Good afternoon. Everyone. Commission meeting is called to order at
recording in progress. Today
is August, 1 2024 we're going to ask for the invocation by Chaplain Michael cadati, you may
Thank you, sir. Yes, we could be in a moment of prayer as you find your customs Allow and permit good and gracious God. We, thank you for this beautiful day. We, thank you for the warmth we thank you for the sun. We pray that the coming Storms this evening will be nourishing to the earth and not detrimental to us and the citizens of this great city of Detroit. We ask Lord that you be with us today. Your spirit be amongst us, your wisdom flow through us, that the work of this great commission can be done to the betterment of our great Detroit Police Department. I pray for the protection of all that are present here today. I pray for the continued protection of the police department under the leadership of Chief James White. I thank you Lord for their sacrifices and services that they provide for us. I thank you for this commission and their service that they provide the citizens of Detroit. I continue to pray for our great city, our state and our country. Bless us all, Lord, this meeting has been conducted and opened in order may be conducted in order and closed in harmony. It is through your most holy name we pray, and through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, I pray Amen. Amen.
Thank you very much. We don't have a quorum yet, but I anticipate us having a quorum with the next 1520 minutes. Commissioner Hernandez had some obligations with his job that he couldn't get out of, but he will be here. But I also want to take this time to recognize our new commissioner, and say is a pleasure to have you here to serve on my understanding that you serve before, and we really, really appreciate you coming and rolling up your sleeve to be able to serve serve the citizens of the city of Detroit. So let's give new commissioner some some regards a warm welcome and thank you for your service and your commitment to the citizen city Detroit. Thank you. Thank you. Absolutely you. Would you have like, share any remarks
on the police commission, and I'm looking forward to all the great things that the Commission for the city of Detroit in the police department.
Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you so much. We now have a call, and so we will move forward with the people's agenda, introduction of commissioners by individual Commissioners.
Commissioner Bill next for an excuse. Absent. Commissioner Burton X was excused. Absent, Commissioner Moore,
present,
Commissioner Presley here, commission dowash,
yep. Thank you very much. Like to entertain a motion to approve the agenda so August, 1, 2024 move by Commissioner Moore. Second, second by Commissioner Smith. All in favor. Say, aye. Discussion, yes,
my discussion would be again. You know, noting that we have interviews scheduled in the pace of the meeting as it moves, I do want to provide the chair of our personnel committee an opportunity to make it for the interviews, and so I'm wondering whether or not the board would be open to amending the agenda to move the chief of police report before the Board of police commissioners officers report to provide full of commissioners an opportunity to arrive.
Absolutely. I would say that I have no objections to that.
Who was the chair of that competing computer?
Hernandez
got you understood?
Yeah, yeah. So the the motion would be to accept, to approve the agenda, to with the necessary movement of the police commission. I mean, police chief report. So
I guess the motions, I'm amending the original motion that we adopt the approval of the agenda, moving the board. I mean, excuse me, moving the chief of police report prior to the board of police commissioners,
officers report. Okay, so the motion is made by Commissioner Presley to amend the agenda, and supported by Commissioner della was Thank you. Dwash, thank you. All in favor. Say, say, aye, aye. Anyone opposed, motion is carried. Okay, all right, so I want to entertain a motion to prove the minutes for July 18, 2024, so moved. Okay, any support or
motion
made by Commissioner firstly and supported by Commissioner Bernard. All in favor, say, aye, and one opposed. The motion is carried. I entertain a motion to approve the minutes of July, 25 2024
so moved, move by Commissioner
Bernard, any support? Support? Supported by Commissioner Presley, all in favor. Say, aye. Aye. Anyone opposed. Motion is carried. Introduction of bl, PC. Staff,
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, we have with us. Chief Investigator Warfield, Miss Johnny Underwood, Miss Theresa blossom, Miss artisha Joshua, Miss Jasmine Taylor, supervising investigator laphonia Sloan ASL interpreter, Miss shakata and Dr Stephanie Beatty. Court report is done, handicide, Sergeant Allen queen is doing the audio and media services during the video and setting in for the chief is DC, Tiffany Stewart and our elected officials are Miss Marie overall, State Representative, Tyrone Carter's office. Miss free of Butler, president of second precinct community relation, Mister Don Davis, Office of council member Fred du Harley, third and former Commissioner William Davis.
Okay, thank thank you so much. We go to the chief of police report.
Hello. Good afternoon on our board. I'm Deputy Chief Tiffany Stewart, and I'm sitting there for Chief white today, and I'm going to be giving the Detroit Police Department report out for you all. Thankfully, today, there are no critically injured officers due to any on duty injuries. Moving on to crime data, we have a 16% reduction in homicide. Use
your microphone. Thank you. That's better. Much better. Okay,
moving on to crime data and homicides, we have a 16% reduction for the calendar year of 2024 we have 128 victims. That is a 24 victims less than this time last year. For non fatal shootings, we have a 20% reduction. We had 397 shootings so far, non fatal shootings. That is 96 less victims than this time last year, robberies. We have 618 victims this year. We have 216 less victims than this time last year, that is actually a 26% reduction for robberies as a whole total Part One violent crime, we have a 10% reduction in all Part One violent crimes and for carjacking another huge win for us. 38% reduction for carjackings this year. We have 63 carjackings for the calendar year, which 37 less than this time last year. Moving on to our drag racing and block party enforcement, we continue to do that every week, because we get the phone calls. We get the complaints from the community. So as a whole, for beginning from March 15 of this year. Until now, we've investigated over 900 people. We've had over 436 traffic stops issued, over 150 citations impounded, over 61 vehicles investigated, 497 we've recovered 58 weapons. We've had 71 felony arrest because of this enforcement. We've responded to at least 334 calls for service regarding these Nuisance Complaints. We've responded to block parties, 240 block parties complaints, year to date, spectator tickets, let's see drag racing six and we've had special attention at 105 locations that are routinely reported to dispatch for block party or either drag racing complaints from the citizens working out here working as diligently as possible to alleviate any community concerns and complaints regarding those matters. Moving on to mental health related costs for service. Service calls this year, for the last seven days, I'm sorry, mental, not violent, we've had 66 costs, 66 service calls. Mental, violent arm. We've had 22 for the last seven days. Violent, mental, violent, not armed. We've had 105 suicide in progress, 34 cause and suicide threats. 