The office of Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton, who will be joining me on the radio next weekend, just sent out the following press release concerning actions being taken to address the increasingly violent teen activity we’ve been seeing in Ypsilanti over the past two weeks.
Washtenaw County Sheriff, Jerry L. Clayton along with Eastern Michigan University Police Chief, Bob Heighes, Ypsilanti Police Chief Tony DeGiusti, and State Representative, David Rutledge are announcing a major initiative to put an end to the recent increase in juvenile gang violence here in Washtenaw County.
Given the circumstances of the recent murder and the revelation from police intelligence units that there has been ongoing retaliation and gang involvement, Representative David Rutledge has asked Sheriff Clayton to commit additional resources to the City of Ypsilanti in order to put a stop to the ongoing violence. Sheriff Clayton has agreed and together with Eastern Michigan University and the City of Ypsilanti, will begin new deployment strategies tonight.
“Today and everyday moving forward, the message is very simple… anyone and everyone that decides to prey upon others in our community, that chooses to incite violence and engage in unlawful behavior will be identified, found and arrested. This type of unlawful behavior will not be tolerated,” said Sheriff Jerry L. Clayton. He continued by adding, “To those creating fear in our community, we are putting you on notice. We will actively and progressively pursue you.”
What will happen:
• Tonight, we will begin our cross-jurisdictional patrols. This includes an increase number of deputies on the road and within the City of Ypsilanti.
• Patrols will not be random. They will be driven by the intelligence we have gathered and the data that has been analyzed.
• We will leverage the State and Federal authorities to assist us in identifying, pursuing, apprehending, and convicting those responsible.
• Interrupters will be out starting this weekend. Interrupters are volunteers willing to walk door-to-door handing out packets of information and engaging with neighbors as part of a public education campaign to interrupt the violence in our neighborhoods.
Recent shootings:In the early morning hours of Sunday, July 12th Keandre Duff was murdered at a party in Ypsilanti. Many believe this was in retaliation for the killing of 17 year old Keon Washington that occurred last summer. Since the killing of Duff there have been seven (7) shootings between two rival gangs.
1. Sunday July 12 – Oswego in Ypsilanti Township – Car struck multiple times.
2. Monday July 13 – Buick in Ypsilanti Township – Home struck multiple times.
3. Monday July 13 – Prospect in Ypsilanti City gunshot victim shows up at St. Joseph
Hospital. Reports being shot after attending vigil for Duff.
4. Monday July 13 – Ridge in Ypsilanti Township – 15 shots with no injuries.
5. Friday July 17 – Buick in Ypsilanti Township was targeted for the second time.
6. Saturday July 18 – Cross and Ballard in Ypsilanti City – Shots fired between two groups,
3 taken into custody.
7. Wednesday July 22 – Near First Ct in Ypsilanti City – Shots fired, no one struck.Press conference:
Please join us on Thursday July 23, 2015 at 11:00am here at the Washtenaw County Service Center, Learning Resource Library (4135 Washtenaw, Ann Arbor, MI 48104) for a detailed press conference. Information will include details regarding the recent outbreak in violence, new deployment specifics, and comments from the following representatives:
• Sheriff Clayton
• State Representative Rutledge
• EMU Police Chief Heighes
• Ypsilanti Police Chief DeGiusti
• County Commissioner Ronnie Peterson
• Representatives from the City of Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, and Superior Township
update: And apparently the crackdown has begun in earnest. The following was posted to Facebook at approximately 11:00 this evening.
13 Comments
Has the Mayor said anything? Do you know where I could read her statements about this? Thanks!
Yup that’s the ticket. Multi-juisdictional police state sweeps. Questions to ask: Who is in charge? What oversight is there? How (in detail) will this be carried out without terrorizing neighborhoods? Who conducted the intelligence that will guide the attacks? What system is in place to assure that the wrong houses don’t get stormed? How will you protect the children? What will you do to engage the citizens of the County who are presently distrustful of the police with good reason? Is the community expected to stand back quietly and watch “justice” be done? How are we to be convinced that these shootings are not going to be used as an excuse to further restrict the freedom of people of color? I could go on.
Relevant question: Fucc the police?
