FILE
= In this Monday July 11, 2016
file image from video, Detroit
Police Chief James Craig speaks
to reporters during a news
conference held at his
department's headquarters in
Detroit. A second white Detroit
police officer has been fired
for misconduct after his partner
posted a racist video online,
and an internal audit found that
racial insensitivity is a "dirty
little secret" in the west side
police precinct where both
worked, Chief Craig said
Tuesday, March 12, 2019. (AP
Photo/Mike Householder, File)
Chief:
Probe
finds
racially
divided
Detroit
police
precinct
By
COREY
WILLIAMS
APNews.com
DETROIT
- A
second
white
Detroit
police
officer
has been
fired
for
misconduct
after
his
partner
posted a
racist
video
online,
and an
internal
audit
found
that
racial
insensitivity
is a
“dirty
little
secret”
in the
west
side
police
precinct
where
both
worked,
the
city’s
police
chief
said
Tuesday.
The
investigation
into the
6th
Precinct
was
launched
this
year
after
Gary
Steele,
then a
police
officer,
posted a
video on
Snapchat
of a
black
driver
whom he
had
pulled
over for
having
expired
plates.
He can
be heard
saying
“priceless”
and “bye
Felicia”
as the
23-year-old
woman
walks
away.
Video
captions
read
“What
black
girl
magic
looks
like”
and
“celebrating
Black
History
Month.”
Steele
was
fired
two
weeks
ago.
Chief
James
Craig
announced
Tuesday
that
Steele’s
partner,
Michael
Garrison,
has also
been
fired
for
conduct
unbecoming
an
officer,
not
reporting
misconduct,
neglect
of duty,
and
being
untruthful
to
investigators.
“While
investigating
former
officer
Steele,
investigators
determined
that
officer
Garrison
also
repeatedly
demonstrated
disturbing
actions
while on
the
job,”
said
Craig,
adding
that the
incidents
were not
isolated
to the
day the
video
was
recorded.
Craig
said
about a
dozen
allegations
were
leveled
against
Garrison,
including
that he
used
names
for
African-
and
Arab-Americans
that
were
“certainly
racially
insensitive,
particularly
when
they’re
focused
on one
or two
demographics.”
Garrison
also
failed
to
report
the
Snapchat
video to
supervisors
and was
not
truthful
when
making
statements
to
investigators,
Craig
said.
Attorneys
for the
police
union
haven’t
replied
to a
phone
message
seeking
comment.
Police
departments
across
the
country
are
being
scrutinized
and
criticized
for
their
treatment
of
African-Americans
and
other
people
of
color.
Protests
over the
shootings
of black
men by
white
officers
have
upturned
dozens
of
cities
in
recent
years.
The
audit
“should
be used
as a
template
to
address
racism
precinct
by
precinct
and in
special
policing
units,”
said
Kenneth
Reed,
spokesman
for the
Detroit
Coalition
Against
Police
Brutality.
“The
coalition
challenges
Chief
Craig to
continue
audits
for each
precinct,”
Reed
said.
The
misconduct
investigations
into
Garrison
and
Steele
ran
parallel
to the
probe
that
revealed
the 6th
Precinct
was
“racially
divided,”
Craig
said.
“During
this
audit,
some
referred
to the
racial
insensitivities
that was
demonstrated
by some
that
this was
the 6th
Precinct’s
dirty
little
secret.
When
comments
were
made,
supervisors
were
pretty
much
non-responsive.
Some of
the
comments
were
made
around
the
station,
some in
the
field,”
he said.
One
officer
told
investigators
that in
January
2015,
Garrison
saw a
white
man
walking
in the
cold,
called
him a
“tax-paying
citizen”
and gave
the man
a ride
to his
destination.
Later in
the
shift,
the
officers
saw a
black
man
carrying
what
appeared
to be
bags of
groceries.
The
other
officer
asked if
they
were
going to
give the
black
man a
ride.
Garrison
replied
“no,
we’re
not” and
kept
driving,
Craig
said.
“I
found
her
testimony
consistent
with the
behaviors
being
alleged,”
he
added.
“This is
an
opportunity
for us
to set a
model
for the
department,”
Craig
said.
“There’s
going to
be some
change
at the
6th,
relative
to some
supervisors
and some
managers.”
Activist
and
Detroit
pastor
Maurice
Hardwick,
who
joined
Craig at
Tuesday’s
news
conference,
said the
Steele
video
and
revelations
about
problems
in the
6th
Precinct
are
upsetting.
“This is
a very
sad
occasion,”
Hardwick
said.
“But
it’s
also a
light in
the dark
tunnel
that
we’re
looking
to make
changes.”