67 four, grand total of 294 service calls within the last seven days. Year to date, we've had over 8935 grand total cost. Mental non violent, 2060 year to date. Mental violent armed, 870 mental violent, non armed, 3312 suicide and progress, 941 and just the threat of suicide. We've had 1751 55 cause, excuse me, we've even had a number of overdose related costs serviced. Year to date, over 3100 cause of one down for drug overdosed, and then one down, actual overdose. 250 costs. 258 cost service for a total of 3406 costs for service this year for overdose related costs. Moving on to some significant events. For the past week, we had one fatal shooting in the fifth precinct on Sunday, July, 21 of this year, at 3:20pm officers were dispatched to the 10, 400 block of casual to investigate a shooting. When they arrived, they discovered a 27 year old male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his body. Medic transferred to him to a local hospital, and he did succumb to his injuries. Witnesses on the scene stated that the victim and suspect got into a physical altercation, and the suspect produced a handgun and shot the victim. Witnesses stated the suspect was a resident of the apartment complex and went back into the location after the shooting, a barricaded gunman was declared, and later that even officers did successfully take the suspect into custody, the homicide detective submitted a warrant to the Wayne County prosecutor's office, and the suspect was charged with second degree murder and felony firearm. We had another fatal shooting robbery and the seventh precinct on Tuesday, July 23 officers were dispatched to the area of Joseph Campbell and Frederick to investigate a shooting. Upon arriving at the location, they observed a 37 year old male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The medic transported the victim to a local hospital, where he did succumb to his injuries. Witnesses stated they noticed four to five black males in a black vehicle in front of the location. A few minutes later, they heard approximately six shots and observed one of the males pointing a gun at the victim lying face down in the street. The victim's vehicle was taken during the shooting and later bound burned. This incident is still under investigation, and if anyone has any tips, please contact Crime Stoppers at one 800 speak up or Detroit rewards television. I'm sorry, Detroit rewards.tv another fatal shooting in the seventh precinct on Thursday, July 24 at 10:20pm officers were dispatched to the 500 block of shame to investigate a shooting. They arrived and observed the 27 year old victim suffering from a gunshot wound to his back. He was transported to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Witness stated that the victim was on the side of the building arguing with a known male about a stolen firearm. Witnesses further stated that they heard the parties yelling and then observed the suspect pull out a handgun and shoot the victim. Officers were able to take the suspect into custody a homicide detectives submitted a warrant to the Wayne County prosecutor's office, and the suspect was charged with second degree murder, carrying a concealed weapon and felony firearm, and the last fatal shooting, significant incident we had was in the eighth precinct. It was a domestic related homicide. Husband did fatally shoot the wife on Saturday, July 27 at 4:45am officers responded to the 19 400 block of five points to investigate a shooting. Upon arriving at the location, officers discovered the 53 year old female victim line in the driveway with multiple gunshot wounds to her body. Upon further investigation, it revealed that the witnesses called nine one and attempted to help the victim before the police arrived, the suspect, the victim's husband, came out of the house, pointed a gun at the witnesses and told them to leave. He then shot the victim again. The first time the victim was shot, she was inside the location, and when she attempted to flee, the suspect shot her several times, and that's when the witnesses discovered her outside of the home. He was taken into custody. He stayed on the scene. He was taken into custody on the incident. A warrant request was submitted to the Wayne County prosecutor's office, and the suspect was charged with first degree murder and felony firearm. So, you know, just amazing work out here by the homicide detectives, the patrol officers. We got a lot of trauma, obviously occurring and just getting on the scene, quickly getting those arrests, and obviously working in partnership with the Wayne County prosecutor's office to get charges as quickly as possible on those individuals, moving on to some positives. Many of you may have been at the citywide charter mandated community meeting Monday for the mayor's office that came back. Some members of senior management team were in attendance as well. On Wednesday, we had a youth scavenger hunt the MPO, the neighborhood police officers and the explorers partnered with the youth connection and the Detroit Historical Society for engaging scavenger hunt. The event began at the Detroit Historical Museum, and I'm hearing everyone had a great time, and it was well attended, and the youth had fun. So tomorrow, we did extend the invitation to you all, hopefully you will come. We have the eighth precinct annex. Rinpoche this tomorrow, at three o'clock PM, Friday, Chief white demeanor Duggan and the city and community representatives will gather to celebrate the opening of the eighth precinct annex. We finally got it opened and completely rehabilitated, renovated so community members are welcome to attend. And the tour of the attics, which will house the eighth precinct neighborhood police officers will be open for the community to reserve. And lastly, tomorrow, busy day for the chief second precinct bike patrol. At 5pm the chief will participate in the second precinct bike patrol operations. Ride while on bike patrol. Bike patrol officers will engage with Project Green Light partners and community members. Officers will provide presence in the neighborhood and forest parking and abandoned vehicle concerns. So that is the conclusion of my report. Out if there are any questions from the
board. Let the record reflect that Commissioner banks is present. Yes, sir. Commissioner Moore,
thank you, Mr. Chairman, good afternoon. Chief,
good afternoon.
Are you familiar with the Metro times two part story that they've been writing over the past like two or three weeks?
No,
unfortunately. What is it about? I will
ask that you and the department leader should take a look at is talking about homicide investigations, the way they've been investigated, and one particular investigator from back, I guess, in 2010 of how the how the interviews are being conducted, where some people may have been wrongly convicted, as I think it's worth reading. But my question is, what would it take to reopen a case, or cases involving a detective that may have done things that may or may not, I don't know, that may have done things that weren't wrong,
so the Wayne County prosecutor's office, thank you for that. I am familiar with that story, I haven't followed it completely, but I think I did read a portion of part one, so I do know which is you're speaking about. But in regard to your question, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has a conviction integrity unit, and that is actually spearheaded through their unit prisoners. They have appeals or concerns with their case, they can advocate to this unit who worked in concert with the Wayne County prosecutor's office, and they will pull the case, investigate it, and make a determination from that point.
So Detroit police wouldn't take it upon themselves to initiate opening up an investigation.
