Detroit Police Department

Five legal observers who say Detroit police officers violently abused them as they monitored anti-police brutality protests last summer have now filed a lawsuit against the city and its police department.

Legal observers attend protests to monitor and document any possible infringement of protesters’ constitutional rights. They’re usually easily-identified by their bright green hats.

The Detroit Police Department is getting extra help to respond to mental health crises in the city. Teams of officers and behavioral specialists trained in crisis intervention will expand to the Ninth Precinct in January.

Police Chief James Craig says the pilot program, which is expected to launch at the beginning of 2021, is meant to address a lack of institutional mental health support. He says this year, Detroit police have responded to about 7,300 calls involving individuals experiencing a mental health emergency.

As protests against police brutality toward Black Americans continue across the country and in Detroit, reports that Detroit Police Department officers are using excessive force on nonviolent demonstrators are increasing. And this violence isn’t solely directed at protest participants. A volunteer Legal Observer said police officers beat, pepper sprayed, and arrested some of her fellow Legal Observers at a protest Saturday, too.

Protesters say they will file a lawsuit against the Detroit Police Department over its response to a Saturday protest.

Organizer Tristan Taylor says the protest was against Detroit's acceptance of help from federal agents to crack down on gun crimes.  

More than 40 people were arrested when police moved in to clear them from an intersection where they had established their protest.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig defended the actions of an officer who shot and killed a man in an incident last week.

Craig said the man was one of three suspects in an investigation into the shooting of four teens that took place on July 19.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel should lead an independent investigation into the death of Hakim Littleton, a coalition of activists and members of Littleton’s family said Thursday.

Detroit police shot Littleton to death earlier this month. Police bodycam and dashcam footage appears to show Littleton firing at officers at close range before they shot him.

A 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Detroit Police Department died Monday due to the new coronavirus. The man was 38 years old and had no underlying health conditions, according to Police Chief James Craig. The man was admitted to a hospital in the metro Detroit area with respiratory issues and was subsequently tested for COVID-19, but his test results didn’t come back as positive until after his death.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig is investigating a sergeant who allegedly didn't respond to an incident last week where a fellow officer was fatally shot.

Craig says video shows the sergeant sat in a squad car when a call came in that two officers were shot during a home invasion investigation.

“I'm struggling with that decision,” Craig told reporters. “Now again he was in the area, but he was not managing the scene.”

Craig spoke to reporters after a vigil last night for officer Rasheen McClain that was held at Detroit's 12th precinct.

Update: Detroit Police Chief James Craig has identified the deceased officer as Rasheen McClain, 46, a 16-year DPD veteran working out of the city's 12th precinct.

Craig called McClain's death a "heartbreaking day" for the Detroit Police Department.

McClain was "a  leader. Very tactical, very much about doing a great job," said Craig, adding that the slain officer made a “conscious decision that it was time to go in and deal with a very dangerous situation.”

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has turned down a request to charge the head of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association with a crime for Facebook posts that highlighted slow police response to a crime scene.

The Detroit Police Department submitted the warrant request for Fire Captain Mike Nevin.

Two Detroit police officers are under investigation for allegedly making racially demeaning comments during a traffic stop.

Officer Gary Steele and an unidentified officer stopped Ariel Moore last week for driving with an expired license plate. Moore's vehicle was seized by the officers.

The murder rate in the city of Detroit continued to fall in 2018.

The city recorded 261 murders last year. That was a rate of about 39 per 100,000 residents.

That tally was down about 2 percent from 267 homicides in 2017. In 2016, there were 305 murders in the city.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said in an interview with The Detroit News that he is happy homicides have “continually trended down.”

Several police commissioners in Detroit are concerned that officers won't be able to get into the city fast enough in the event of an emergency.

That's because about 70 percent of Detroit police officers currently don't live in – or near – the city.

Police commission chair Willie Bell says he's known about the problem since he became a commissioner in 2014. It’s partially due to a 1999 state law that prevents cities from requiring municipal employees to live where they work.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is working to decrease shootings in the city by route of decreasing guns in the city.

A gun buyback program is being offered in Detroit from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at Oak Grove AME Church in Detroit. For every unloaded gun brought, a $50 gift card will be exchanged. No questions will be asked about the gun, although there is a three weapon limit per person.

Detroit police are trying to curb overtime costs that have increased in recent years. The Detroit News reports the city paid $40 million in overtime for Detroit officers during the 2017-18 fiscal year, up from $28.3 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year. The newspaper says that's also up from $16.9 million paid in the 2012-13 fiscal year. Detroit police Chief James Craig says: "There are valid reasons why officers need to work overtime, but we need to better manage it." Union officials say overtime costs will increase if Detroit doesn't do more to retain officers.

Despite some recent, high-profile deaths in the line of duty, the Detroit Police Department is graduating plenty of new officers.

Twenty-three new recruits graduated from the police academy this past week. It’s the second class of graduating officers so far this year.

A Detroit police officer has pleaded guilty in a scheme to take bribes in exchange for sending abandoned or stolen vehicles to a collision shop.

Charles Wills was accused of getting $4,000. He pleaded guilty to extortion Thursday in federal court, the fifth guilty plea in the investigation.

Update: 2:20 p.m.

Officer Glenn Doss died at Detroit Receiving Hospital shortly after 1:00 this afternoon, according to Detroit Police Chief James Craig. 

Original post: 1:50 p.m.

A man has been charged in the shooting of a 25-year-old Detroit police officer who had responded to a domestic violence complaint on the city's east side.

The Wayne County prosecutor's office says 43-year-old Decharlos Brooks was arraigned Saturday on eight counts of assault with intent to murder, resisting and obstructing and carrying a dangerous weapon.

Six Detroit police officers are being charged with extortion.

The FBI says they took bribes from collision shop owners, in exchange for sending stolen cars their way.

A federal grand jury just indicted two of the officers, who are still employed by the department.

The other four have since retired, and pleaded guilty to extortion.

And if you ever had your car stolen in Detroit, you may have unknowingly been part of this scam.

The Detroit Police Department is moving forward on plans to equip officers with stun guns following years of debate on the issue.

WDIV-TV reports the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners on Thursday gave the OK to a proposal by police Chief James Craig to use stun guns. Craig says they're a tool for officers that can help save lives, since they offer an alternative to an officer using a gun.

A Detroit police officer remains in critical condition after being shot in the forehead last night. 

The officer was responding to a domestic violence call on the city's west side when the suspect began opening fire. The suspect is believed to be unrelated to that call. 

The officer's name was not given, but Detroit Police Chief James Craig gave remarks today at the hospital where the officer is being treated.

"It’s just a sobering reminder of the danger our officers face each and every day," Craig said.