as they can tell right now, better judgment was needed.

The TSA took away one toy hammer, but they were still able to take another toy hammer on board the airplane. How did that happen?

Drew’s mother, always prepared, had another one in her backpack and that already passed through security with no problem.

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Appeal Denied After Michican Prosecutor Karen Bahrman Called Defense Psychiatrist Witness A Whore And Another Witness A Bottom Feeder

MUNISING, MICHIGAN – The Michigan Supreme Court has denied Thomas Richardson’s application for appeal in his conviction of pushing his wife off a cliff at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore three years ago.

The Michigan Supreme Court has also scolded an Upper Peninsula prosecutor for inappropriate comments during the 2008 trial of Richardson.

The court says Karen Bahrman did not violate Richardson’s right to a fair trial. But the court knocked the Alger County prosecutor for a variety of remarks.

Bahrman referred to a female psychiatrist as a “whore” and another witness as a “bottom feeder.” In an order released Thursday, the Supreme Court called it “simply unprofessional.” Bahrman says the “whore” comment was about a defense witness who was paid for testimony. She says she has no regrets.

Bahrman was unapologetic in a statement made to TV6 Thursday afternoon.

“I was pleased with the outcome of the case and the Supreme Court’s conclusion that nothing I said or did denied the defendant of a fair trial,” Bahrman said. “Because I expect to have everything I say scrutinized, I was delighted to see that their criticism occupied just a page and a half. To me, this means that they found nothing else to criticize in 6,000 pages of transcripts.”

Richardson was convicted of first degree murder in the death of wife Juanita at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

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Department Of Justice Still Hiding Documents, Won’t Pay Claim, After FBI Agent Wrecked $750,000 Ferrari During Joyride

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – An FBI agent assigned to move a rare Ferrari wrecked it during a short drive in Kentucky, and its owner is now suing the U.S. Justice Department, which has refused to pay $750,000 for the car.

The Justice Department recently responded to the lawsuit by saying it’s not liable for certain goods when they’re in the hands of law enforcement. The government also has refused to release most documents related to the crash.

The Ferrari F50 was stolen in 2003 from a dealer in Rosemont, Pa., and discovered five years later. The FBI kept it in Lexington, Ky., as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

FBI agent Fred Kingston was to move the Ferrari from a garage in May 2009. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Hamilton Thompson said Kingston invited him on a “short ride.”

“Just a few seconds after we left the parking lot, we went around a curve and the rear of the car began sliding,” Thompson said in an email released to Motors Insurance Co., the dealer’s insurer.

“The agent tried to regain control but the car fishtailed and slid sideways up onto the curb. The vehicle came to rest against a row of bushes and a small tree,” Thompson said.

He was not hurt, but Kingston needed a few stitches for a cut on his head.

Motors Insurance took ownership of the car after it paid the dealer for the theft. The company told the government that the 1995 Ferrari, one of only 50 in the U.S., suffered substantial damage in the Kentucky crash and is a “total loss.”

“At heart, it is a race vehicle” and is not built like a typical car, truck or SUV, the insurer said in a claim for payment, partly explaining why it sought $750,000.

The Southfield, Mich.-based company filed a lawsuit in March after the Justice Department refused to pay. Motors Insurance has also filed a lawsuit to try to get records about the incident through the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The government has been secretive, saying most records are exempt. It only released Thompson’s email.

“We don’t really know what happened. We’ve asked for a lot of information,” Motors Insurance attorney Richard Kraus said in an interview this week.

A judge has set a June 13 hearing in the case.

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Roseville Michigan Probation Officer Rory George Wagner Arrested, Charged With Stalking And Misuse Of Law Enforement Information System

ROSEVILLE, MICHIGAN – A probation officer with the Roseville District Court was arrested last Friday by Roseville Police and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office on charges of stalking and improper use of the Michigan Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) information system.

Rory George Wagner, 42, faces two counts of misdemeanor stalking related to another court employee and a Roseville Police officer, and one count of LEIN information — unauthorized disclosure. He faces up to two years in jail and up to five years probation.

Roseville Police said when they found Wagner, he was holding a gun, and was taken to a hospital for observation. An interim bond was set today at $10,000 and he will be arraigned on Monday in St. Clair Shores.

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Broke-Ass City Of Detroit Michigan Still Spending – $1,092 Each For Chairs Amid $2.3 Million Library Remodel

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Detroit Public Library officials say finances have grown so bad they could close most neighborhood branches, but in a few weeks plan to unveil a revamped wing of a main library that even administrators say spares few expenses.

The South Wing is stocked with 20 yellow and orange European lounge chairs that cost $1,092 apiece, artistic pendant light fixtures and two alcohol-burning fireplaces. The project morphed from a $300,000 furniture update to a $2.3 million overhaul with new floors, study rooms, lighting and built-in, wood-framed book shelves.

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“$1,100 per chair is reckless spending for a public institution,” said Todd Kelly, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1259, which represents 125 workers, including clerks, janitors and security staffers.

“It would be easier to swallow the current situation if we didn’t see things like that.”

It’s not the only spending to come under question as the system considers closing up to 18 of 23 branches and laying off as many as 191 of 333 workers. A Detroit News review showed that, since 2008, the library has paid at least $160,000 to food vendors, including $1,760 at an ice-cream shop, and spent $1 million on 6 percent raises to union workers at a time counterparts in City Hall took 10 percent pay cuts.

Executive Director Jo Anne Mondowney agreed the South Wing renovation was costly and that too much has been spent on food. But she said she’s only been on the job for about 19 months and isn’t responsible for much of the spending.

Construction was approved by the library board the same month she started the job, but commission minutes show that the $624,000 contract for furniture and shelving was approved under her watch in May 2010. Mondowney said she didn’t know who approved the chairs, which will be used by patrons, and that her staff tried unsuccessfully to return them.

“We are looking carefully and monitoring all of our expenses and revenues,” said Mondowney, who also said she’s cut down on food spending.

“There were some things we couldn’t undo. The tiger was out of the house. I have focused staff to become much more mindful of our spending.”

Union leaders argue the $2.3 million, which came from operational funds, could have helped reduce an $11 million shortfall.

But Edward Thomas, chairman of the library commission, said the South Wing spending has no connection to the library’s current financial crisis. The library is funded by a 4.63 mill tax and officials project revenues will drop 20 percent per year until 2015 because of declining property values and population. The tax that generated about $40 million in 2010 is only expected to produce $14 million by 2015.

“Our monthly payroll is $2 million,” Thomas said. “When you have a situation like this, people are looking for someone to blame. I just think some things are being made more of than they are. The root cause is really the decline in property taxes.”

Commissioner Anthony Adams said the board must “learn from its past mistakes.”

“You really can’t justify $1,100 chairs,” said Adams, who joined the board this year and has investigated the South Wing spending.

“I don’t think there was any ill will, but it just doesn’t look right in the current climate.”
Wing was ‘dilapidated’

Library Deputy Director Juliet Machie defended the renovation, saying it was a badly needed update that administrators and commissioners approved in 2008 when the system had a rainy day fund of nearly $35 million. The fund is at $17 million now, some of which will be tapped for the projected shortfall.

The 44,000-square-foot, two-story wing hasn’t had new furniture since it was built in 1965 and was “dilapidated and dreary,” said Machie, who helped lead the project under former Director Nancy Skowronski. Machie also was interim director for three months in the summer of 2009, before Mondowney came on in September 2009.

“It was pretty beat up,” Machie said. “The staff had been asking, ‘Can we do something?’”

Machie said the initial price of $300,000 was an estimate and commissioners knew it would increase. In January 2009, commissioners approved spending $1.5 million on the project. The commissioners are appointed by the Detroit Board of Education.

Skowronski, who retired, didn’t return a call for comment.

Machie said officials argued about the value of the two fireplaces — which cost $5,021 apiece — but she said staff pushed for them because they had seen them in suburban libraries. The 24 pendant light fixtures hanging above computers cost $531 each.

Machie said she wouldn’t have approved the chairs because they can be easily damaged. She said she has had to remove new leather chairs from the Skillman branch downtown and replace them with wooden ones after homeless people defecated on them.

