DETROIT, MI – When the self-described “militant, youth-led organization” Detroit Will Breathe filed suit in late August against the Detroit Police Department, a liberal, Obama-appointed federal judge issued a restraining order.
Against the police.
Four months later, on Nov. 2, the City of Detroit filed a counterclaim seeking to hold Detroit Will Breathe and its protesters liable for civil conspiracy.
Now, the City of Detroit and the Detroit Police Department will have their own day in court.
Attorneys for Detroit Will Breathe moved to dismiss the claim, saying it is without merit. On Friday, November 6, the ACLU of Michigan filed an amicus brief saying the counterclaim should be dismissed.
In Michigan, a civil conspiracy must include four essential elements. Case law dictates that:
The essential elements of a civil conspiracy are: (1) a concerted action (2) by a combination of two or more persons (3) to accomplish an unlawful purpose (4) or a lawful purpose by unlawful means. Admiral Ins Co v Columbia Casualty Ins Co, 194 Mich App 300, 313; 486 NW2d 351 (1992).
The City of Detroit claims that the organization made social media posts that incited violence and more protests.
Counting their numbered protest marches at more than 150 since inception, Detroit Will Breathe continues to protest topics ranging from the use of facial recognition software to the use of perceived violence against protestors.
The militants demand release of jailed rioters and even the woman protester who disrobed in a patrol car, and then claimed the police strip searched her.
Now, angry that they were subjected to riot police using tear gas, batons and rubber bullets when they disobeyed police instructions while protesting and rioting, the group is demanding the firing or resignation of Detroit Police Chief James Craig.
Night march this Friday at 6pm! Read our statement in the thread below. pic.twitter.com/m7vE5D4MkI
— Detroit Will Breathe (@DETWILLBREATHE) November 10, 2020
Attorneys for the City of Detroit and the Detroit Police Department argue that the protest organizers are responsible for paying for any damages that resulted from protesters’ actions during “demonstrations” organized by the group.
Whether the City’s lawsuit against Detroit Will Breathe meets the requirements of a civil conspiracy is up to a Judge to decide, but there is visible appreciation in the community for the Detroit Police Department.
Fortunately, despite the more than 150 days of marches and countless clashes between police and protesters, damage to the community has not been severe.
In July, Detroit Police Chief James Craig told Tucker Carlson on Fox News of his own experience as an officer on the Los Angeles Police Department and the Rodney King riots.
On July 28, Police Chief Craig said:
“We don’t retreat here in Detroit. We’re just not gonna do it.”
Chief Craig again referred to his memories of the Los Angeles Rodney King riots:
“You saw the images… of streets where there was lawlessness, looting, burning. No sign of police officers.”
In contrast, Chief Craig was not going to allow that to happen to Detroit, not on his watch.
“We weren’t giving up ground to the radicals. We just didn’t do it.”
Chief Craig also praised the community’s support of the department.
“Detroiters are fed up with these radical protests. I’m not talking about these peaceful protests … [I mean] these misguided radicals that have tried to incite violence in our city.”
“They [Detroiters] said, ‘We’re not going to put up with it.’
In response to protesters claiming injury after experiencing the results of the DPD crowd control, Chief Craig said he welcomes their input.
Chief Craig said:
“I continue to stand by the Detroit Police Department’s actions. We’re investigating any claims of wrongdoing and will continue to do that.”
This most recent lawsuit is not the City of Detroit’s first effort to curb the militant Detroit Will Breathe. After the city and DPD were sued by by the group, who claimed that police violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights, Federal Judge Laurie J. Michelson issued the restraining order Sept. 4 against Detroit Police. The Temporary Restraining Order prevented officers from using tear gas, rubber bullets and taking other actions against protesters.
"Judge Laurie J. Michelson of the U.S. District Court in Detroit issued the ruling Friday night granting a temporary restraining order against the City of Detroit and the Detroit Police Department (DPD) on behalf of Detroit Will Breathe…"https://t.co/vi9LUVGzlZ
— Kelly Falk (@KellyFalk2) September 5, 2020
In response to the restraining order, the City and the DPD filed a motion to modify the temporary restraining order, alleging the restraining order disrupted “the status quo” and encouraged protesters to “act unlawfully.”
They also asked the judge to order protesters to not deface property or throw objects at police officers.
Judge Michelson did not grant the motion, but instead provided further explanation for her decision. According to Oralander Brand-Williams with The Detroit News, Judge Michelson wrote:
“Protesters have an interest in voicing their beliefs and seeking reform. The police have an interest in maintaining the peace and enforcing the laws. These interests can co-exist.”
Another emergency motion filed by Detroit officials requested the court to decrease the amount of information required to release to Detroit Will Breathe. Yet another motion asked the court to order the activist group to turn over “relevant” texts, emails, videos, photos and social media content before and upcoming hearing on the group’s lawsuit.
