GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Update: The city has set up a portal for public feedback, which can be accessed here. There is also a town hall set up for Aug. 17 from 6 to 7 p.m. on the police department's Facebook page.
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After months of protests and calls for change, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne says he has created a plan that will address those concerns and the historic inequities interwoven into policing. On Tuesday, city leaders applauded him for it, but had questions about implementation and encouraged him to solicit public feedback.
“Law enforcement as profession has a long history of service and sacrifice, but it’s not without mistakes and shortcomings including playing a significant role in systemic racism,” said Chief Payne in his opening remarks. “I want to say to community members who have been negatively impacted or treated unfairly by the police – that includes me – I am sorry.”
The plan is focused around taking on a neighborhood policing model that would involve assigning officers to specific beats and requiring them to get to know those they serve. With the hope of freeing up officers time to engage by finding alternative ways to respond to certain calls that don't require law enforcement. Payne, who has been with the department for three decades and spent the last year leading it, said his goal is to become the safest mid-sized city and most trusted department.
City commissioners and Mayor Rosalynn Bliss gave the police chief props for his work following the presentation given during a special virtual meeting on Tuesday. City Manager Mark Washington told commissioners that the plan is strictly operational and not something they will be voting to approve, but each commissioner weighed in with feedback.
Third Ward Commissioner Nathaniel Moody asked about possible mental and behavioral health services for GRPD staff as part of the plan. First Ward Commissioner Jon O'Connor asked how the department would be immediately addressing ongoing gun violence in the short term, in addition to its approach outlined in the strategic plan for the long term, like an anti-violence model.
Second Ward Commissioner Milinda Ysasi, who previously moved for a reduction to the department’s budget, said she was supportive of the neighborhood policing model, but asked for specifics and encouraged the department to be prepared for further feedback.
“There will be continued uncomfortable conversations and I think a recognition that that is not individually based, but it should be looking at the systems that have been full of systemic racism,” Ysasi said.
First Ward Commissioner Kurt Reppart agreed with Ysasi that there are further conversations to be had especially with the public.
“They are calling for radical change, right now,” Reppart said of community members, who have made repeated calls for change, including the defunding of the department to the lowest level required by the city charter. “I encourage and ask you to lean in with the community to weigh through some of those questions about ‘Is this radical enough?’”
Reppart also applauded Payne for the department’s openness to abandon old problematic practices and embrace new ones.
“To the credit of the department, we’ve taken reform about as far as we can take reform because there’s been that openness from the department. So now it is time for innovation,” the commissioner said.
Second Ward Commissioner Joe Jones said the drafted plan had his full support. He noted that an evidence-based approach, which is included in the draft, will allow for an opportunity to address gun violence differently, something he alongside community members have pushed for. Jones said neighborhood policing will also help.
"If reducing community violence was as simple as getting guns off the street, then I think other communities throughout the country would've had a pretty good track record," he said. "But we are talking about systems and structures that have been broken for some time now."
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Jones also asked if the drafted plan had the support of the police unions.
"I don't want to speak for the union as far as support," Payne replied, saying he is receiving feedback from many different groups and expects to continue to receive it. "This is my plan moving forward for the Grand Rapids Police Department and that's where we are going to work toward."
Third Ward Commissioner Senita Lenear also thanked Chief Payne for his opening remarks saying his words mark the beginning stages of healing for the community.
“I think it’s important to see the leader of a police department talk candidly about what the community is saying it’s experiencing and feeling and hearing,” Lenear said.
Lenear asked several questions including how Payne planned to get officers on the same page about the expectations and the details and timeline for implementing the neighborhood policing model. She said she supported Payne's intention to receive community feedback, but said the plan lacked information that would allow the community to fully weigh in.
“As you’re engaging the community, they have specifically talked about your budget and staffing of the police department, so to go to them with the plan that we have in front of us today – it does not include either of those two things,” Lenear said.
City Manager Washington replied by saying budget discussions will not be on the table until later this year.
“I know there have been many conversations about wanting to make budget decisions, but in my approach, the budget follows the strategy,” he said.
Community members and other stakeholders can weigh in on the drafted plan for the next few weeks. Chief Payne said he’s working with the city to set up an online portal for feedback, in addition to a town hall next week. The department will present it’s finalized strategic plan on Sept. 29. The strategic plan will be in effect starting in 2021 through the summer of 2023.
Per the city’s timeline, City Manager Washington will introduce any mid-year budget amendments on Dec. 15.
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