Thomas said the Allermuir-brand chairs would not have been his choice, but “the public is entitled to have a comfortable place to come and read.”
Food spending examined

The library’s food tab also faces questions.

Spending with food vendors totaled $55,800 in 2008, $61,400 in 2009 and $40,600 in 2010, according to a Detroit News review of the library’s checks. Some of the most frequent caterers were downtown’s Lunchtime Global, Genet Your Everyday Gourmet and La Azteca Ice Cream in southwest Detroit.

Mondowney said most food was provided for the public at events but some was just for staff.

“I saw it as something we need to be mindful of,” Mondowney said. “Food service is not a necessary part of doing business.”

But records show about $5,400 has been spent on food vendors so far in January and February of this year.

Adams said food expenses have to be cut.

“You can’t justify spending money on food when you are closing branches,” Adams said.
Project a shadow over talks

Library leaders are meeting with union employees now to try to get them to accept concessions to trim their shortfall.

But Adams said concerns over the South Wing spending are dominating the discussion. Union representatives also have criticized a failed fundraising effort. The News first reported in February that the library set aside $200,000 in taxpayer money two years ago to launch a $20-million fundraising campaign for construction projects. But less than $100 was raised.

Kelly, with AFSCME Local 1259, said the union was surprised when library leaders proposed their 6 percent raise.

“We would have settled for 2 percent when we saw what the city was dealing with,” Kelly said.

Michael Wells, president of UAW Local 2200, representing about 120 library staffers, said the raise is justified but will be difficult to give up because some members believe library administrators were more concerned about keeping up with plush suburban facilities than being fiscally responsible.

“What we need to do is live within our budget,” said Wells. “We look to them for leadership and what do we get in return?”

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Detroit Mom Had Full Authority To Stop Giving Girl Medication – But That Didn’t Stop 12 Hour Police SWAT Team Siege On Her Home – Authority To Stop Medication Was By Same Group That Complained She Wasn’t Giving Medication

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – A mother accused of medical neglect for refusing to give her daughter a prescribed drug had authority to halt treatment, court files indicate.

The “informed consent” form signed by Maryanne Godboldo, who sparked a debate over parents’ rights when her daughter was removed from her care March 25, authorized her to give her daughter, Ariana, the antipsychotic drug Risperdal.

“It has been explained to me that I have the right to withdraw this consent at any time and can stop taking the medication at any time,” the form reads.

The agreement was signed June 3, 2010, by Godboldo and a psychiatrist associated with a children’s health organization that later complained to child welfare workers when Godboldo stopped giving her daughter the drug used in treatment of symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Lawyers for the 13-year-old’s mother and father will be in Wayne County Circuit Court Juvenile Division today attacking the validity of a petition obtained on a medical emergency claim by a county Child Protective Services worker to take the girl from her home by force March 25. Ariana has since been kept in a state facility for mentally ill juveniles.

The social worker’s efforts to take Ariana set off a 12-hour siege after armed police broke open a door at Godboldo’s west side home and a shot was fired. The 56-year-old mother and the girl’s father, Mubarak Hakim, 58, face neglect claims and attempts by state authorities to make the girl a ward of the court and possibly resumption of drug therapy. Godboldo also is charged separately with criminal assault and resisting and opposing the three Detroit Police officers who entered her home.

The case has drawn nationwide attention from groups advocating parents’ rights, concerns about the safety of childhood immunizations and use of psychotropic drugs, and those opposed to government intrusion on personal decisions.

Godboldo has said her daughter’s problems began in 2009, after she took a cocktail of immunizations to catch up with requirements to switch from homeschooling to a regular school environment. Godboldo, who believes her daughter’s problems are from encephalitis caused by a severe reaction to the immunizations, has said drug therapy worsened her daughter’s behavior. Godboldo has said she sought a “holistic’ alternative with the help of another doctor.

The form was signed by Dr. Rajendra Kanneganti, a psychiatrist associated with the Children’s Center of Wayne County. The treatment plan resulted from a mental health assessment of then 12-year-old Ariana after she was found by police wandering naked in her neighborhood last Memorial Day weekend.

The document, signed by the mother on behalf of her minor child, says, “I understand that I will not be forced to take this medication and that I can stop taking it at anytime. I also understand that discontinuation of prescribed medication without consultation with my doctor could cause my condition to worsen.”

“I think that document proves our case,” said Godboldo’s lawyer, Wanda Evans. “She understood she had a right to stop giving the medication. If you sign an informed consent that says you can stop, and you stop, you did the right thing, and CPS (Child Protective Services) is just being nasty.”

Kanneganti did not respond to a Detroit News telephone call.

A legal expert said the signed document might not carry much weight in court.

“In this case you do have these countervailing rights and obligations and they are difficult to assess,” said John Pirich, professor at Michigan State University College of Law. “But, in practice, a court usually looks first at the health, safety and welfare of the child.”

The News obtained access earlier this week to the previously withheld court file. The file was made available only after a lawyer for The News reminded officials that court files are open to the public under Michigan law.

The original petition to remove the child was obtained by case worker Mia Wenk, two weeks on the assignment, who expressed frustration with Godboldo’s lack of cooperation in her investigation of accusations of medical neglect from at least four sources, including the Children’s Center.

Evans said Godboldo consulted another doctor before weaning her daughter from the drug.

“Our intention is to begin an evidentiary hearing (today) on why the girl was removed from the home,” Evans said. “On what authority did they (Protective Services) act when it is a parent’s responsibility to make these decisions?”

Wayne County Child Protective Services workers last week filed an expanded explanation of claims. It quotes the clinical director of the facility where Ariana is being held, saying the girl, “may have a severe case of childhood onset schizophrenia, which would require medication for her to be treated properly.”

However, Assistant Attorney General David Law, representing Protective Services in court last week, said there was no current emergency need to medicate the girl.

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US Taxpayers Stand To Lose $11 BILLION In GM Bailout

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -  A report that the US government plans to sell off much of its remaining stake in General Motors this year despite the firm’s lackluster share price caused investors to flee the stock Tuesday.

After the Wall Street Journal reported a government sale could come within the next six months, GM’s shares fell by nearly 1.3 percent to end at $29.59.

The government sale would “almost certainly” mean that US taxpayers would take a loss from a politically controversial $50 billion rescue of the auto giant in 2009, according to the paper.

The government would need to sell its roughly 500 million shares for $53 dollars each in order to break even, but GM’s stock is currently hovering at a price of just under $30 per share.

At the current price, the government would lose more than $11 billion, but the Obama administration is willing to accept the loss in order to cut its last ties to the auto manufacturer, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

The summer sale would make it more likely that the government could unload the remainder of its shares before the 2012 election season.

But officials said planning is still at an early stage and the Treasury Department was still considering options that would protect taxpayers while ending its stake in the company as soon as practicable.

The paper added that GM would back the sell-off because it would lift restrictions on executive pay that remain in place as long as the government is part owner.

Marking its successful emergence from bankruptcy in July 2009, GM raised $23.1 billion last November in the largest public offering in history.

It posted a 9.6 percent increase in US auto sales in March, but it has also been hit by rising gas prices and its stock has suffered since the exit last month of chief financial officer Chris Liddell, a key architect of the revival.

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Michigan State Police Conducting Illegal Warrantless Searches Of Cellphones After Motorists Are Stopped For Minor Traffic Violations – Demand $544,000 To Tell ACLU Why And How

MICHIGAN – The Michigan State Police have a high-tech mobile forensics device that can be used to extract information from cell phones belonging to motorists stopped for minor traffic violations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan last Wednesday demanded that state officials stop stonewalling freedom of information requests for information on the program.

ACLU learned that the police had acquired the cell phone scanning devices and in August 2008 filed an official request for records on the program, including logs of how the devices were used. The state police responded by saying they would provide the information only in return for a payment of $544,680. The ACLU found the charge outrageous.