Typically, no, because they wouldn't reach out to us, they would reach out to the prosecutor's office in a conviction integrity unit, we provide them all information needed. Well,
you mean that? You mean the person who's been offended? Yes, gotcha. So my second question deals with the Reno Rossini shooting. I saw the video that was released. I guess it's going to be made public at 4pm today. I thought it was a good video, transparent. My initial concern with that shooting was it appeared that department leadership were blaming the citizens, saying that nobody called 911, but then I believe it was Assistant Chief Fitzgerald said, Hey, we were short manpower, which I respected, which that's why you haven't heard me say anything about it, because once a person admits, you know that they're wrong, and they fall on the sword, what else is there to argue about? So I thought that the video was very transparent. It did say that the first call came in at 130 but I don't want to say too much, because it's not made public to to the public, and we'll let it roll from there. Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
thank you through the chair two questions. One to you today, you suggested around the block parties. I think you see, you all received 240 calls, something like that. Is it possible that those calls are for similar areas, or these distinct block parties that that number of upwards of 200 calls are being made. So
is some will be similar and some will be distinct, separate and distinct, we have actually taken to task to tracking and monitoring in our comps and our bi weekly COMSAT review. And from our review, there are a number of locations with multiple Black Party week after week after week, complaints that the neighbors are calling in. So we're trying to engage and get get in front of that, having opportunity to speak to the residents of the location and just kind of let them know that the neighbors are calling. We've received multiple complaints, just trying to be as hospitable as possible, while also letting them know that the community is very upset, and they're the ones calling, making the complaints and
follow up to that understanding that, you know, people power can sometimes be an issue. And, you know, excuse my ignorance around the technology, but I know, like downtown, there's these, almost like crane looking like instruments, where it gives the perception of police presence in these areas where there seems to be, you know, multiple kind of calls or reoccurring block parties, is The deployment of those technological instruments possible to deter these practices from happening. So
if we we have the ability to have as many of those as we want, and we absolutely probably would deploy in that way. But those those that technology is incredibly expensive. I think we only have four, so we tend to utilize them where there is a major degree of citizens in one small footprint. So that's why, oftentimes, you'll see them downtown, because you have 1000s of people downtown at one point, and you don't tend to have that in the neighborhood, the neighborhood you may have, you know, 100 or a couple 100, and you have just 1000s downtown. Okay,
thank you. And then finally, my last question isn't related to this area, but I'm sure there are, you know, ripple effects that happens across the country when these incidents happen. And I'm speaking about the murder of a Sonia Massey, and wondering if there was any kind of conversation, a memo training that happened in DPD as a result of seeing what occurred in Illinois. So we
continually, as a department Commissioner Presley, we continually, as apartment, try to address the officers. That was devastating to me as a law enforcement officer, as I'm black and blue as a black woman in society, I thought that that was absolutely outrageous. It, quite frankly, brought me to tears. There was, there was absolutely no reason for her to be murdered, and she was murdered. So with that being said, as the leadership of the department, we try our best at all points and times when we have these stories that you're in when we hear from other other areas of the world, to have the conversations with the officers that roll call at training. So we can get in front we have a number of programs, you know, we've got crisis intervention, as you all know, just a number of different programs that we can utilize peer support, that we can utilize in order to assist and hopefully and prayerfully not have any of that type of tragedy occur on our department.
yes. Deputy Chief is good to see you. My concern is related to the issue concerning the crackdown on block parties and black clubs. Both myself and Vice Chair Smith have had complaints about the department shutting down a number of events in the city of Detroit that were adult annual events like the Cooley high school reunion that they've had been having for the last 30 some years. And what happens is that the department comes out and blocks parking on all the major streets so that the people can't get together. What happens with that is was communicated to she and I, and she'll speak to it as well, is that these groups, and many of them are REU class reunions, things like that, people that you know are trying to get together again to for old time's sake, and they block all the parking. They close off all the parking, let's say, like on Woodward Avenue, no parking, no parking, no parking, or Finkle Avenue, or six mile road. And then the people who've organized it have food trucks coming. They've they've paid money for these things you you know, all kinds of things that you have when you have a celebration and they lose their money as a result of our being, quote, overly aggressive with respect to this issue. So I'm calling it to your attention because it is a major concern. There is no reason to prematurely, if you will, block people from getting together or assembling as as you well know, so if you would just call that to the attention of the department, and I don't know, time or if you have anything to add,
thank you through the Chair, I understand that the children or the young adults have made this decision that the department is standing on, and unfortunately, is one bad apple spoils the whole batch. And I guess one rule applies to everyone,
that pretty much is how it goes. And speaking to the Cooley situation Commissioner Bernard, if I'm not mistaken, they did not apply for the necessary permits beforehand. So we understand, maybe the annual event for Cooley, that they don't necessarily cause problems, but recalling and remembering that this was right on the heels of the mass shooting that we had. So I do understand the concerns that some of us are simply having fun. For example, if a certain location is having a party and indoors, the the the response or the people should be indoors, what they don't get to do is take over the entire street and the entire sidewalk, because just as just as you complain about the police officers coming and shutting the event down, and oftentimes we're simply only enforcing laws that are already in ordinances, laws and ordinances that are already on the books, with regard to via with regard to music allowed, music After a certain point, illegal parking, things of that nature, but there are just as many people calling and complaining and then chastising us for not being there. So it's a fine line, and I completely understand what you said. Some people are bad apples and some people are good apples. And sometimes those good those people that are good apples get some of the some of the enforcement that the bad apples get. But our goal is for for safety, for everyone. And again, we would not have wanted anybody at Cooley to have had a problem. Because oftentimes it's not just Cooley people there, you know, it's somebody else from another school or another neighborhood, and problems still arise. We have drinking we have a number of things going on. We just trying to contain it. I do understand your concern, but
my concern even goes to their only, to my knowledge, three nightclubs or clubs in downtown in Detroit that are owned by black people, and this, if you will, sort of super enforcement issue is adversely affecting them and their clientele. There's, there shouldn't be a need for African American people who are interested in owning a business to go to the suburbs, to party or go somewhere. We want them to be in Detroit. They are Detroiters. They have a right to be in Detroit, and so they're entitled to fair and open treatment and certainly an evaluation after you get there. But not, not preemptive. That's my concern, a sort of a preemptive move that you that doesn't happen anywhere outside the city of Detroit, including in what was Detroit, where those eight or nine people were shot just a week before it happened in Detroit. So I'm just saying I think there, there has to be some senses of sensitivity to the issues, because it's not happening with white businesses. It's happening with African American businesses for some strange reason. So I just wanted to call that to your attention.