I decided to post this without comment as I’m still not sure what to think. In an ideal world, I would have liked to have seen this police response accompanied by plans from others in the community addressing related issues… something more comprehensive. As it is, yes, it just looks as though the plan is to grab these people up and put them in jail. And, given the source, it’s not exactly unexpected. Nor is it necessarily a bad thing. (I think most people would agree that people suspected of attempted murder should be arrested.) Like a lot of folks, though, I’d like to see more of a long term plan… something more sustainable… something that might keep young men in the future from making these kinds of decisions… something that doesn’t just address the problem from the perspective of law enforcement. I’d like to see something about more funding flowing into education, after school programs, and mentorship initiatives. But I realize those kinds of things take time. I just hope that, once these young men are arrested, we don’t forget that there are bigger underlying issues that need to be dealt with.
Who, exactly, should be delivering this long term plan or funding that you’re dreaming of? “Others in this community”? Name them. I’m guessing it’s not a bunch of white people pontificating on the Internet, but I’m curious who you think should be solving the problem of violence in the black community, which has been going on longer here than this gang war. Until white people got scared, nobody cared.
Or will the sheriff be the only black leader to step up here?
I am watching this closely too. Let’s remember that Tony Morgan was recently arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer. He was at a vigil in support of the families who lost loved-ones during the Dylann Roof Charleston Killings. Is that the direction this is going?
I want to believe that Sheriff Clayton and Derrick Jackson are doing the right things. I want to assume good intentions. I am concerned about all of the things identified by Denise and Mark above.
The mayor posted the same on FB as Mark posted above. The shooting has to stop.
No one can help a dead kid.
We also need more information as to the why and what of the arrest of Tony Morgan. I fear incidents such as this only inflame tempers and make things worse. The lack of news about this is frustrating to me. In the past I can recall the Ypsi Press and A2 News reporting on all incidents and issues, often with totally different views of the same issue. Now we wait for MM, FB and Mlive.
maryd, you can read about various forms of harrassment at their website:
http://radicalwashtenaw.org/
Local Black Lives Matter activists intend to disrupt today’s press conference.
From Facebook:
“We need to see more concern to stop the violence of the police, the violence of wrongful detention, the violence of intimidation and persecution, and the violence of treating people as guilty until proven innocent [in Washtenaw county].”
Since the killing of Clifton “Pete” Lee Jr. there have been several (7) other controversial reports of police brutality and misconduct in Washtenaw county:
1. Jun. 1, 2006 –Aaron Hendricks and Joseph Eberle (WCSO) murder Clifton “Pete” Lee Jr.
2. Jun. 1, 2006 –Shawn Hoy and Eric Kelly (WCSO) physically and verbally abused Clifton “Pete” Lee Jr.’s brother, Bruce Lee
3. Jan. 23, 2007 –Uriah Hamilton (LAWNET) murder David Antuan Ware
4. Jan. 15, 2011 –Tracy Yurkunas (PPD) shot Devin George Anthony Reddick in the stomach after mistaking an object for a weapon
5. Mar. 18, 2011 –Anthony Schembri (YPD/PPD), Ryan Stuck and Kevin Parviz (WCSO) verbally assaulted and abused (at the time) 19 year old, Charles Taylor
6. Sep. 2, 2012 –Anthony Schembri (YPD/PPD) verbally assaulted and abused Nina Battle during a routine traffic stop
7. Nov. 10, 2014 –David Ried (AAPD) murdered Aura Rain Rosser in her home while responding to a call-for-service
8. Jun. 18, 2015 –YPD detained Anthony S. Morgan for eight hours
Please join friends of Stop Bully Cops and concerned citizens at 11am (today), July 23, 2015 at the Washtenaw County Service Center, Learning Resource Library (4135 Washtenaw, Ann Arbor, MI 48104) for a detailed press conference. Information will include details regarding the recent outbreak in violence, new deployment specifics, and comments from local leadership.
Let’s remind Sheriff Clayton, State Representative Rutledge, EMU Police Chief Heighes, Ypsilanti Police Chief DeGiusti, County Commissioner Ronnie Peterson, and representatives from the City of Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, and Superior Township that we stand in solidarity against police violence!
The motivations of activists and attorneys should be watched closely too.
Hi disruption….
I hope the Black Lives Matter activists do not disrupt today’s press conference..They should ask for their own press conference..if they want air time during someone else press conference.
They should ask for their own press conference…lol. You are thinking of the Panthers, this group takes a different path. If the media was dond of giving these voices airtime, they wouldn’t need to use disruption as a tactic.
Dond. Fond. Whatevs.