“Law enforcement officers are known, on occasion, to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide,” ACLU staff attorney Mark P. Fancher wrote. “No less should be expected of law enforcement, and the Michigan State Police should be willing to assuage concerns that these powerful extraction devices are being used illegally by honoring our requests for cooperation and disclosure.”

A US Department of Justice test of the CelleBrite UFED used by Michigan police found the device could grab all of the photos and video off of an iPhone within one-and-a-half minutes. The device works with 3000 different phone models and can even defeat password protections.

“Complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags,” a CelleBrite brochure explains regarding the device’s capabilities. “The Physical Analyzer allows visualization of both existing and deleted locations on Google Earth. In addition, location information from GPS devices and image geotags can be mapped on Google Maps.”

The ACLU is concerned that these powerful capabilities are being quietly used to bypass Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.

“With certain exceptions that do not apply here, a search cannot occur without a warrant in which a judicial officer determines that there is probable cause to believe that the search will yield evidence of criminal activity,” Fancher wrote. “A device that allows immediate, surreptitious intrusion into private data creates enormous risks that troopers will ignore these requirements to the detriment of the constitutional rights of persons whose cell phones are searched.”

The national ACLU is currently suing the Department of Homeland Security for its policy of warrantless electronic searches of laptops and cell phones belonging to people entering the country who are not suspected of committing any crime.

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Niles Michigan Police Officer Ivery Cross Arrested, Charged With Misconduct

NILES, MICHIGAN – A Niles City Police Department officer is currently under investigation by the Michigan State Police, Paw Paw Post, for misconduct while on duty, according to Police Chief Ric Huff of the Niles City Police Department.

Cross

Though the department has not released the officer’s name, the Star was able to confirm the officer arrested as Ivery Cross.

The Niles City Police Department says it is fully cooperating with the state police investigation and is conducting a thorough internal investigation into the matter.

Cross was taken into custody Friday afternoon by the Michigan State Police and his police authority has been suspended. Cross’ arraignment in court is expected to occur on Monday in the Berrien County Trial Court.

According to the release, the department is unable to release any further information about the possible charges or alleged misconduct until Cross’ appearance in court, as the investigation is ongoing.

The release stated it was with great regret that the Niles City Police Department must submit the release, having dedicated and hard working women and men and this officer’s alleged actions should not reflect negatively on their dedication to this community.

Detective First Lieutenant Charles A. Christensen, Michigan State Police, is acting as lead investigator in the matter.

According to the official posting for Cross’s arrival to the department, the officer is a NilesHigh School graduate and a graduate of Kalamazoo Valley Community College Police Academy.

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Niles Michigan Police Officer Arrested For Misconduct

NILES, MICHIGAN – Michigan State Police arrested a Niles city police officer Friday in connection with charges of police misconduct, Niles police said.

The officer, whose name was not released, was taken into custody by Michigan State Police, Paw Paw Post, in lieu of an investigation into misconduct while on duty, Niles City Police Chief Richard A. Huff said in a statement.

Huff cited a pending investigation as the reason why details of the charges were not released.

The Niles City Police Department is fully cooperating with the State Police investigation and is conducting a thorough internal investigation into the matter, Huff said in a statement.

The officer has been suspended. He is expected to be arraigned Monday at Berrien County Trial Court.

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Bomb Found Outside Detroit Michigan Federal Building Was Brought Inside By Dumbass Security Guard And Stored In Lost And Found For 3 Weeks

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – A package found by a security guard at a federal office building in Detroit sat three weeks before someone thought to screen it and found it was a bomb, an official who represents unionized guards said on Wednesday.

A private contract guard, since suspended, apparently found the package outside in late February, said David Wright, president of the union that represents Federal Protective Service guards but not contract guards.

The building in downtown Detroit houses offices for the FBI, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the Social Security Administration and others.

The guard brought the package into the building and put it in “lost and found” without having it screened, Wright said. It sat until March 18, when someone decided to X-ray the package and found that it might contain a bomb, he said.

The guards then notified the Federal Protective Service and Detroit police and the package was moved outside the building, where the police bomb squad recovered it, he said.

Detroit police said they recovered a package on Friday from the federal building and detonated it.

The FBI is investigating the incident, Special Agent Sandra Berchtold said. Neither police nor the FBI commented further on details of the incident,

Wright said it was not clear whether the guard who found the package initially was the one who decided to have it screened for explosives. The package should not have been moved in either case except by explosives experts, he said.

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Michigan Lawmaker Craft Bill That Would Impose Financial Martial Law With Governor In Control

MICHIGAN – Michigan lawmakers are on the verge of approving a bill that would enable the governor to appoint “emergency managers” — officials with unilateral power to make sweeping changes to cities facing financial troubles.

Under the legislation, the Michigan Messenger reports, the governor could declare a “financial emergency” in towns or school districts. He could then appoint a manager to fire local elected officials, break contracts, seize and sell assets, eliminate services – and even eliminate whole cities or school districts without any public input.

The measure passed in the state Senate this week; the House passed its own version earlier. The two versions of the bill are expected to be reconciled next week, and Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has said he will sign the bill the bill into law.

Democrats and their allies are decrying the legislation as a power grab and say it’s part of a wider effort taking place in several states, such as Wisconsin, to weaken labor unions.

“It takes every decision in a city or school district and puts it in the hands of the manager, from when the streets get plowed to who plows them and how much they are paid,” said Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan State AFL-CIO. “This is a takeover by the right wing and it’s an assault on democracy like I’ve never seen.”

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Democrat who represents Detroit, said in a statement that in a given city, the governor’s new “financial czar” could “force a municipality into bankruptcy, a power that will surely be used to extract further concessions from hardworking public sector workers.”

He said the legislation raises “serious constitutional concerns.” On top of that, he said, allowing an “emergency manager” to dissolve locally elected bodies “implicitly targets minority communities that are disproportionately impacted by the economic downturn, without providing meaningful support for improved economic opportunity.”

Republican state Sen. Jack Brandenburg said several urban areas of the state, especially Detroit, are in “bad shape” and require “financial martial law,” the Daily Tribune reports.

The emergency manager, he said, “has to have the backbone, he has to have the power, to null and void a contract.” In response to concerns that local leaders will have to cede control, Brandenburg said, “I’ll tell you what, I think that in a lot of these places there is no control.”

An emergency manager would only be put in place if several other steps to save a city’s finances failed, and Snyder has said in recent weeks that removing elected officials or breaking contracts would be a last resort for an emergency manager. In addition, the legislature would have the power to remove an emergency manager.

As the “emergency manager” bill nears final passage, state lawmakers are also considering Snyder’s proposed budget, which would cut spending on schools, universities, prisons and communities, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Snyder has also proposed eliminating $1.7 billion in tax breaks for individuals while cutting $1.8 billion in taxes for businesses to spur job growth. Much of the $1.7 billion in new tax revenue would be “coming from retirees, senior citizens and the working poor,” the Free Press wrote in an editorial.

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Audio File Surfaces Of Man Being Beaten By Westland Michigan Police Officers Michael Little And Kyle Dawley – Faced Bogus Charges And Was Convicted Of One

WESTLAND, MICHIGAN – An attorney plans to use an inadvertent 21-minute recording from an officer’s lapel microphone as grounds to overturn a misdemeanor conviction against a husband who allegedly was beaten by officers trying to mediate a dispute between the man and his wife.

The husband, Jeffrey Kodlowski, suspected his wife of cheating and initiated the March 18, 2009, incident when he took her cell phone in an attempt to prove her infidelity. Marlyn Kodlowski then began a series of phone calls to police that led to the arrival of officers Michael Little and Kyle Dawley to the Kodlowski residence on South Hanlon Street.

Jeffrey Kodlowski’s attorney, Joseph Corriveau, says the recording, captured by Little’s lapel microphone, shows the police overreached their authority and allegedly attacked his client, who was charged with assaulting the officers; he was acquitted of the assault charge and found guilty of resisting arrest.

Although assaulting a police officer is a felony in Michigan, Westland officials did not submit the case to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for review; instead, Kodlowski was charged in 29th District Court under city code violations of assault and resisting arrest.

