GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Leaders of the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP say they cannot support any of the three finalists for Grand Rapids Police Chief.
Now that the community and media has had the opportunity to meet with the candidates, a new chief is expected to be named in a couple weeks by City Manager Mark Washington. But the NAACP wants the city to go back to the drawing board.
"The top candidates that were selected are not the best candidates," Carlton T. Mayers, II, Esq., a special advisor for public safety with the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP, says.
He says while the city had a community-driven approach in the search for a new police chief, there needed to be more community members involved in the selection process.
"And we see that in the results, we have three men, and only one of them is a person of color, (and there's) no women," Mayers says.
He says there's a lack of diversity in the men chosen, Battle Creek Chief of Police Jim Blocker, retired Milwaukee Police Inspector Jutiki Jackson and Chicago Police Commander Eric Winstrom.
"None of them are horrible candidates, I just want to put that out there right now," Mayers says.
In a public forum Wednesday, Winstrom mentioned his support for ShotSpotter, a controversial gunshot detection system, which worried Mayers because of the lack of public support locally for that technology.
"If he would have done the homework, maybe more recently, two weeks ago, that policy was ratified by the City Commission," Mayers says. "He would have been more prepared to, you know, have a better answer."
Winstrom addressed that issue Thursday, recalling how its worked for him in the Chicago Police Department.
"Oftentimes, it's gotten us to injured personnel quick, injured persons quicker. So we can render aid quicker to the people," he says.
But Winstrom did say that the community's input is important to him.
"If police are using a tactic that is not supported by the community, then it's not a proper thing to do," he says.
The NAACP wants to sit down with Jackson and get more answers about a deadly officer-involved shooting that he was involved in nearly 25 years ago in Milwaukee.
"I believe there needs to be more conversation, especially with NAACP and him and the other candidates to really suss out," Mayers says. "How would (the candidates) respond to a situation like that happening in Grand Rapids, where an officer was involved in officer-involved shooting that's questionable. It would be good to see how would they respond each one of them to that kind of situation."
Jackson briefly addressed this Thursday too, clarifying more about the victim in that accidental shooting back in 1997.
"No, he was not armed," he says.
The NAACP also added that they were surprised to hear that candidate Jim Blocker had not heard of the Cure Violence program, which is a part of the police department's current strategic plan.
The city of Grand Rapids responded to the NAACP's concerns in a statement:
"The City has just completed an exhaustive national search and interview process. The City Manager will be reviewing feedback from all stakeholders and community members before making a decision. Those wishing to provide input on the candidates are encouraged to fill out the online survey or call 311 or 616-456-3000 before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan 26."
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