Okay, okay, through the
chair. I had another question. So this is something that I have been hearing that people are saying that you can't have more than 20 people in your residential backyard in a gathering, not really sure. And I know a lot of the adults are complaining that they can't gather or they can't get together. And if it is a multitude, as maybe 20, I'm not really sure, but if it there is a what seems to be a large gathering or assembly of people, then it's shut down. Is there any truth to that? So
I have no knowledge about a party of 20 people in the backyard being shut down. Typically speaking, if you are in your backyard and it's your party and you're contained within the backyard, you probably should be fine, so long as you respect the local ordinances. You know we're not playing the loud negative music at 1112, 123, o'clock in the morning, that's when it becomes a problem. Thank you.
Okay,
anything further,
I would just, you know, alcohol Commissioner more in terms of making sure that department do pay attention to that article and see if it's any things in there that department could add to if someone was wrongfully convicted, someone was mistreated by the police department terms in an investigation, if you have officer who conducted themselves in a flagrant way, I think that the department should play a role in communicating with The prosecutor office, because you may see it before the prosecutor see it, you know. So I think is very important that we do pay attention to that, you know, because many of the wrongful convictions, they come from the department, and if the department can play a role to help repair it. And by all means, you know that's what we should be doing. What are your thoughts?
So thank you for that chair, Woods. So the department is very transparent at this point in time, often, oftentimes through the years, we have made a number of improvements on our investigative process, one of which is all interviews and interrogations are audio and video recorded at this point in time. We have a number of different things that we do that is presented to the prosecutor, certainly with the onslaught of so much technology, they also cross their T's and got their eyes as well. When we submit these investigations to them, it's not just the police department. This is a three pronged approach. There's a police department, there's a Wayne County prosecutors, and then there's, you know, a criminal court. But with that being said, the Wayne County prosecutors also expects a certain caliber of investigation from us, and they expect the body worn camera and interrogation footage and video to make sure that the these haneys and the suspects are being respected, if you will, and handled in an appropriate manner, absolutely
in terms of deck now, but those are historical cases that that occurred, always learning, you know. And so if there is something for us to look at, I think we should look at, I think we should audit, you know, the file. If there's something arise in these investigations, if you would, you know, to try to, you know, be a partner in correcting the wrong that possibly could have happened. That's only thing I've said, you know. So I get what you're saying in terms and I can deeply appreciate the policy committee working together with the University of Michigan, as well as with the ACLU, and creating one of the most strong, one of the strongest identification policies in the country, for sure, you know, but that's something for us to you know? I think there should be some part as well in terms of looking at it. May not, nothing you can do about it. But you know, you know, those articles or those things should not just be like, Okay, I just read a news article, if you would.
I hear you all right, and
so
anything further,
I would just say this, Mr. Chairman, just to echo and piggyback off of what you just said. It it kind of reminded me of going back to 1984 when my grandfather was murdered, of different investigative techniques that didn't take place at all. And then fast forward into 2023 when the Samantha wool murder took place, and how different things just didn't happen that the public thought would happen as it relates to investigating certain people. So I'll just leave it there, Mr. Chairman. It just, you know, when I see things, it's like connected dots, patterns and practices that I look at. So thank you very much.
Yes, and I also want to applaud the chief for working with us. We vigorously was able to work to be able to get some resolution with those tickets that was written on some of the legal observers, and thankfully, that one was dismissed this week, and looking forward to other ones against dismissed as they go into court. Appreciate the chief leadership on this and working with us on this, Commissioner Bernard and myself, who led that effort to stand on the side of those who were protesting in a constitutional way, and we look forward to working with the department and making sure we work with the lawyers guilds, the National Lawyers Guild, to make sure there's An iron cloud policy on all First Amendment issues. So thank you. Give our regards to the chief for his leadership on that
I will.
Commissioner Hernandez is here, and so we're going to posture ourselves and get ready for our first interview and our first interview would be with Lydia Garner and action asking Mr. Zacharias to exit the room and you may come forward. Miss Lydia Garner, Barlow Jameson, someone will come get you when it when it's that time. I thank you very much. And as he gets itself ready, Commissioner Hernandez, I will turn it over to you. Mr. Pipman, online,
yes sir.
All right. Hi, Mr. Thank
you. Should get somebody present. This is ridiculous. Yes, Chair respectful,
yes, we have Miss Jackson here. And like to start this interview. Alright,
thank you. I want to just read a brief statement to the candidate again. We thank you for being here. I know a couple of times you were flying in and out, and I truly appreciate your showing up for this interview. We have a total of six questions we're going to ask. The board is going to be recording your response, so try to be brief and precise, giving your response. Think of each question. I want you from questions two through six. I want you to think of a specific situation, the task you have to take on, the action we took toward that task, and then the end result. Let me give you a brief overview of the position, and then we're going to jump right into the Q and A. So as a top level executive for the board of police commissioners, the secretary to the board plays a pivotal leadership role, ensuring that the board's optimal performance in overseeing the day to day operations of the organization. The high impact position involves strategic oversight, executive decision making at the pleasure of the board, and maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the board supervisor control over the Detroit Police Department, as mandated by the city charter, reporting directly to the board. The secretary to the board drives the board's mission to uphold public safety oversight and accountability. The role offers a unique opportunity to support the board's mission in leading the future of public safety oversight in the city of Detroit. With that said, Ma'am, are you ready
one second to the chair? May just to clarify, there was a motion passed the last time we had interviews that suggested that when these will be rescheduled, that the only scores that would be considered will be those who also set through the interviews of the first three candidates, if there is an opportunity Acting Secretary that you can read who those are, just for the matter of the public and for my colleagues to be noted, whose scores would be considered
I proceed and through the Chair, I just want to give one instruction to the board. If you see a candidate writing or or taking looking down, they're probably looking at their resume, taking notes on the question, sometimes during even in in person Question Interviews, we are allow individuals to jot down notes on the question so they can reflect back to giving their responses. So I just want the board to be aware that if you see someone looking down, basically they're probably trying to capture the question as I'm reading it and then preparing their response as well. Alright with that being said, very first question So briefly, explain how your previous experience and education have prepared you for the position in your discussion. Tell us about in civilian oversight, law enforcement, the legal field and administration, or working with a board
Good afternoon,
good afternoon.