“The audio shows these officers clearly stepped over the line,” said Corriveau, who filed a motion with the Michigan Court of Appeals in December, after Wayne Circuit Judge Craig Strong refused to hear the case on appeal.

“If the microphone hadn’t been on, this would’ve been just a ‘he said, she said’ situation. But the audio tells the story,” the attorney said.

Corriveau said he also plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police seeking damages for the beating, but is waiting to see how the appeal plays out first.

“(District Judge Mark McConnell) didn’t allow photos of my client’s injuries, or any mention of the beating these officers gave him,” Corriveau said. “The judge also wouldn’t let the jury see a transcript of the audio.”

Westland Deputy Chief Daniel Karrick said he couldn’t comment on the case because it was still being adjudicated, although he said there’s nothing unusual about trying assault cases against officers in district court.

“Most of those cases are charged as misdemeanors,” Karrick said. “I’d say 99 percent of our cases are charged that way.”
“Try to make me leave.”

The incident began at 4:01 a.m., when Marlyn Kodlowski called the Westland Police Department claiming her husband had taken her cell phone and car keys and wouldn’t allow her to leave the house. The desk officer asked to talk to her husband; Jeffrey Kodlowski told the officer, “There’s no fight, like hitting or nothing.”

“Let me ask you this — how come you won’t let her have the keys to leave?” the officer asked. Jeffrey Kodlowski agreed to give his wife the car keys, and the officer hung up.

Marlyn Kodlowski again called police at 4:12 a.m.

Little and Dawley arrived at 4:17 a.m. to find the woman sitting in her van outside the home. She told the officers her husband had handed over her keys and purse, but would not give up the cell phone. “He thinks I’m cheating on him,” she said.

She told the officers she planned to go to her sister’s house.

Corriveau said “it was obvious Mrs. Kodlowski was free to leave” when the police arrived. “At that point, they should have just left,” Corriveau said.

The officers instead entered the house and are heard ordering Jeffrey Kodlowski to give the cell phone to his wife. He refused.

“You don’t believe me or nothing I say; what because I’m the dude here?” he asked.

“You’re a loudmouth; you’re acting like a jerk,” Dawley said.

“Loudmouth? You’re in my house; no one’s yelling at you,” Jeffrey Kodlowski replied. “You come off with this pumping the chest and throwing your authority at me for nothing, dude. You have no right to sit here over a phone.”

“Because you’re acting like a jerk,” Dawley said.

“OK, well, I will act like a jerk and be quiet,” the husband said. “You have no right to sit here over a phone.”

Dawley cut him off: “Try to make me leave your house. Go for it.”

Jeffrey Kodlowski twice informed the officers that he’d had an operation for a brain aneurysm.
“Let’s take him.”

At one point, Marlyn Kodlowski and the officers tried to use her husband’s wallet as a bargaining chip to get Jeffrey Kodlowski to give up the phone.

Again he refused, saying he wanted to learn the code so he could see who his wife had been calling.

Jeffrey Kodlowski is later heard saying, “I’m the victim. I asked you guys to please leave; she’s got the keys to the car, she wants to leave. I talked to an officer on the phone; he said ‘Just give her the keys and go.’”

A few minutes later, Marlyn Kodlowski says she wants to leave. Her husband is heard saying, “I’m curious . . . this is my wallet there?”

“Don’t touch me,” Little said.

The officers later would say Jeffrey Kodlowski had spun Little around when he touched him, but no struggle is heard on the audio. Instead, Kodlowski apologizes twice.

Dawley then says to his partner, “You know what? Let’s take him. (Expletive) him.”

The sounds of a struggle are heard. “Nobody is touching him . . . I was pointing,” Jeffrey Kodlowski says.

“Don’t resist,” Dawley says.

The husband screams, “Man, dude. Ow, ow!”

“Stop resisting,” Dawley says.

“I ain’t doing nothing,” Kodlowski says. “He punched me in the face.”

Marlyn Kodlowski then begs the officers, “Stop, stop. My son is outside.”

“Go outside with your son,” Little says.

“Don’t touch him,” Marlyn Kodlowski says. “You guys, stop. Oh please, you guys.”

When the struggle was over, Jeffrey Kodlowski was bleeding profusely from a huge gash in his head, and is allegedly rushed to Annapolis Hospital.

Curt Benson, a professor at Cooley School of Law, said police officers are required to leave a private residence once they determine no crime has been committed, even if they were invited inside.

“If they believe someone has committed a crime, they can make an arrest,” he said. “But in a case like this, if they weren’t sure who owned the phone, as long as there was no evidence of a crime, they should have told them to talk to a lawyer. They’re required to leave if they’re asked to leave and there’s no crime.

“The problem is, some people use the police as arbitrators in family squabbles,” Benson said. “The police know that, and their job is to de-escalate the situation. It doesn’t sound like that’s what happened here.”

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Bogus Murder Charge Dropped After Farmington Hills Michigan Prosecutors Read Autopsy Report

FARMINGTON HILLS, MICHIGAN – Prosecutors who received an unexpected autopsy result dropped a murder charge Wednesday against a woman who had been accused of killing her ailing husband as a result of a botched at-home medical procedure.

Authorities cautioned, however, that Laura Johnson isn’t in the clear. They plan to take hospital records and autopsy results to experts for another opinion on the strange death of lawyer Lloyd Johnson.

Nonetheless, the dismissal of charges was a victory for Laura Johnson, a week after her 47-year-old husband died at a suburban Detroit hospital.

“We’re relieved it’s over,” defense attorney John Williams said as he accompanied Johnson on a courthouse elevator.

Johnson, 46, declined to comment as she dabbed her eyes and walked with a cane.

Police found a large pool of blood in Lloyd Johnson’s bed, as well as surgical gear and jars of suspected human tissue in the couple’s home. The Oakland County prosecutor last week filed charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and unlawful practice of medicine against his widow.

But on Tuesday medical examiner L.J. Dragovic said Johnson’s death was not a homicide. He said it was an accident due to an open wound on his lower back from an old boating injury that hadn’t healed. Dragovic noted other factors: Johnson weighed 413 pounds and had diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cirrhosis and other ailments.

In asking a judge to dismiss the charges, assistant prosecutor Paul Walton explained why they were filed. He said Lloyd Johnson, although unable to speak, nodded affirmatively when asked at Botsford Hospital if his wife had performed surgery on him.

“The patient’s father, mother as well as son believe that the wife is trying to intentionally harm the patient by … giving him extra medication as well as performing unnecessary procedures,” Walton said, quoting a medical report.

Laura Johnson told one of Lloyd Johnson’s children that she thought she had killed him, Walton said.

Outside court, the prosecutor said he doesn’t believe Laura Johnson intended to kill her husband but the second-degree murder charge is appropriate when authorities find a “disregard for human life.”

Walton said it’s sometimes filed, for example, in cases of death caused by a drunken driver.

“You have a victim that has compromised health,” Walton said of Lloyd Johnson. “You have an individual who has committed some type of act that furthers the deterioration of health. … There was a tremendous amount of loss of blood.”

Johnson’s lawyer has said she had provided wound care for two years and was “vindicated” by the medical examiner’s findings.

Walton addressed criticism that the prosecutor’s office was too quick to charge Laura Johnson before the autopsy results were in. He said police had much evidence and authorities also were concerned about her fleeing with her two young sons. She was arrested at a school last week.

“That starts the clock ticking for us,” Walton said.

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Wayne County Michigan Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny Jails Court Reporter 30 Days For Slow Typing

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Paulette Martin, an official reporter for Detroit’s 36th District Court, has gone from writer’s block to cell block.

Martin is serving a 30-day contempt sentence in the Wayne County Jail for repeatedly missing deadlines to produce an overdue court proceeding transcript — the first court reporter to receive such a stiff sentence for failing to complete her duties.

The jail term also covers her allegedly absconding from an earlier sentence by fleeing the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, where she had been given five days to transcribe the record of a lengthy preliminary examination.

“We just can’t tolerate this,” said Presiding Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny, who locked up Martin.

“And this isn’t the first time” Martin has stalled cases, he said.

There are at least three other instances of her being unable to find records of cases, he said.

