KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Kalamazoo city officials heard from a California-based group who independently reviewed how police handled protests last year involving Black Lives Matter groups in June and a Proud Boys rally in August. The city says it’s just the beginning of their review.
Protestors who attended the virtual meeting said they were generally dissatisfied with the report. But the 115-page report from O.I.R. Group received generally high marks from City Commissioners and members of the Public Safety Appeals and Review Board.
OIR’s Micheal Genacco brushed aside the criticism.
“If those in your community are unhappy with some of the nuanced approaches we took in the report, we have to call it like we see it. We have to be objective.”
C-SCRAB Chair Vernon Payne says the credentials of the independent investigators were impressive and their report should be read carefully and fully.
“We now have these two situations documented by a third party. That will serve us well going forward as a community.”
The report applauded the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety for what it did right but also pointed out what they could have done better, particularly improving communications. OIR’s Theresa Magula said while many thought it was discriminatory that only counter-demonstrators were arrested and the Proud Boys were allowed to leave, their investigation felt that was a misperception.
“Our tests that we ran found no statistically significant bias.”
Commissioner Chris Praedel defended the city’s response so far to the protests, saying this report will help them along even further. City Manager Jim Ritsema says they will analyze the report, hold more meetings and give the public plenty of time to comment before issuing a final report. The final report will include a response to each of the consultant’s 40 recommendations.
“We definitely want to involve the community as we move forward in how we show our progress in this and also lean on them to help us be better.”
The full report is available on the city of Kalamazoo’s website. CLICK HERE to read the full report.
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