I want to first say thank you to the Board of Commissioners, individually and collectively, to the staff, as well as to the entire police department and its staff and all stakeholders with the city of Detroit who choose to enhance the future of public safety in the city of Detroit. And I think the rep was saying looking down, because I can go a little long winded, so I've done my best to do my research study. And I may, you may find me looking at this notebook, probably more than you would imagine. But as far as if I may, give just a very short introduction of myself, my application resume and cover letter does give a summary of my qualifications, my education, which started with a bachelor's with a major in sociology, a minor in biology, went on to graduate school with a master's degree in Human Resource Management, with many courses in criminal justice, and then on to a Juris Doctorate that I received. Excuse me also, my resume will reflect a number of progressively responsible roles that also include a number of executive level positions. I am a strategic servant leader. That's my leadership style and a team player, because it is my thinking that to be somewhat of a successful leader, you must be a team leader. I focus on the growth and well being of the people and community to which the organization supports and assists. My work ethic is one to work until the job is done and to do it with integrity and urgency. My passion and perseverance has led to accomplishments that effectively have impacted the bottom line of organizations, the key performance initiatives, as well as the financial bottom line, which in turn impacts the morale and productivity of staff and all stakeholders. As a lifelong learner, I strive to be on the cutting edge of best practices for myself and the entire team and the entire organization, though confidentiality and responsive feedback, consistent, open, continuous feedback and responsive feedback is paramount in much of this work. The communication must be sensitive and confidential when it matters, this role is with our roles that I perform will require me to to continually think analytically, make decisions as a trusted advisor and thought leader, and be effective in all and written communications, as far as specifically positions that I have held I was in my prior time of employment was the board secretary of the Detroit Board of Education. Like this title secretary to the Board of Education. It was actually, actually by the bylaws and state mandate at the time, the Detroit Public Schools was the first class school district in the state of Michigan, and I actually had legal responsibilities in the event of the president of the board, the superintendent I would have been the next in line. Much of my oversight was over procurement, clearly, the day to day management and administration board, budget implementation, etc, etc, for the 11 member elected board, seven of which were districts at that time and four members at large. Another entity more recently was with the city of Atlanta, where initially I went as manager and the Department of Human Resources, more specifically, the Office of Labor and employer relations. And within less than 90 days, I was asked to leave the department which had citywide responsibility, including the airport, all of the departments, and definitely included public safety, which was corrections, police and fire. It included many, many sensitive, high level executive investigations, audits, as well as my office was responsible for monitoring and managing the ethics hotline, which, of course, as you could probably well understand a lot of community interfacing throughout the city of Atlanta, hopefully pretty long, but hopefully I answered that question.
Thank you so very much for that response. Question number two, discuss options you would consider in handling someone who repeatedly refuses to comply with reasonable directives or or is openly disrespectful, and you're asked to describe your overall management leadership style and tell us how many employees you have supervised. So it's a two part question.
Would you repeat the first part again? Please? Sure.
It says, Tell us discuss your options and how you would consider handling someone who was repeatedly refuses to comply with reasonable directives or is openly disrespectful
as the secretary of the board, clearly in public meetings, as the meetings at dictate for your august body, as well as the Detroit Board of Education and city council the city of Atlanta, things come, challenges happen, and when they're directed To me and definitely in the city of Atlanta, internationally, visitors with 17 embassies there, there have been challenges with international stakeholders, as well as domestic for me, it is to stay focused. To stay focused, you have to identify the issue. Listen actively. Listen, not just hear the words, but actively listen to pierce through the noise, know the procedure, the policy and the protocol, and not just me, but those of my team and others. So there's continuous education for all stakeholders, even community, vigorously, do my best to know and understand the any underlying reasons why and why not, and definitely, because we know these challenges will come about to be consistent and continuously, do our best to do prevention. There are many things that happen at public meetings early years or whatever, that could be prevented if we just sit and talk and dialog more often. Clearly for me, being old school, born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, that's just like second nature to me. We have to get back to relationship building. I think at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. And I think I'm forgetting, but in light of all of this, there has to be an understanding, and there has to be not to guarantee any outcome, we have to sort it out, assess it, go, hide the books, but at the same time being sensitive to conciliation,
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. As far as supervision, I've had as many as six to seven because of Lean budgets. Since most of my professional life has been in government service. However, I'm big on cross training. Had a situation in the city of Atlanta where there was a very serious excuse me situation, had two departments that pretty much storm the mayor's office on one afternoon. And fortunately, because I had built to cross train employees so indirectly, six to seven, but as many as 40 plus at any given time, because my responsibilities in most situations have been district wide, with the school district citywide, with the city of Atlanta, and then, more recently, with the water department here in Detroit, directly 20 plus, But seasonally augmenting return the citizen program that I initiated with the approval of the leadership and the board awarded commissioners. We augmented it. And so at any given time, it could go for to that, from that six to 10, normally, but seasonally it might, with interns, etc, go to maybe 4045
thank you so very much for that response. So question number three, often time we are Can everyone hear me? Yes, okay, oftentimes we are placed under pressure or have conflicting demand for our time at work multiple projects do at the same time two or more people require our time or assistance two or more requests to complete a project differently. So give us a situation or a pacific time when you were under a pressure, or, excuse me, under pressure and experience conflicting demands at work. You
for me, understanding this position as some of the other positions that I've been fortunate enough to perform in. There's the board, there's city leadership, there's a mayor, the city council, and there's our beloved community. There's also staff, not just the staff, but the secretary to the board, but there's the chief investigative staff, and there's the police department with his staff, everybody at the same time being an employee relations for 15 plus years. We often characterize it as the emergency room. Er, so you've got triage, you've got posters maintaining well being, you've got crying children all over the place. So for me, it's become second nature, thankfully, and that's why I think I'm uniquely fit for this position. Again, breathing, but doing that beforehand, work, training, lean budgets. I'm going to refer quickly back to the situation I sort of approached a bit ago. The Department of Public Works together with the water department at the city of Atlanta. Everybody was been out of shape because of a couple of managers. Literally, the mayor's conference room was shoulder to shoulder, standing room only. Something had to happen the commission of HR mayor's top leadership, etc, etc. We had heavy equipment parked around City Hall that afternoon, so we had to get to work, clearly, once everything settled down, of course, you know what was promised we're going to investigate? Well, who's going to do investigation, but HR and definitely er only I didn't even have seven people on staff, and that included clerical. There was no budget to Expand. Expand there, thankfully, because I started months ago, cross training many of the HR business partners for investigations in their respective departments and divisions, I was able to bridge and bring together a staff of about 15 persons who I had honed in on their skills months before, weeks before. So for me, I guess, as a mom, being the primary caretaker for my mom for 17 and a half years, even though she's transitional now, I have learned to prepare and to be ready, and maybe it comes from being a girl scout many, many moons ago, but having that in my toolbox to make things happen regardless of money, it's not an excuse. We have to take care of our people, our staff and the community as a whole, and Detroit, like Atlanta, internationally and domestic, we have to get the job done, and I'm up for the challenge to get the job done whatever it takes. Needless to say, we conducted this investigation, which caused us to be a four to five different locations. Then on top of that, we were given a mandate to do the investigation, do a report, and have it on the commissioner's desk so she could take it to the mayor in less than 21 days. We met the goal, and fortunately and unfortunately, it resulted in a number of terminations, but the morale and the productivity of the staff went up and we move forward.