Defense attorney Leland McRae said his representation of Darious Morris on arson and other charges is hamstrung by a compromised official record: “This breeches the integrity of the process.”

What really galled Kenny was his thwarted attempt to get the transcript produced by setting up a workstation for Martin in the courthouse.

“We even bought her lunch, and then she takes off — she just left,” he said.

Judge: Busy court needs transcripts on time

The preliminary examination covered three days in June and took 13 witnesses to come up with enough evidence to have Darious Morris stand trial in a complicated arson and real estate case.

You could look it up, but defense attorney Leland McRae says don’t bother.

“There are 300 pages of transcript, except maybe 61 pages are missing,” McRae said Wednesday.

Paulette Martin, the official court reporter from that hearing in Detroit’s 36th District Court, is now lodged in the Wayne County Jail serving a 30-day contempt sentence because she missed deadline to type up the transcript of Morris’ hearing.

Martin even took it on the lam — leaving the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, said Presiding Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny, after he told her she could swap a five-day sentence for a completed transcript.

“She just left,” he said.

Judge David Allen, scheduled to hear the Morris trial, said he is frustrated as McRae and assistant prosecutor Rebecca Camargo try to sort out the situation.

“From time to time, we get a tardy transcript; these are busy courts,” Allen said. “I’ve never had anything like this.”

But Martin — who uses a masked microphone to whisper a running verbatim taped account of the proceeding — has had three cases where she could not produce transcripts because she said she couldn’t find the tape.

“And all of these are since November 2009,” Kenny said.

Martin’s court-appointed lawyer Mack Carpenter was not available for comment.

Court rules say a transcript is due 28 days after a defendant is bound over for trial in circuit court. The record is crucial in assessing witnesses and evidence and helping determine trial strategy or plea negotiations.

The Morris transcript was due July 12, but when another five weeks passed, Kenny ordered Martin into court on Aug. 20 and set a new deadline of Aug. 25. When she called Kenny to say family matters had arisen, he gave her an extension until Sept. 1.

Kenny said Martin told him she helped care for an ailing parent. He said he sympathized, but added that the work could have been passed to someone else.

“We can’t have a case dead in the water,” he said.

With no transcript done, Kenny ordered Martin to serve five days in jail for contempt. But, he said, she could free herself with a finished product.

The judge had a work area set up in the courthouse for her, but she said she wanted her personal equipment from home. Kenny said she instead went out and bought herself a new laptop computer.

On Sept. 3, Martin was taken from the jail to work in the courthouse. Court officials bought her lunch, after which Kenny said she absconded.

A bench warrant was issued and she returned to court on Sept. 7 — without a finished transcript.

“I gave her the maximum, 30 days for contempt, and there she is,” Kenny said.

He jailed another court reporter, but that was seven years ago and it took only a day to get that transcript.

McRae said there was a flash drive supposedly containing the transcript, but there were 61 pages missing when the file was opened.

He said there is no way to re-create an accurate record: “Evidence has been destroyed through no fault of the defense.”

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the court system needs all hands on deck.

“If one person in the system is irresponsible or incompetent, it has the potential to affect an entire case,” Worthy said. “We don’t need this when resources are already scarce.”

Kenny said he is referring the matter to the state board of review that certifies court reporters.

“I’ll let that committee sort it out,” he said.

Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Michael Talbot chairs the review board and said errant reporters can be counseled, placed on probation or even have their certification revoked.

If referred, “we will look at it very seriously,” he said.

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Jackson County Michigan Judge James Justin Suspended After Fixing His And Wife’s Tickets

JACKSON, MICHIGAN – Court records show that a Jackson County judge who was suspended indefinitely in July by the Michigan Supreme Court dismissed nine traffic cases against himself and his wife.

The Jackson Citizen Patriot reports Sunday that records show that District 12 Judge James Justin had four parking tickets he received from 2002 to 2004 “dismissed after explanation” to himself.

The newspaper reports he also dismissed five traffic tickets received by his wife between 1999 and 2009. Court documents show that the nine tickets carried potential fines and costs of $751.

Justin’s lawyer Dennis Kolenda says his client acknowledges that he was wrong but his actions warrant no more than a reprimand.

The Judicial Tenure Commission is investigating misconduct complaints.

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Tires Stolen From Police Vehicle Assigned To Those Guarding Detroit Mayor

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – A security vehicle for Detroit Mayor Dave Bing had its tires and rims stolen when it was parked at an east-side condo building, according to officials from the Detroit Police Department and mayor’s office.

Sgt. Eren Stephens said the vehicle was assigned to the executive protection unit.

According to the mayor’s office the tires were taken overnight as the vehicle was parked at the Shoreline East Condominiums.

Karen Dumas, a spokeswoman for Bing, said the mayor is not associated with the condo and wasn’t in the area when the tires were stolen.

“I’m not clear on the details of why” the vehicle was there at the time, Dumas said.

Stephens said the theft is still under investigation.

Tires had to be brought in and placed on the vehicle before it could be put on a flatbed and towed away, the mayor’s office said.

“While this issue is unfortunate, it is a microcosm of a larger challenge that we all have the responsibility of addressing,” said Dumas. “It is our hope that the community will continue to support the efforts of this administration at all levels to communicate that any activity that compromises the quality of life in Detroit is intolerable.”

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Lawsuit Charging Detroit Michigan Police With Killing 7 Year Old Girl In Violent SWAT Raid On Home Highlights Lies By Police Officers

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Calling law enforcement accounts “absurd,” a Michigan attorney sued
police Tuesday in the death of 7-year-old girl killed during a raid in
Detroit.

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger said members of the Detroit
Police Special Response Team acted out of line when they conducted a
raid on the family home of Aiyana Jones, who was severely burned and
then killed by an officer’s bullet. She died Sunday.

“This type
of activity by a police force is unacceptable in America,” Fieger said
at a news conference in his office. “What is equally unacceptable is the
cover-up that has occurred.”

Fieger filed both state and federal
lawsuits alleging gross negligence, a violation of civil rights and a
conspiracy to cover up the violation of civil rights.

Detroit
Assistant Police Chief Ralph Godbee has said that preliminary
information indicated that officers approached the house with a search
warrant for the girl’s uncle in connection with the shooting of a high
school student Friday.

Godbee said the officer’s gun discharged
accidentally inside the home after an altercation and physical contact
with the girl’s grandmother, Mertilla Jones.

Jones denied such an
altercation Tuesday. Fieger said he plans to file another lawsuit for
false arrest and accused the police of covering up their own mistakes by
blaming the family.

Fieger said videotape of the incident shows
that the shooting was not accidental. In an interview Monday, he told
CNN affiliate WDIV that a crew was filming the raid for the A&E
network’s show, “The First 48.” The program documents police
investigations in the first 48 hours after a homicide.

Tuesday,
Fieger recounted the events shown on the video that he said led to the
girl’s death. At times, he had to pause, his voice drowned out by
sobbing family members.

Fieger said officers tossed a smoke bomb
– described by police as a “flash bang device” to distract occupants –
into the house, severely burning Aiyana, who was on the couch in the
front room with her grandmother. She was then struck in the neck by a
bullet fired from outside the house, he said.

Godbee has said he
doesn’t know how Fieger saw the video, according to WDIV.

“If Mr.
Fieger has access to anything that would be evidence in this case, he
should, as an officer of the court, get it immediately to the Michigan
State Police, which will be investigating,” he said in a statement.

Fieger
said the police and the city owe apologies to the family, especially to
Mertilla Jones for trying to blame her for her granddaughter’s death.
He said officers need to be held to account just as anyone else would.

“The people of the city of Detroit have got to believe the police
will protect them, and not kill them,” Fieger said.

“This is an opportunity to come together, not to tear
us apart,” he said. “Apologize now and we can start the road to
healing.”

Family of Michigan child killed in raid sues police – CNN.com

Video Surfaces That Proves Detroit Michigan Police Lied About Their Violent Attack On A Home Where They Killed An Innocent 7 Year Old Girl

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – An attorney for the family of a 7-year-old girl slain during a weekend raid at their Detroit home says video footage contradicts the police department’s version of events.