Detroit was one of the earliest cities to begin supporting the “Defund the Police Movement.” The “Detroit Will Breathe” militant group was one of the first to support the concept. Learn more in the original article, published in June by Law Enforcement Today:
Detroit, Michigan – Does defunding the police genuinely help a city? It has been a frantic rallying cry from far-left political pundits lately, but looking into the city of Detroit which has experienced police defunding this decade already might suggest that reducing police budgets doesn’t help that much at all.
'Children are dying' Detroit defunding the police is a case study in what happens. It started back during bankruptcy and things are not good.https://t.co/tIG15yx9yS
— loeffler (@loeffler) June 16, 2020
The general outline being presented that has been coined as “defund the police” varies widely by whom one poses the question to.
Some will say it’s a move to completely abolish police departments and others suggest reallocation of funding from police to community development initiatives.
However, the most widely publicized version of “defund the police” points to taking chunks of policing budgets and investing into dilapidated communities.
Still, what happens when areas with traditionally higher rates of violent crime see a reduction in police? What better place to start looking into than what was cited as the second most dangerous city in the United States: Detroit, Michigan.
FBI says Detroit is second most dangerous city, down from #1 in 2016 https://t.co/FlEpIB6BUg
— WXYZ Detroit (@wxyzdetroit) September 25, 2018
Back in 2014, the city of Detroit went bankrupt, and among the cuts that were significantly enacted were to the police force. Police department funding has dropped by 20% since 2014, with police wages dropping 10% as well and have not bounced back up since.
With funding down in the past 6 years, police patrolling the city is also down by 20% since the loss of officers.
Flash forward to 2020, Detroit has seen already 100 homicides as of June 11th, which represents a 25% increase in murders since 2019, and 271 non-fatal shootings which represented a 30% increase compared to last year. Keep in mind, this all happened during the year of the infamous lockdown due to COVID.
So, with 20% fewer police, from 2019 to 2020 alone there was a 25% increase in homicide and 30% increase in non-fatal shootings. With the numbers being so closely related, it can make one wonder if the if the correlation bears evidence of causation.
Rochelle Jones, a Detroit local and working mother of two, feels as though there isn’t enough police at the moment within the city:
“We don’t have enough police as it is. People are acting the fool out here, and now you know the police aren’t going to be coming around this summer with all that’s going on. So, what are the children supposed to do?”
The aforementioned may be in reference to the 18 children who were shot during the near-three-month period of the COVID lockdown within Detroit.
During 80 days of coronavirus lockdown, 18 children were shot in Detroit.
100 homicides so far this year, a 25% increase over last year, and 271 non-fatal shootings, an increase of 30%.
The crime is a way of life that most residents just deal with as a normal.
Source FNS.
— Titan Mark (@fortgleason) June 16, 2020
Still, you have organizations born out of the movement like Detroit Will Breathe that are not asking, but demanding that the police be defunded in the city.
The protest group Detroit Will Breathe wants the city to defund the police department and end Project Greenlight, among 11 demands for the city of Detroit. Read the full list here: https://t.co/sUv188rcr8
— FOX 2 Detroit (@FOX2News) June 9, 2020
That is only one of the 11 demands that the group is asking for. The group also wants to end Project Greenlight, which was started back in 2016 to combat crime taking place at gas stations (like assaults, robberies and the ilk).
The group is also asking to make Detroit a sanctuary city, to drop all charges against protesters, to not enforce evictions, and to end facial recognition technology. Essentially, roughly half of the groups demands relate to police either allowing crime to be committed or hindering police’s ability to investigate crime.
In Washington, D.C., a former police officer with over three decades under his belt in serving his community had some strong words for the likes of the “defund the police” crowd among politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:
“Lead by example. Defund your protection first.”
Former police officer Tom Homan was speaking during the “We Back Blue” event that was held in the nation’s capital on June 13th, while being highly critical of the political elite that were championing the “defund the police” movement.
Homan called out all of the usual suspects that have aligned themselves to this call to remove funding from police departments, citing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Shocker: AOC Wants to Defund the Police | Dan Bongino https://t.co/uG9GorCU4g
— Stephen Gilmore (@stephenpgilmore) June 14, 2020
The former police officer noticed that these pillars that have been riding the waves of the far-left movement haven’t had a decent thing to say about police officers since the death of George Floyd:
“They’ll stand out on a moment’s notice and defend people that are in here in the country illegally in violation of law, but they won’t stand out there and defend the men and women who leave the safety and security of their home every day to defend their communities. They haven’t said a word.”
Homan noted that one of the most vocal about defunding the police has been AOC, where he points out the following about these calls from politicians who enjoy police-provided protection:
“She says we should defund the police, and we should all make sacrifices. Okay. So, lead by example.
Let’s take the law enforcement officers that provide them 24/7 law enforcement security. If they want to take protection away from the American people in their communities, lead by example.”
However, Homan has a feeling that career politicians wouldn’t dare go so far as to squander their own means of protection via security and police details. He stated that the likelihood of seeing far-left politicians defunding their personal police would err on the side of “never”:
“You think they’re going to do it? They’re never going to do it.”
—
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