Thank you so very much for that response. So question number four, tell us about a time when it was necessary to respond or interact with someone who became verbally abusive or may have been difficult to communicate with. If Have you ever, if you have never encountered that situation, how would you respond?
And I know I may sound like a broken record now, but
that's okay if you have a specific situation when that happens, please speak to that
exactly. I'm reminded of when I first was in the audience awaiting approval and a vote on being the secretary of the board of the Utah Board of Education, not being from Detroit, as I said earlier, born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, did my college work in Alabama's law school in Alabama, and marriage, first marriage brought me to Michigan. However, I was given notice of the position and my name, character, you name it was drugs, those. It's been a personal experience, and I know it happens, not just with me, but we see it on a national scale right now in our national politics. So it's like that old thing, you know? What is it made? Words don't break our bones, and if anything, it strengthens us and moves us on. And when you're confident and what you experience. And I'm one there in my home, and I've done this to teach it to my children, who are raised in the public schools here in Detroit, there are no big guys, and there are no little use. I consider myself a lifelong learner, and with that patience, being confident and what I know, and I am not too big, too smart, and I don't think anybody who knows me, and what you see here, you'll see in church, and you'll see at home. I'm not too big, so smart that I don't know everything, I will ask the questions, but that verbally, that verbal abuse, brought me to more of where I am today, because the one board member who then has two or three with her did not know me at all. And the craziest part about it is my mom, on one occasion, was sitting in the audience. And so, you know, sometimes when you got your mama, it makes all the difference. So having a very solid foundation, a group of friends, even some of who encouraged me to even apply for this position, it's okay. You can meet the challenge. You can pick up and get nuggets from board members, individually, collectively, other community supporters who are here for the real deal, and you move forward together, because you can't do this long.
All right, thank you for that response. All right, what do you believe is the best way to manage expectations? Excuse me, excuse me. Let's manage expectations of many different stakeholders. Excuse me explain the previous experience and how you or your organization went about meeting the needs of the internal and external entities,
probably most recently, when I did about a year and a half, almost a couple of years, with the Detroit water board as their HR person. Of course, when the water department was bifurcated, many of the HR personnel did exit us to the authority, etc, and I was given the opportunity to lead a turn stand up the HR department. It took work, and it's going to take work here with this position, building the team, unifying the team, individually, collectively. I'm sorry. I lost my train. I apologize. Would you say that real quickly? Sure, sure.
What do you believe is the best way to manage expectations of many different stakeholders?
Got it okay? So number one, you have to understand who are the players, who are your stakeholders, internally, externally, and who may become a stakeholder. That's number one. You must know the vision, the goals and objectives, and then you have to do the grunt work to align everybody with the vision, the goals and the objectives, whether it takes sit downs with staff, whether it takes sit downs individually, with board members, with board members in committee, with staff, with the departments, city departments, police department, clearly priority wise, making sure everyone, whether they disagree or not, once disagree. This is the vision, and these are the objectives and these are the goals. That's the playbook, and that's where we start, and that's the foundation, foundation. And at that point, everybody then will understand how we get there. Now we're going to shove down anybody so how to do it? And at a point, yes, we have to come to an agreement how we will execute. But it's only until we go as fast as we have to, but we got to go as slow as it takes to make sure everybody's walking in tandem with that the expectations spelled out, making sure everybody understands. And there is we all know there are things to ensure that everybody is understanding what the rules are, and at that point, we're then called upon to execute and implement so that we can achieve our goal. At the city of at the water department, when I walk in, there were a number of KPIs already on the table, and at a point, I was charged to monitor and manage those KPIs, and it was a weekly thing. So that continuous, consistent, responsive feedback, not just feedback, not just coming in with the two or three line, but I'm talking about real, nitty gritty feedback on what you're doing, not some generic, oh, we looked at that. No, what are the numbers? Because at the end of the day, we have to show the data. Has to show what has been improved along the way. All
right, thank you for that. And this is our final question, what are some best practices and emerging trends that you would use to employ with the civilian oversight standards to comport with national best practices and recommendation regarding civilian oversight of law enforcement?
Well, when I first started. I've known about the Board of Commissioners ever since I've been in in Detroit, which dates back to the end of 1981 when I transferred here from Montgomery, Alabama with the federal court. And so I know definitely, having been with the Detroit Public Schools, with Great City Schools, together with other associations, National School Board associations, I then knew that the Board of Commissioners also is connected to an association. So I'm not, I didn't, I'm not going to invent the wheel when it's already there, and it's pretty much prescribed. And so for me, the best practices set forth by that association is that we have to have clear authority and independence so that we don't conflict with internal affairs, comprehensive training, which I've spoken to earlier, transparent and public meetings, holding everybody accountable. We have to engage with the community and not just having on service all. We're going to have this meeting because we're mandated, but no having the regularly scheduled grit. Sit down. Let's meet. Excuse me, understand what's going on. We have to address the systemic issues. Things just don't pop up by happen. Something's been mulling over for quite some time underground. We then have to utilize our external resources, even as I was saying, building outside of the normal team. We put together teams, be they internally within the police department or even in the chief investigator's office or the secretary to the Board Office, it may be other city offices that we can draw on resources and trainings, etc, which I did with the water department, and then we have to effectively monitor and manage so that at the end of the day, police accountability, and I would expand that to say this police Team accountability then improved and enhanced for the public safety of everyone connected with the city of Detroit.