Geoffrey Fieger (FI-ger) said Monday that footage shot by the A&E crime-reality show “The First 48″ shows that police fired into the home at least once after lobbing a flash grenade through a window.

He says that contradicts the police department’s explanation that an officer’s gun fired during a confrontation with a resident inside the home.

Seven-year-old Aiyana Jones was shot in the neck and died.

Fieger says he viewed three to four minutes of footage but declined to say who showed it to him.

The police department says it is trying to acquire the video.

An A&E spokesman declined to comment.

Atty: Video
Shows Police Fired Into Detroit Home – ABC News

Dumbass Detroit Michigan Police Officer Shoots And Kills Innocent 7 Year Old Girl During Home Search

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – A 7-year-old girl was shot and killed when an officer’s gun went off
during contact with a woman in a house where Detroit police were
searching for a suspect in the slaying of a teenager, a police official
said.

Assistant Chief Ralph Godbee said at a news
conference Sunday that Aiyana Jones was hit in the neck by a single
bullet and died at a hospital.

“This is any parent’s worst nightmare. It also is any
police officer‘s
worst nightmare,” Godbee said.

Godbee said officers with the department’s Special
Response Team set off a flash grenade as they entered the home about
12:40 a.m. Sunday with a warrant to look for a suspect in the Friday
slaying of a 17-year-old boy.

The lead officer encountered a 46-year-old woman
immediately inside the front room of the house and “some level of
physical contact” ensued during which the officer’s gun went off, Godbee
said. The officers had identified themselves as police, he said.

Godbee said the shooting was being investigated and
all information was preliminary.

“We cannot undo what occurred this morning,” he said.
“All we can do is to pledge an open and full investigation and to
support Aiyana’s family in whatever way they may be willing to accept
from us at this time.”

The officers had a search
warrant and were looking for a 34-year-old man suspected in the
shooting death of 17-year-old Jarean Blake.

Blake, a student at Southeastern High School, was gunned down
Friday by a store in front of his girlfriend. Blake stumbled across the
street, collapsed and died, police said.

Officers arrested the suspect inside the home where
Aiyana was shot, Godbee said.

“This is a tragedy of unspeakable magnitude to
Aiyana’s parents, family and all those who loved her,” Godbee said. “It
is a tragedy we also feel very deeply throughout the ranks of the Detroit Police Department.”

Detroit police say 7-year-old shot in home search – Yahoo! News

Empty Jails: Detroit Michigan Crime Rate Remains High, But The Number Of Criminals Arrested By Police Drops – Some Crimes Never Reported Due To Slow Cops

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Empty jail cells are normally something to celebrate, but Wayne County’s top law enforcement officials say the hundreds of vacant jail beds are not because of a drop in crime or more reasonable sentencing. Floors of the downtown Detroit jail are empty because police are arresting fewer people accused of those crimes.

Altogether, three county jails that held about 2,500 prisoners a year ago now house 400 fewer inmates.

Sheriff Warren Evans said police are so slow to respond to some calls that the crimes never get reported. Prosecutor Kym Worthy was more blunt:

“We don’t tell the truth about crime,” she said.

Detroit has lost hundreds of sworn officers in recent years. The Police Department didn’t respond to repeated requests for interviews with its top leaders, but it released preliminary statistics showing an overall decline in criminal activity this year, despite a 24% increase in homicides.

East-sider Joyce Betty, 56, isn’t buying it.

Last February, a young assailant snatched Betty’s purse, which contained $300 in cash, while she pumped gas at a Mack Avenue filling station. Surveillance cameras captured the crime on videotape, but police never responded.

Said Betty: “I have little faith in the Detroit Police Department.”
Empty cells point to police breakdown

It’s an incredible sight: In a city riddled with crime, entire floors of the Wayne County Jail in downtown Detroit are empty.

The seventh floor of the Baird Detention Facility, normally home to 128 newly arrested prisoners, is vacant. So are the ninth floor and half of the 12th floor. Another 128 beds at the Dickerson Detention Facility in Hamtramck are also closed. That adds up to more than 400 empty beds in Wayne County jails that, up to about a year ago, were filled with roughly 2,500 prisoners.

The main explanation is simple, according to the county’s top two law enforcement officials: Detroit police are making fewer arrests, a dereliction so obvious it has led some Detroiters to conclude there’s no point in even calling the cops.
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“I’ve talked to dozens, probably hundreds, of people in the community who are telling me they never made a report because the police never came,” Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said Tuesday. “The delay in response time is such that many, many, many crimes don’t get reported.”

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy agrees, echoing Evan’s assertion that decreases in reported crimes are misleading.

“We tell the press that crime is going down,” Worthy said. “It’s not going down; it’s going up, exponentially, and we have many fewer officers on the street. We need to acknowledge the problem.”

The Detroit Police Department did not respond to several requests for comment last week. Instead, a department spokeswoman, citing preliminary police statistics, said overall crime in the city so far this year is down 9.1%, excluding a 24% increase in homicides — a trend that, if true, would partly explain the jail’s decreasing census, especially for those awaiting trial.

In 2007, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department recorded 20,423 felony bookings. Last year, there were just 18,261 — a drop of more than 10% in a single year. So far this year, bookings have continued to drop roughly 10%, said Undersheriff Daniel Pfannes.

But few city residents think a drop in crime is the reason. Ask east-sider Joyce Betty, 56. A young man snatched her purse, with $300 in it, out of her car while she pumped gas at Mack and Gratiot in February. Betty called 911 on her cell. Police never responded. “They made no attempt to contact me,” Betty said, even though the gas station has surveillance tapes of the incident. “It’s water over the dam, but I have little faith in the Detroit Police Department.”

Neither Oakland nor Macomb Counties report comparable declines in their own jail populations. Both counties’ cells remain full, despite innovative efforts to manage the population, Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel and Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe say.

Pontiac, however, is experiencing a trend similar to Detroit’s: Arrests have declined as the number of sworn officers has dropped from 170 to 65 in the last three years.
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The Detroit Police Department deploys about half the number of sworn officers it did in the 1990s, and has lost roughly 1,000 officers over the last five years.

Even serious crimes aren’t getting solved. Arrests are made in only 37% of Detroit homicides, compared to more than 60% nationwide. Officers have too little time to investigate, and they work with a community that often does not trust them. Detroit’s shuttered police crime lab has raised more troubling questions about homicide investigations.

Another reason arrests are down is the closing — for good cause — of many decrepit, pre-arraignment holding cells under a federal consent decree that is mandating reforms. Six years ago, police held 350 in such lockups, compared to about 130 today. Shift supervisors, and probably officers, know when the lockups are full.

Evans said he offered to lease county jail cells for police lockups five years ago. Negotiations continue, but a deal should have been struck long before this.

Privately, some law enforcement officials also say Detroit police are frustrated by the added paperwork required for arrests under the federal consent decree. But that’s no excuse for failing to perform. The consent decree, signed in 2003, might be a headache, but it’s one the department earned by abusing the citizens it was supposed to protect, including mistreatment of prisoners in lockups and dragnet arrests of homicide witnesses. The department also had the highest rate of fatal shootings by officers among America’s big cities.

Fundamental breakdowns in other basic services also decrease public safety. Copper thieves have made land-line phone service in parts of the city, especially on the east side, unreliable and sporadic. It’s not unusual for phone lines to be dead when crime victims try to call 911.

No one is questioning the integrity or competence of underpaid Detroit police officers. They work hard and, in many cases, risk their lives daily. But the department continues to do 1970s-style policing, reacting to crime rather than using data-driven policing efforts. The Michigan Department of Corrections and other criminal justice agencies have information that would enable the department to focus its resources on people most likely to commit crimes.

“In dealing with crime, particularly violent crime, a data-driven surgical approach is the direction we need to go,” said former U.S. Attorney Saul Green, group executive for public safety under new Mayor Dave Bing. “I do believe we have some improvements to make in that area.”

Until then, floors of empty Wayne County jail cells — normally a reason to celebrate — should comfort no one.

