Terrance Kellom
Detroit Police officials say the department has a plan in place to address civil unrest in the city should it come to that.
George Hunter of the Detroit News reports that in wake of the rioting in Baltimore and the fatal shooting of armed robbery suspect Terrance Kellom in Detroit by a federal ICE agent, some members of the Detroit Police Board of Commissioners at a Thursday night meeting expressed concern that the protests in Detroit could escalate.
"I sit on the advisory board for Comerica Bank, and I'm getting asked: 'What is the plan if something like Baltimore happens in Detroit?' " Commissioner Eva Garza Dewaelsche said, according to the Detroit News.. "Corporations downtown want to know."
Assistant Police Chief Steve Dolunt said there is a strategy mapped out. "An evacuation plan would go through Homeland Security. We have plans in place if there's a problem."
After the meeting, Chief James Craig told The Detroit News:
"There has always been a plan in place to address civil unrest and the potential for unrest. People got a snapshot this week of how we would respond to problems: We talk to community leaders, we work with them, but if someone commits a crime, we'll take appropriate action.
"I'm not going to publicly say how we'll stage up if we anticipate unrest, but we continually train and make sure our officers have proper equipment. That's not just something we're doing now; we do that on a regular basis."