Thank you so very much for those responses. Those are the questions we have for you today. Do you have we got time for two questions or a closing statement?
We have some questions that Mr. Hernandez is going to ask other questions that we ask all the other candidates,
not a problem.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, ma'am, we have a series of four questions that some may overlap with the answers that you've given. But again, for consistency sake, we ask these questions to other candidates, so we're going to follow suit. The very first question is, why are you interested in this position?
I am interested in this position because I'm excited about what value I can bring to the team, together with how much I can learn selfishly in the community, I've been a homeowner taxpayer dating back I lived in different areas of the city, Southwest Detroit. My church was in E course, then I began worshiping the last time and have a residence on the east side, church on moss. I've also lived in East Palmer Park. My children went to school in northwest Detroit. I won't name in case there's some athletic robbery in the room. But I think we know Detroit kind of started good, even with Detroit Public Schools, even with the security guards there, and even we went through the transition with him Cole. So I think I have a little body of knowledge and experience that I think I'm uniquely fit, and I want to be in service.
Okay, thank you for that. The second question would be, have you ever attended a board meeting? Yes, simple enough. Third, have you read the city's charter and why does the board
exist? Yes, and my cheap book has to charter right here and the bylaws, yes, all
right. And the very last, it's a pairing question, what can you tell us about police oversight? And what does that mean to you?
Oversight is not just, I think often time we look just at the department, even though that's primary, the department's not going to be any better than the citizenry, which includes me, which includes the august body, which includes staff, which includes visitors to this city, international and domestic visitors. So we have to do this together. So it's pulling all of the oversight. Yeah, we'll manage and monitor the budget. We'll make sure the notices happen, even one of the items we were talking about a little earlier, about the parties, the black parties, we've got to educate our constituents some, lot of times, folks behave out of what they've been handed off. You know, that generational knowledge that was cricketing not real in the beginning, so we have to get the real education out there, and word of mouth was good, and that which we can't put together. And I do tend to think out of the box. And I'm a oxymoron, yes, I'm a fatal optimist. I just, you know, is always hope. As long as I'm breathing, there's some hope, a little semblance of we can get this done, and probably get it done like it's a little of how it's been done all the time and a little bit more of how it can be done now.
Great. Thank you. That'll conclude the questions that we have, and I believe Mr. Tipton might offer the opportunity for you to ask one to two questions to the board,
yes. Thank you, Commissioner Hernandez and again, ma'am. Thank you for meeting with us this afternoon, again, we will allow you to either provide us with two questions to the board or a closing statement.
I'm hopeful that I'm the lucky candidate, the successful candidate. I'm excited. I want to do this. I really want to do this to become a member of the team, and my objective is to simply provide strategic servant leadership and added value to this organization as an experienced executive level administrator and manager of operations and government service, while collaborating and cooperating with all stakeholders and striving to ensure optimal performance and the service delivery of best practices and in compliance with all applicable mandates. That's why I'm here. That's why I came back. I appreciate your time.
Thank you very kindly. Thank
you very much.
Mr. Brown, can you applause?
Mr. Chair,
yes, sir,
thank you. Any interim as we're transitioning, I will remind everyone that the first the top five scores, or the first five questions, are going to actually be scored. I know there's a little bit of confusion with the sheets, but to remain consistent with how we scored the previous candidates, it's only the top five questions that we're scoring. All of the additional questions that were asked, you can for sure, embed into those top five so add your feedback to those top questions.
Thank you, Connie. Mr. Zachary is seated. We may proceed.
Thank you, Chairman again, welcome, sir, to the interview for the Secretary to the board of police commissioners. We have about six questions we're going to ask you today for questions two through six, we want you to give us a specific situation, the task you took on, the action you took toward that task, and then the end result. I'm going to act. I'm going to read you a brief statement in regards to the board of police secretary, and then we're going to jump right into the Q and A as the top level executive for the board of police commissioners, the secretary to the board plays a pivotal leadership role, ensuring that board's optimal performance and overseeing The day to day operations of the organization. The high impact position involves strategic oversight, executive decision making and the pleasure and excuse me, decision making at the pleasure of the board and maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the board supervisor control over the Detroit Police Department as mandated by the Detroit city charter reporting directly to the board. The secretary to the board drives the board's mission to uphold public safety oversight and accountability. The role offers a unique opportunity to support the board's mission and leading the future of public safety oversight in the city of Detroit. With that said, we'll start with question number one, so briefly, explain how your previous experience and education have prepared you for the position and in your discussion, tell us about any experience that may have you may have in civilian oversight, law enforcement, the legal field or in administration or working with a board?
Yeah, so I recently graduated with my Master's in Public Administration, which is directly relevant to this role, and I have a lot of past experience working with different boards and committees. Throughout my education tenure, I have served as secretary and treasurer of different boards, such as the public health club or public administration club and the Healthcare Administration student organization. I've also been the secretary to the to my department's my current job their dei committee for a little over four years now, so I have a lot of experience working with boards and committees.
All right, thank you for that question. Number two, thank discuss options you would consider in handling someone who repeatedly refuses to comply with reasonable directives or is openly disrespectful in your answer, describe your overall management leadership style and tell us how many employees you have supervised
and my farmer capacity as a assistant manager at Starbucks, I supervised 25 to 30 employees, about eight to 10 of those at a time, but had overall oversight for 25 to 30 in regards to how to handle a situation like that, I would say, of course, starting with patience, empathy and trying to meet people where they're at is an important first step, but after repeated refusal or insubordination, I think it's important to pull the person aside and talk to them and get a better understanding of where the conflict is coming from, perhaps trying to address what barriers there might be, and seeing what the challenges are for that person to comply with the request and then troubleshooting from there.
Thank you for that response. Question number three, oftentimes we are placed under pressure or have conflicting demands for our time at work multiple projects do at the same time, two or more people require our time or assistance two or more requests to them to complete a project differently. So please describe a time when you were under pressure and experience a conflicted demands at work.
