Grand Rapids could make it illegal to call police on people of color for ‘participating in their lives’

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Grand Rapids could soon have an ordinance that would make it a criminal misdemeanor to racially profile people of color for “participating in their lives.”

The “bias crime reporting prohibition” is one of a handful of adjustments that would be made to the city code as part of the proposed human rights ordinance. Other components include expanded protected class definitions, identifying four primary potential areas of discrimination, and an outline of the referral and compliance process.

Grand Rapids leaders could vote on the proposal next month, but not before city stakeholders have a chance to weigh in during a public hearing at the 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 23 commission meeting in the ninth-floor chambers of City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW.

“We in the community have had various conversations over the last few years about disparities that exist in Grand Rapids,” said Jeremy DeRoo, executive director of the non-profit advocacy group LINC Up.

“The human rights ordinance provides the infrastructure so that all these issues have a backbone supporting and addressing them. It creates a way to address a broad range of problems and to correct them.”

In recent years, DeRoo said Grand Rapids police have been unnecessarily dispatched to situations due to 911 calls that were perhaps made due to implicit bias or discrimination. He cited a summer 2017 gathering in Mulick Park in which police were called to break up a large gathering of African American community members. Multiple patrol vehicles were sent to the park before it was determined that it was a graduation party.

“Often times, the Grand Rapids Police Department ends up being caught in the middle of what is a bigger community problem,” DeRoo said. “They look bad because they approach individuals who are people of color, and it appears the police department is biased when really they’re responding to phone calls made by the community and it appears that a number of those are motivated by people in a discriminatory way.”

DeRoo also pointed to an Oct. 9 incident in which police received a call from a woman who claimed she witnessed a shooting at her neighbor’s house. Police investigated the call, and in the process handcuffed a 12-year-old girl at gunpoint, before determining that there were no weapons or shooting victims on scene.

Police use 'good discretion' handcuffing girl, 12, not boy, 10, chief says The incident was the fourth in a 19-month span in which African American youths were stopped at gunpoint, handcuffed and searched for weapons.

Diversity and Inclusion Manager Patti Caudill said the ordinance is a new concept in Michigan. It isn’t meant to discourage 911 calls, she said. Rather, it’s meant to make people “check their biases” before calling the police.

“Call the police, but if you’re calling because your neighbors are having a barbecue and you’re calling because of some implicit bias because they’re people of color, we don’t want to see that,” she said.

Caudill said the police department has given feedback on the proposed ordinance, but not in the form of “official written feedback.”

In July 2018, the Grand Rapids Community Relations Commission started discussing amendments to the civil rights/human rights ordinance, which was adopted by the city commission in 1953. The ordinance has gone through various changes over the last half-century, including protections for LGBTQ residents.

The proposed ordinance puts a prohibition on any person denying another individual the enjoyment of civil rights, or for any person to discriminate against an individual in the exercise of civil rights because of actual or perceived color, race, religion or creed, sex, gender, identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genotype, age, marital status, medical condition, disability, height, weight, or source of lawful income.

The ordinance is broken into sections, which focus on discrimination in areas like housing practices, employment practices, public accommodation and services, crime reporting,

A violation of the ordinance would be punishable by up to a $500 fine per day that the violation occurs. Cases would be prosecuted by the city attorney’s office.

Expanding the definition section to provide for clarity and transparency. The proposed ordinance includes 36 definitions, including the various types of protected classes. DeRoo said the lack of definitions has created legal holes in the current ordinance.

Identifying four primary potential areas of discrimination, which are discriminatory practices in housing, employment, contracting, and bias crime reporting. Each area has its own section in the ordinance.

Adding a “bias crime reporting prohibition” and making it a criminal misdemeanor to racially profile people of color for participating in their lives. That is, no person shall make a police report that is based in whole or in part on an individual’s membership in a protected class and not on a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in consideration of all available facts and the totality of the circumstances.

Outlining and codifying the referral and complaint procedures for the Grand Rapids Diversity & Inclusion Office in collaboration with the city attorney’s office. Complaints must be made within 180 days of the date upon which the complainant knew or should have known of the alleged discriminatory act.

Specifically outlining the injunctive relief for violations of the ordinance that were implied previously. That is, the city attorney’s office is given the power to “commence a civil action to obtain injunctive relief to prevent discrimination prohibited by the city code, or to reverse the effects of the discrimination, or to enforce a mediation agreement.”

Additionally, the ordinance would expand the Community Relations Commission from nine members to 13. Members are appointed by the mayor to serve a three-year term.

A subcommittee of the CRC was charged with reviewing the ordinance, comparing it to best practices from other municipalities, and proposing changes to the city commission. Members researched similar ordinances in Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Lansing, and Madison, Wisconsin, as well as a template from the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

During the creation of the ordinance, CRC members sought input from the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, and Disability Advocates of Kent County.

The public comment period for the proposed ordinance will be held at the 7 p.m. city commission meeting Tuesday, April 23, on the ninth floor of City Hall. The meeting will be live broadcast on the city’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

Comments can also be submitted to the city by email at [email protected]. For information about being considered for the CRC or any of the city’s boards and commissions, contact Patti Caudill at [email protected].