Mayor LaGrand attended a goodbye party for Chief Winstrom two days after the GRPD killed Da’Quain Johnson

To date Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand has been silent or evasive about the GRPD killing of Da’Quain Johnson, but he has also been consistent in his support for the GRPD.

In response to the Kent County Prosecutor’s decision to not prosecute GRPD cops responsible for Johnson death Mayor LaGrand stated:

“The loss of Mr. Johnson remains a profound tragedy, and I continue to mourn alongside his family. My commitment to transparency and the highest professional standards does not end with this decision. I will continue to evaluate our policies and practices to ensure the safety of all as I remain acutely aware of the dangerous nature of police work and the split-second decisions officers must make in the interest of public safety.”

The Mayor’s defense of the GRPD should not come as a surprise as he has long been a supporter of policing and even as a State Representative voted to increase funding for police at the same time that the Movement for Black Lives was calling for the defunding of police departments across the country.

Mayor LaGrand further demonstrated his allegiance to the GRPD and outgoing GRPD Police Chief Eric Winstrom by attending a his goodbye party.

There was also another police apologist in attendance at Winstrom’s “I’m leaving Grand Rapids because of the anti-police sentiments in this city” party, mainly the founder of the group iCI Nation, Jennifer Franson.

GRIID first wrote about iCI Nation in 2021, even though the group had formed in 2015 as a way to show appreciation for what the police do in this community. However, it is no coincidence that iCI Nation formed as a direct response to the Movement for Black Lives, which had gained national attention by 2015, mainly because of the growing number of cases where police were killing Black people.

I have written other pieces about the iCI Nation, like the post I did in 2022 that was in response to a story that WZZM 13 did that unquestionably featured a pro-police bias.

In March of 2023 I did another story about the police apologist group, which centered on their relationship with the far right think tank the Acton Institute. In an interview with the Acton Institute, the founder of iCI Nation stated, “that the FBI has a community outreach specialist (which Jennifer Franson met) and said they are interested in having the iCI work with them to build relationships.”

In that same interview with the Acton Institute, Franson also stated that iCI Nation meets monthly with the 35 Chiefs of Police in this area  that “keep me blissfully ignorant of how they keep me safe.” Franson also said that these Chiefs were already planning for how to respond to the outcome of the trial for the former cop, Christopher Schurr, who shot and killed Patrick Lyoya.

The iCI Nation has also partnered with other police apologist groups to do things like “fishing with the Po Po” and co-sponsoring so called unity walks, which are nothing more than pro-police events.

Getting back to Mayor LaGrand, it will be interesting to see where he and other members of the Grand Rapids City Commission will say when talking about the upcoming FY2027 city budget. My money is on LaGrand and the rest of the commission to continue to maintain a larger portion of the City’s budget to be allocated for the GRPD, likely over $70 million.

Last year the Grand Rapids City Commission approved over $69 million for the GRPD and that was just days after the County Prosecutor decided to not re-try the former GRPD cop who shot and killed Patrick Lyoya. Mayor LaGrand and his fellow commissioners have given no indication of reducing the GRPD, despite increased demands to do so after the GRPD killed Da’Quain Johnson.