Yeah, so throughout my education track, I've always held full time employment, so I've very familiar with having conflicting demands and having to multitask and prioritize different things that have competing deadlines. So the way I like to approach things is breaking tasks or larger assignments down into smaller tasks and then prioritizing them based on deadlines and sequence of tasks, like if this needs to be done before this can happen, then obviously for following the order of precedence in that task, and then kind of just arranging your day to be able to work on alternating work on the different competing tasks or priorities, so that you're not accidentally spending your entire day working on just one thing, kind of whittling away at whatever both or simultaneous tasks need to be completed.
All right. Thank you so very much for that response. Tell us about a time when it was necessary to respond to or interact with someone who became verbally abusive or may have been difficult to communicate with. And if you have never encountered this situation before, how would you respond?
Yeah, I would say I had plenty of instances like that. Working at the University of Michigan Hospital as an inpatient unit coordinator. I was responsible for receiving and handling visitors, family, friends and the such, during the, you know, first wave of covid, when all the visitor restrictions were put into place, there were understandably a lot of frustrated, angry folks that you know just wanted to come to see their loved ones. So again, I think empathy and listening and trying to understand their perspective was essential to being able to handle those situations where visitors or family may be kind of, you know, verging on irate. So just, you know, trying to have a perspective of what the other person is going through, so that you can address the situation in a way that is, instills a positive response from the other person.
Thank you for that response. And this is a two part question. What do you believe is the best way to manage expectation of many different stakeholders? That's part one. Part two is explain a previous experience you or your organization went about meeting the needs of the internal and external entities.
Yeah, I'll start with the latter, if that's okay. I did my internship last summer with the city of saline. One of the projects that I was working on was to outsource our police dispatch services. We were the last remaining municipality in Washtenaw County to have internal police dispatch. Everything else was handled at the county dispatch center. So we had to, you know, the police department was obviously involved, and then the Washtenaw County police sheriff's office was also involved. So we had to manage the expectations of not just the different police departments but also the city manager and other city executives as well as the public and in terms of how to best manage different stakeholders, I think it's a matter of a balancing act and how you approach the situation, and not trying not to show favorability to one group over the other, but trying to juggle the resources that you have so that expectations can be met across the board instead of just in one particular area.
Thank you for that response, and this is our final question, what are some best practices and emerging trends that you would use to employ with the civilian oversight standards to comport with national best practices and recommendations regarding civilian oversight of law enforcement?
Yeah, I would say one of the things that I've come across in preparing for this interview is maybe a backlog of some complaints, and addressing that tying into that, potentially some technology, outdated or antiquated technology, I think that investigating new means of streamlining and improving efficiency would greatly benefit the board of police commissioners in resolving these complaints, so looking at other potential platforms or software that could be used to better track and follow through with the complaints.
All right. Thank you so very much. Those are all the questions I have. Commissioners now I have some questions. Commissioner Hernandez, go right ahead, sir, thank
you through the Chair, and thank you, sir for being here and for interviewing. We have a series of about four questions that were submitted previously and asked of other candidates to remain consistent. We're also going to ask you the very same questions. The first question is, why are you interested in this position? Yeah, so
I've closely followed Detroit News and political issues for numerous years, and have seen things that have kind of shocked and also disturbed me in terms of how citizens are being treated, especially given that law enforcement is paid for by their tax dollars, and I've always had a keen interest in social justice issues, and have a background in that as well, and as someone who enjoys complex challenges and problem solving and is operates well under pressure, I think that this position would be exciting for me, and I believe that I could improve the efficiency, equitability and day to day operations of the board, given my past experience in serving on different boards and committees and my strong organizational skills. Thank
you. The next question would be, have you ever attended a board meeting of
the police commissioners? Yeah, yes. I was here last week when my interview was originally supposed to take place, so I attended. Then what about prior to that? No, but I have reviewed different the video recordings I joined online. Okay,
this is a two part question. Have you ever, have you read the city charter, and why does the board exist? Yes,
I have read the city charter, particularly section 7801, to 818, deals with the OPC, as well as other instances in the city charter that deal with it and read the bylaws as well, but the answer the second part the bopc exists to primarily serve as an oversight and supervisory agency, independent of the police department, but over the police department to investigate civilian complaints.
Okay? And the last two part question is, what can you tell us about police oversight? And what does that mean to you?
I think police oversight is critical. I think it's a crucial part, even a cornerstone in democracy, because it ensures that the public's, you know, complaints and their interests are being listened to, and that is supposed to provide hope to the citizens as well trust and transparency, accountability, those sorts of things. So having a independent and impartial agency that looks out for the best interests of the civilians, and you know, hands handles their complaints on their behalf, is integral to protecting our freedoms, our constitutional rights and our legal protections.
Thank you. That'll conclude the commissioner questions. I'll turn it back over to Mr. Tipton, who is going to allow one to two questions that you can ask the Board.
Thank you. Commissioner Hernandez, again, sir, thank you for meeting and joining us this afternoon for these interviews. You're allowed to ask either two questions to the board or give us a closing statement.
Yeah, I would like to inquire about the timeline. I know that this position has been in flux for a while, so I was just wondering where we are, or where you guys are with interviews and decision making
expeditiously,
I like to hear that
through the chair. Can I speak to that? Please? Yes. So just so everyone to know once the board comes up with a decision, I'll be reaching back out to that candidate as well, and at that point in time, we will have discussions in regards to a salary that will be offered to that person, and discuss a start date. And then there are some other human resource things that the candidate must do to consider fully onboarded,
anything else,
no further questions.
Well, thank you very much for your time and your interests, and appreciate you for your patience. And also apologize to you as well, on behalf of this board and thank you again.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
yes,
I'll make a motion first to move into closed session pursuant to section 8f of the Open Meetings Act MCL 15, at 15.26, 8f to consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of appointment of a prospective employee, sick,
motivate to go into closed session by Commissioner Hernandez, seconded by Commissioner Presley. All in favor say, Aye. Aye. And one of those, the motion is carried. We will be in recess. All the glad to do a motion to go and recess? You have recess for three minutes.
Commissioners, your scores in the interim to Mr. Brown, five
minutes recess.
Mr. B, yep. Mr. Brown. Who You have others, Right? Yeah, I