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Crazed Detroit Michigan Police Steal Residents And Vistors Pillows

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - Police in Detroit have ruffled some feathers after they cracked down on an organized pillow fight at a downtown park.

The Detroit News reports that police at Campus Martius Park prevented the feathery fight Saturday by disarming pillow-toting participants. The bout was part of a worldwide event organized on social networking Web sites.

Michael Davis of Hamtramck says police confiscated the 32-year-old man’s pillows but returned their cases. He says he was told that he needed a permit.

Scott Harris of Ferndale told the News that it’s “not illegal to own a pillow.”

Detroit police spokesman James Tate says cleanup was the issue.

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Crazed Detroit Michigan Police Steal Residents And Vistors Pillows

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - Police in Detroit have ruffled some feathers after they cracked down on an organized pillow fight at a downtown park.

The Detroit News reports that police at Campus Martius Park prevented the feathery fight Saturday by disarming pillow-toting participants. The bout was part of a worldwide event organized on social networking Web sites.

Michael Davis of Hamtramck says police confiscated the 32-year-old man’s pillows but returned their cases. He says he was told that he needed a permit.

Scott Harris of Ferndale told the News that it’s “not illegal to own a pillow.”

Detroit police spokesman James Tate says cleanup was the issue.

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Bay City Michigan Police Officer Troy Sierras Attacks And Injures Nude Man Using Taser Weapon

BAY CITY, MICHIGAN – A nude man was Tasered by police Friday morning before he could enter St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Bay City.

Bay City Police Sgt. Gordon Cameron said the man – believed to be 26 or 27 – indicated to police he was having problems with his parents and walked to the church without so much as a pair of shoes on.

“He wanted to go to the church,” Cameron said. “I don’t know why.”

Police did not release the man’s name.

Cameron said the man, who lives on Bay City’s West Side, was Tasered by Officer Troy Sierras after he refused to cooperate. Police said the man made several derogatory remarks and cursed at them.

The man, still naked, was detained face down in the church parking lot at 11:45 a.m., surrounded by about seven Bay City police officers and firefighters. Blood dripped from his face, an injury sustained from falling on the pavement after being Tasered, police said.

A Taser is a weapon that fires barbs attached by wires to batteries, causing temporary paralysis.

After being lifted onto a stretcher and draped in a white blanket, the man was taken by paramedics to Bay Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.

At least two people called 911 to report the man roaming around the church, 607 E. South Union St. A funeral Mass was under way at the time of the incident.

The Rev. Craig Albrecht said he was “speechless,” but glad the man never made it inside the church because of the many children who were there at the time.

“It is a little odd,” he said.

Police said they were unsure of the man’s mental health or whether he was under the influence of any controlled substances. Cameron said the man likely would not be charged with a crime.

“You never want to see anybody like that,” he said. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

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Bay City Michigan Police Officer Troy Sierras Attacks And Injures Nude Man Using Taser Weapon

BAY CITY, MICHIGAN – A nude man was Tasered by police Friday morning before he could enter St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Bay City.

Bay City Police Sgt. Gordon Cameron said the man – believed to be 26 or 27 – indicated to police he was having problems with his parents and walked to the church without so much as a pair of shoes on.

“He wanted to go to the church,” Cameron said. “I don’t know why.”

Police did not release the man’s name.

Cameron said the man, who lives on Bay City’s West Side, was Tasered by Officer Troy Sierras after he refused to cooperate. Police said the man made several derogatory remarks and cursed at them.

The man, still naked, was detained face down in the church parking lot at 11:45 a.m., surrounded by about seven Bay City police officers and firefighters. Blood dripped from his face, an injury sustained from falling on the pavement after being Tasered, police said.

A Taser is a weapon that fires barbs attached by wires to batteries, causing temporary paralysis.

After being lifted onto a stretcher and draped in a white blanket, the man was taken by paramedics to Bay Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.

At least two people called 911 to report the man roaming around the church, 607 E. South Union St. A funeral Mass was under way at the time of the incident.

The Rev. Craig Albrecht said he was “speechless,” but glad the man never made it inside the church because of the many children who were there at the time.

“It is a little odd,” he said.

Police said they were unsure of the man’s mental health or whether he was under the influence of any controlled substances. Cameron said the man likely would not be charged with a crime.

“You never want to see anybody like that,” he said. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

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Our Tax Dollars At Work: Woman Charged In Mount Clemens Michigan With Painting A Black And White Fire Hydrant Yellow – Charges Tossed

MOUNT CLEMENS, MICHIGAN – A judge has ruled that a 68-year-old Michigan woman facing possible jail time after painting over a fire hydrant near her home that had been decorated by children is in the clear.

The hydrant in the Detroit suburb of Mount Clemens had been painted white with black spots in August by children as part of a citywide art project, and Gloria Haller painted it yellow in September.

Haller argued safety was at stake, and the black-and-white hydrant would be difficult to see in the winter.

Haller was charged with misdemeanors of defacing public property and violating the fire code. The Macomb Daily and The Detroit News report District Judge Sheila Miller dismissed the charges Thursday.

Haller faced up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine if convicted.

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Our Tax Dollars At Work: Woman Charged In Mount Clemens Michigan With Painting A Black And White Fire Hydrant Yellow – Charges Tossed

MOUNT CLEMENS, MICHIGAN – A judge has ruled that a 68-year-old Michigan woman facing possible jail time after painting over a fire hydrant near her home that had been decorated by children is in the clear.

The hydrant in the Detroit suburb of Mount Clemens had been painted white with black spots in August by children as part of a citywide art project, and Gloria Haller painted it yellow in September.

Haller argued safety was at stake, and the black-and-white hydrant would be difficult to see in the winter.

Haller was charged with misdemeanors of defacing public property and violating the fire code. The Macomb Daily and The Detroit News report District Judge Sheila Miller dismissed the charges Thursday.

Haller faced up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine if convicted.

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Man Dies In Wayne County Michigan Jail After Jailers Withhold Needed Medical Care

DETROIT, MICHIGAN — The widow of an inmate who died in the custody of the Wayne County sheriff alleges in a lawsuit that the failure of Sheriff’s Office and county officials to provide timely medical care led to her husband’s death in July, from complications of diabetes.

“My husband was fit and healthy before he went into that jail, and four days later he was dead,” said Atra Flemons of Los Angeles. “I am seeking justice not just for my husband but for everybody who has had harm done to them. You can’t just take someone’s life.”

The death would be at least the third among prisoners in county jails since last summer. Two men were found hanged in their cells last month in what appear to be suicides.

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Kamel Umar, 48, of Los Angeles was awaiting extradition to California to face charges of violating federal immigration law in an alleged passport case on the morning of July 20 when he repeatedly complained to jail guards that he was tired, thirsty and having trouble moving, breathing and seeing, according to Flemons’ lawyer and the court complaint filed Jan. 28.

“Their response,” said the lawyer, Shereef Akeel, of Troy, “one of the prison guards told Mr. Umar to ‘shut the (expletive) up and sit the (expletive) down unless you are dying.’ ”

The complaint alleges that Umar received no care for several hours.

A spokesman for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, John Roach, said that because the case remains under review by Internal Affairs investigators because of the litigation, he could not comment.

Sheriff’s Office and county officials were informed Umar was diabetic, Flemons and Akeel said.

About 7:50 that evening, according to Akeel, the court complaint and county records, Umar was transferred from the Andrew C. Baird Detention facility, downtown, to Detroit Receiving Hospital. Umar was pronounced dead a short time later.

Dr. Werner Spitz of St. Clair Shores conducted an autopsy July 23 and filed an affidavit in the case, saying: “Mr. Ulmar’s (sic) condition at the jail suggest complications of diabetes as the cause of death. The large amount of urine in the bladder suggests a lengthy period leading to death and consumption of a large amount of liquids preceding the death.”

Flemons said she was originally told by a lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Office, whom she could not identify, that her husband died of a heart attack. She began to have suspicions when another official told her doctors had worked for a long time to resuscitate her husband because they found nothing wrong with his heart.

