KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Kalamazoo City Commissioners may reject a $92,000 federal grant to buy camera and lab equipment for Public Safety because of some of the strings the Department of Justice has attached to the funding.
Commissioner Shannon Sykes was particularly concerned about language in the 25-page agreement that might require the city to cooperate with immigration agents.
She says that may be in conflict with a resolution they approved agreeing to restrict their cooperation if it led to the separation of family members.
She had a lot of questions the City Attorney was not prepared to answer, prompting Comissioner Don Cooney to also balk at approval, until they had more information.
With two other commissioners absent they asked the City Attorney to research whether the two documents conflict.
The full commission may revisit the issue depending on his opinion, and they may have to call a special meeting to meet the deadline for accepting the grant.
Public Safety planned to use the money to buy lab equipment that would help them process evidence without sending it all to the State Police Crime Lab, and new video equipment for their interrogation rooms.
