The city of Detroit announced on Tuesday that plans are being made to dismiss the many misdemeanor citations issued last spring under curfew during police brutality protests (that captured the nation and world) after George Floyd’s tragic murder in Minneapolis.
In a statement from Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia, he confirmed that for a short period of time last summer, the city was under a curfew order that required people to stay off city streets after 8 pm – unless they were going to the doctor, drug store or grocery store.
“Large numbers of demonstrators violated the curfew on May 31, June 1, and June 2; dozens of them received appearance citations for misdemeanors related to the after-hours activity, while others were ticketed for disruptive and/or violent behavior,” he said in the statement.
Garcia added that in the many months since those tickets were issued, the City Law Department and Police Department have “worked to study videotape and other evidence from the events in question.”
“The departments have also considered the discretion that was exercised during that week – where, for example, citations written on June 1 were never submitted to the court, and where many protesters were not ticketed at all, despite being out after curfew,” he said. “In light of that review, the Law Department is dismissing the majority of misdemeanor tickets issued on May 31 and June 2. Although certain cases from these two dates will be pursued, the city believes it is best to dismiss the vast majority of citations.”
Rai LaNier, Wayne County director for non-profit Michigan Liberation, a statewide network aimed to end the criminalization of Black families and communities of color, said that she was out protesting during that time period and helping to ensure other protestors felt safe and knew they had resources available in case they were jailed. She feels that the conversation is far from over.
“I think that while the movement is definitely considering this a win I think that we need to not lose sight of why these charges were dismissed: the city of Detroit Police Department failed to comply with discovery rules. They didn’t have bodycam footage and were not able to provide who were the arresting officers,” she said, adding some will say in the chaos of the scene they weren’t able to collect information, but this happens all the time. “While I think that all the cases should be dismissed at the end of the day we were peacefully protesting. This is indicative of wider systemic injustices and breaking down of a system that does not work.”
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