GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The city of Grand Rapids is inviting the community to join city leaders in another virtual town hall to discuss ideas for improving police-community relations.
The first event was held on Friday, June 5. And the upcoming one will be held on Wednesday, June 10 from 5-7 p.m.
Ahead of the town hall, City Manager Mark Washington, Police Chief Eric Payne and Oversight and Public Accountability Director Brandon Davis outlined the next steps in improving the city's policing. That press conference was streamed to the city's Facebook page.
The event will be live streamed on the Office of Oversight and Public Accountability's Facebook page, the city's YouTube page, and it will be streamed in Spanish here.
City leaders in attendance include City Manager Mark Washington, Police Chief Eric Payne and Director of Oversight and Public Accountability Brandon Davis.
Community members may provide comment or ask questions by calling 311 or 616-456-3000.
The city outlined action steps in last week's meeting. This week, they plan to discuss these topics suggested by the community:
Ban chokeholds
Require officers to de-escalate situations, where possible, by communicating with subjects, maintaining distance and otherwise eliminating the need to use force
Require officers to give a verbal warning in all situations before using deadly force
Require officers to exhaust all other alternatives, including non-force and less-lethal force options, before resorting to deadly force
Require officers to intervene and stop excessive force used by other officers and report these incidents immediately to a supervisor
Ban officers from shooting at moving vehicles in all cases, which is regarded as a particularly dangerous and ineffective tactic
Establish a force continuum that restricts the most severe types of force to the most extreme situations and creates clear policy restrictions on the use of each police weapon and tactic
Require comprehensive reporting
Make structural changes to the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) to address concerns raised in the deployment study and 21st Century Policing reports
Open public meetings for labor negotiations
Ongoing input and support from the community for the plan, strategies and tactics of GRPD
Expanded funding for OPA
Expanded power for the Civilian Appeal Board
Settlement with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights on its ongoing investigation into the patterns and practices of GRPD
Redirect funding from GRPD toward economic development, housing and other community programs
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