Only once in their nine year marriage did her husband experience problems with his diabetes, she said. He was given insulin in a hospital once in Los Angeles several years ago.

“He controlled it by watching what he ate and getting exercise,” said Flemons, an unemployed telecommunications specialist. “His relatives in Ghana and London and Canada asked me to send a picture of him, because they could not believe he was dead. He had been traveling and he just saw many of them. Everybody said nothing was wrong with him. No one believed me when I told them he was dead.”

Flemons said she believes her husband, an American citizen, was treated poorly both because he was of African descent, having been born in Ghana, and because he was Muslim.

Akeel, who has handled cases involving prisoners held at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, expressed outrage at the behavior of county officials.

“What is it coming to when a prisoner goes in jail, asks for medical attention, he is denied it, including by jail guards who yell expletives at him, telling him to shut-up, and as a result, a man dies?” Akeel said.

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Man Dies In Wayne County Michigan Jail After Jailers Withhold Needed Medical Care

DETROIT, MICHIGAN — The widow of an inmate who died in the custody of the Wayne County sheriff alleges in a lawsuit that the failure of Sheriff’s Office and county officials to provide timely medical care led to her husband’s death in July, from complications of diabetes.

“My husband was fit and healthy before he went into that jail, and four days later he was dead,” said Atra Flemons of Los Angeles. “I am seeking justice not just for my husband but for everybody who has had harm done to them. You can’t just take someone’s life.”

The death would be at least the third among prisoners in county jails since last summer. Two men were found hanged in their cells last month in what appear to be suicides.

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Kamel Umar, 48, of Los Angeles was awaiting extradition to California to face charges of violating federal immigration law in an alleged passport case on the morning of July 20 when he repeatedly complained to jail guards that he was tired, thirsty and having trouble moving, breathing and seeing, according to Flemons’ lawyer and the court complaint filed Jan. 28.

“Their response,” said the lawyer, Shereef Akeel, of Troy, “one of the prison guards told Mr. Umar to ‘shut the (expletive) up and sit the (expletive) down unless you are dying.’ ”

The complaint alleges that Umar received no care for several hours.

A spokesman for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, John Roach, said that because the case remains under review by Internal Affairs investigators because of the litigation, he could not comment.

Sheriff’s Office and county officials were informed Umar was diabetic, Flemons and Akeel said.

About 7:50 that evening, according to Akeel, the court complaint and county records, Umar was transferred from the Andrew C. Baird Detention facility, downtown, to Detroit Receiving Hospital. Umar was pronounced dead a short time later.

Dr. Werner Spitz of St. Clair Shores conducted an autopsy July 23 and filed an affidavit in the case, saying: “Mr. Ulmar’s (sic) condition at the jail suggest complications of diabetes as the cause of death. The large amount of urine in the bladder suggests a lengthy period leading to death and consumption of a large amount of liquids preceding the death.”

Flemons said she was originally told by a lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Office, whom she could not identify, that her husband died of a heart attack. She began to have suspicions when another official told her doctors had worked for a long time to resuscitate her husband because they found nothing wrong with his heart.

Only once in their nine year marriage did her husband experience problems with his diabetes, she said. He was given insulin in a hospital once in Los Angeles several years ago.

“He controlled it by watching what he ate and getting exercise,” said Flemons, an unemployed telecommunications specialist. “His relatives in Ghana and London and Canada asked me to send a picture of him, because they could not believe he was dead. He had been traveling and he just saw many of them. Everybody said nothing was wrong with him. No one believed me when I told them he was dead.”

Flemons said she believes her husband, an American citizen, was treated poorly both because he was of African descent, having been born in Ghana, and because he was Muslim.

Akeel, who has handled cases involving prisoners held at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, expressed outrage at the behavior of county officials.

“What is it coming to when a prisoner goes in jail, asks for medical attention, he is denied it, including by jail guards who yell expletives at him, telling him to shut-up, and as a result, a man dies?” Akeel said.

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Homeless Prefer Jail To Cold Streets – Jobless Rate In Third-World-Like Detroit Michigan Tops 21 Percent

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - It’s a sign of tough times in the Detroit area where outreach experts say recently freed inmates are making a conscious decisions to get thrown back in jail.

The experts say that for some, the relative security of a warm building and three meals a day beats being homeless and hungry in the community.

Detroit has, by many measures, replaced New Orleans as America’s most beleaguered city.

The jobless rate has climbed past 21 percent, tens of thousands of homes and stores are abandoned and the ex-mayor is in jail for a text-messaging sex scandal. Even the pro football team is in tatters — the Lions are within two losses of an unprecedented 0-16 season.

Underlying it all is the near-collapse of the U.S. auto industry, Detroit’s vital source of jobs and status for more than a century.

Appeared Here

Homeless Prefer Jail To Cold Streets – Jobless Rate In Third-World-Like Detroit Michigan Tops 21 Percent

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - It’s a sign of tough times in the Detroit area where outreach experts say recently freed inmates are making a conscious decisions to get thrown back in jail.

The experts say that for some, the relative security of a warm building and three meals a day beats being homeless and hungry in the community.

Detroit has, by many measures, replaced New Orleans as America’s most beleaguered city.

The jobless rate has climbed past 21 percent, tens of thousands of homes and stores are abandoned and the ex-mayor is in jail for a text-messaging sex scandal. Even the pro football team is in tatters — the Lions are within two losses of an unprecedented 0-16 season.

Underlying it all is the near-collapse of the U.S. auto industry, Detroit’s vital source of jobs and status for more than a century.

Appeared Here

5+ Years Of Gun Cases Under Review After Detroit Michigan Police Department’s Error-Prone Crime Lab Is Finally Shut Down.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Authorities will review more than five years of files to search for cases where gun evidence may have been misjudged by the Detroit police lab, a prosecutor said Friday.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced that evidence in firearms cases from 2003 through much of September 2008 would be reviewed.

The Detroit lab was shut down in September after a state police audit found errors in 10 percent of 200 random gun cases. The state lab has taken over the work.

“I want people to continue to have confidence in the Wayne County prosecutor’s office and the criminal justice system,” Worthy said.

Review teams will look at crimes involving firearms from those five years that were handled by the city’s police lab. Michigan State Police also will conduct new tests on evidence in some cases.

The groups would include prosecutors, defense lawyers and possibly former judges.

James Neuhard, head of the Michigan Appellate Defender Office, called the review of old cases “open and transparent.”

“Both sides are free to contest and argue the significance … to the results the state police reach,” he said.

Worthy spokeswoman Maria Miller said the number of affected cases was unknown.

The work, expected to take at least three years, was estimated to cost more than $2 million and would be paid by the city.

“We’ve presented evidence to juries that is fallible, not reliable, incompetent and just plain wrong,” Worthy told the City Council in October.

She had blamed the problems on poor funding and training.

Appeared Here

5+ Years Of Gun Cases Under Review After Detroit Michigan Police Department’s Error-Prone Crime Lab Is Finally Shut Down.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – Authorities will review more than five years of files to search for cases where gun evidence may have been misjudged by the Detroit police lab, a prosecutor said Friday.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced that evidence in firearms cases from 2003 through much of September 2008 would be reviewed.

The Detroit lab was shut down in September after a state police audit found errors in 10 percent of 200 random gun cases. The state lab has taken over the work.

“I want people to continue to have confidence in the Wayne County prosecutor’s office and the criminal justice system,” Worthy said.

Review teams will look at crimes involving firearms from those five years that were handled by the city’s police lab. Michigan State Police also will conduct new tests on evidence in some cases.

The groups would include prosecutors, defense lawyers and possibly former judges.

James Neuhard, head of the Michigan Appellate Defender Office, called the review of old cases “open and transparent.”

“Both sides are free to contest and argue the significance … to the results the state police reach,” he said.

Worthy spokeswoman Maria Miller said the number of affected cases was unknown.

The work, expected to take at least three years, was estimated to cost more than $2 million and would be paid by the city.

“We’ve presented evidence to juries that is fallible, not reliable, incompetent and just plain wrong,” Worthy told the City Council in October.

She had blamed the problems on poor funding and training.

Appeared Here