While I’ve always been against the militarization of U.S. police forces, and in favor of more transparency, accountability and civilian oversight, I have to confess that I’ve never taken calls to “defund the police” very seriously. When, in the past, I’ve heard people say that we should abolish the police, I’ve thought that they were […]
Earlier this evening, at about 5:30, I heard two gunshots coming from the direction of Frog Island Park, and, as people do these days, I got on Facebook to ask what in the hell was happening, and whether or not my family was in any immediate danger. Within minutes, I received the above photo from […]
As several people have pointed out over the past few weeks in relation to the Water Street debt reduction millage which was recently defeated at the polls, the people of Ypsilanti already pay a much higher tax rate than those who live elsewhere in the region. In hopes of finding out why that is, I […]
Following are my extremely rough, admittedly incomplete notes on tonight’s meeting of the Ypsilanti Police-Community Relations / Black Lives Matter Joint Task Force. If you were also in the audience, and have something to add, please leave a comment. And, of course, feel free to weigh in on whatever you read below. As you’ll soon […]
Last year, in response to high profile instances of police violence against people of color across the country, and the corresponding rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, our City Council established a task force to explore ways in which the Ypsilanti Police Department might evolve to better serve all the members of our community. […]
