City Had Bad-Cop Warning Detroit Got Secret Report in '97

Document Page: CITY HAD BAD-COP WARNING DETROIT GOT SECRET REPORT IN '97
8/11/13 9:25 PM
CITY HAD BAD-COP WARNING DETROIT GOT SECRET REPORT IN '97 By JOE SWICKARD and DAVID ASHENFELTER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERSDetroit Free Press; Detroit, Mich. 12-29-2000 CITY HAD BAD-COP WARNING DETROIT GOT SECRET REPORT IN '97 Byline: By JOE SWICKARD and DAVID ASHENFELTER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS Edition: METRO FINAL Section: NWS Type: News Mayor Dennis Archer and police executives were warned in a secret report four years ago that Detroit cops were shooting and killing people at a higher rate than police in other cities. The 148-page report, prepared by a national expert on police accountability, also warned that Detroit was paying a far heavier price in settlements and judgments for police misconduct lawsuits than other large cities pay. The $75,000 report, obtained by the Free Press, laid out a road map for reform. But key city officials have never seen it because the document was treated as privileged and confidential. Archer said Thursday that the city adopted parts of the proposal but couldn't afford all the recommendations. "We didn't have the money," he said. "It's in the process of being done now. Hindsight is 20/20. I wish I could have done it yesterday." In the four years since the report was done, lawsuits against the police have cost the city nearly $46 million and Detroit's rate of fatal shootings by police has increased 50 percent over the rate cited in the report. Detroit had the highest rate of fatal police shootings of the nation's big cities in the
http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=pbsissue&gBCLib;document;167521971&style=printable&edition=&start=1&language= Page 1 of 8
8/11/13 9:25 PM
1990s. The U.S. Justice Department has begun investigating the Detroit police, focusing on fatal shootings by officers, allegations of prisoner mistreatment and other alleged misconduct. The Justice Department, which asked for the report, may eventually require the city to enact some of the reforms spelled out four years ago. Merrick Bobb, a Los Angeles lawyer who prepared the Detroit report, has served as a Justice Department consultant in investigations of police departments in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. Those cities were required to adopt some reforms that Bobb urged for Detroit. Bobb spent a year reviewing the Detroit department, scrutinizing its recruiting and training procedures as well as the department's efforts to deal with misconduct. The study was designed to reduce suits. The resulting report concluded: "The DPD currently lags behind other large urban police agencies in its management of risk and potential liability. It thus remains vulnerable to expensive lawsuits, untoward incidents and the consequential erosion of public trust and confidence." Information failures Bobb's report said the department was beset with serious problems, including poor recruiting and training, and a failure to adequately monitor performance. The report said many of the department's files on police shootings revealed "poor communications or dubious tactics which led officers to wander into situations which required them to use deadly or serious force."
http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=pbsissue&gBCLib;document;167521971&style=printable&edition=&start=1&language=
Page 2 of 8
8/11/13 9:25 PM
He cited a 1991 study showing that Detroit had the highest rate of officers killed of the nation's six largest police forces. The report said the department did a poor job of collecting and analyzing data to identify problem officers, and to improve training and tactics. In an increasingly computerized world, the department kept records in handwritten ledgers and on index cards, making it hard for the department to analyze itself, the report said. It also said the department failed to assess police shootings and other incidents to reduce legal risks. The same record-keeping problems and lack of analysis still exist, the Free Press has found. Bobb's report said poor cooperation between the police and the city Law Department contributed to the problems. Bobb proposed changes that, among other things, were aimed at improving training and tactics so officers wouldn't have to resort to gunfire as often. Bobb, who serves as special counsel to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and oversees its highly regarded program to monitor police misconduct, said departments have cut lawsuit costs dramatically through such efforts. "And there is every reason to believe that the same will happen in Detroit," he said in the report. When contacted by the Free Press, Bobb said he was bound by attorney-client privilege and couldn't discuss the report, or provide a copy. Detroit Police Chief Benny Napoleon said the department could not fully adopt most of Bobb's proposals because they were unrealistic. They would have required city charter amendments and renegotiating contracts with the police
Page 3 of 8
8/11/13 9:25 PM
union. "We can't just change the police department at my whim," Napoleon said. "Some of the things he recommended are good, excellent actually. But he did his report in an ideal world without contract restrictions and budgets." Napoleon and Archer wouldn't release the report; Archer said it was covered by lawyer-client privilege. Bobb met with Archer and, at the mayor's request, drew up a 10- page action plan. The plan was given to the mayor's office in January 1997. "Reform efforts are difficult ...easy to set aside or divert and require relentless focus and attention," Bobb told the mayor in the action plan. In a letter to then-Police Chief Isaiah McKinnon, Bobb urged action: "We hope that unlike the fate of other blue-ribbon studies of police departments, this report is not forgotten and put on a shelf." McKinnon sought the study after two white police officers fatally beat Malice Green, a black man, during a 1992 traffic stop. McKinnon said this week that the department implemented some improvements, such as a training program in which rookies are mentored by specially trained veterans. The department also is using computer simulators to provide more realistic firearms training. But he said a lack of money and other urgent needs limited the reforms. "We had to deal with the problems we had with the money we had and with the people we had," McKinnon said. So, he put more emphasis on putting more officers on the street and combating drug crimes.
Page 4 of 8
8/11/13 9:25 PM
Officials in the dark Edgar Vann Jr., chairman of the Detroit Police Commission, said recently that he had never heard of the report. He said he was concerned about that. Second Deputy Chief Ursula Henry, a former commission lawyer hired last year to run the department's risk-assessment office, said she has never seen the report, although she heard a briefing from Bobb after it was completed. Now Henry is planning a fact-finding visit to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to look at the risk-management program overseen by Bobb. Detroit officials made a similar trek four years ago. Since 1987, the city has spent nearly $124 million on police lawsuits. Police officials blame opportunistic lawyers for the high costs of suits. This fall, Archer requested the federal probe in the face of City Council pressure after two controversial fatal police shootings and a series of Free Press articles that said Detroit leads the nation's big cities in the rate of fatal police shootings. Archer also has transferred police shooting investigations from homicide detectives to internal affairs officers. Napoleon appointed a citizens panel and group of police officials to separately study the use of nonlethal weapons. For the first time, the city Law Department has begun briefing police officials about pending lawsuits, giving police a clearer picture of the city's litigation headaches. Archer also directed police to review the records of 24 officers accused of federal crimes since 1994 to see whether red flags were missed.
Page 5 of 8
8/11/13 9:25 PM
The department also is continuing efforts -- dating over two decades -- to create a computerized tracking system to identify high-risk officers. Henry said city employees were still writing the computer program, but hopes it will be ready in six months. City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she and other council members have not seen Bobb's report, which could be helpful to them. "Any work that has been done to help restructure the police department shouldn't be put on a shelf," Cockrel said. "I am glad that the ideas contained in this report will get greater discussion and public review." AN OUTLINE FOR POLICE-FORCE CHANGES Here are some key proposals from the January 1997 report by consultant Merrick Bobb, who was hired to review the Detroit Police Department. The city followed up on some of the steps, but lacks a comprehensive system for preventing costly mistakes and lawsuits. The proposals and their status: Create a computerized tracking system. The system would help identify problem officers and practices by analyzing lawsuits, disciplinary actions, citizen complaints and other information. Status: The department is still working on such a system, after two decades of plans. Improve recruiting and training. Bobb said the department's recruiting minimums -- 18 years old with a high school diploma or GED--were too low. He said recruits should be at least 22 with two years of college. Status: Chief Benny Napoleon said state law prevents him from raising the
Page 6 of 8
8/11/13 9:25 PM
hiring age, and increasing educational standards would severely shrink the hiring pool. Create a personnel and professional standards bureau. The new bureau would consolidate legal and internal affairs, citizen complaints, training, recruiting, personnel and risk management, with a goal of reducing legal costs and improving police performance. Status: Napoleon said he's done this, with the exception of keeping internal affairs separate. He said internal affairs should report directly to the chief. Appoint a police general counsel. The lawyer would oversee the department's legal affairs and coordinate with the Detroit Law Department. Status: Napoleon said the law department rejected the idea. Create internal affairs rollout teams. The squads would go to every shooting and serious incident involving officers to analyze what happened and glean lessons for future training. Status: Napoleon said internal affairs responds to police shootings, but other serious incidents don't automatically prompt that response. Outfit officers with more nonlethal equipment. Bobb's report said Detroit did less than other cities to equip officers with nonlethal weapons. Status: Napoleon said he appointed two committees to review options. Contact JOE SWICKARD at 313-223-4557 or swickard@freepress.com. Contact DAVID ASHENFELTER at 313-223-4490 or ashenf@freepress.com. MEMO: SIDEBAR ATTACHED DISCLAIMER: THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
Page 7 of 8
8/11/13 9:25 PM
Copyright 2000 - Detroit Free Press - All Rights Reverved
Citation for your reference:
By JOE SWICKARD and DAVID ASHENFELTER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS. "CITY HAD BAD-COP WARNING DETROIT GOT SECRET REPORT IN '97." Detroit Free Press; Detroit, Mich.. 29 Dec. 2000: A1. eLibrary. Web. 11 Aug. 2013.
By JOE SWICKARD and DAVID ASHENFELTER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS "CITY HAD BAD-COP WARNING DETROIT GOT SECRET REPORT IN '97." Detroit Free Press; Detroit, Mich.. 2000, December 29: A1.
Copyright 2013 ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. - Terms and Conditions
Page 8 of 8

City Had Bad-Cop Warning Detroit Got Secret Report in '97

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

City Had Bad-Cop Warning Detroit Got Secret Report in '97

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Document Page: CITY HAD BAD-COP WARNING DETROIT GOT SECRET REPORT IN '97

Copyright 2000 - Detroit Free Press - All Rights Reverved

Citation for your reference:

You might also like