Community shows up to defend immigrants from ICE arrests in Grand Rapids, while GRPD cooperates with ICE
Editor’s note – as a matter of transparency, I am part of GR Rapid Response to ICE, which means I was a direct participant in the defensive work to protect immigrants coming to the ICE check-in appointments.
It is difficult for those of us who consume news media to not know that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been arresting and detaining immigrants all across the country. Wednesday was one of the larger ICE apprehensions that we have seen in Grand Rapids since the beginning of the year.
People may not know, but there is an office building behind the Omelette Shop on Michigan St. near the Medical Mile, where people who have been release from immigration detention must check-in regularly with ICE. The office I am referring to is the ISAP (Intensive Supervision Appearance Program) office, an office that is well hidden and not on people’s radar.
On Wednesday, GR Rapid Response to ICE received a call from someone who was accompanying an immigrant to their ICE check-in appointment, only to find out that ICE had arrested the person.
People who attended a GR Rapid Response to ICE training began arriving around noon. There were people standing outside the building to let people who were coming for an appointment know what was happening, plus several people went inside the building and into the ISAP office to alert those waiting that ICE was taking people.
An ISAP staff person told those of us with GR Rapid Response to ICE that we could not be there, but people resisted the command to leave and continued to talk with those who had ICE check-in appointments. While looking at the person who was asking everyone to leave, I noticed a door that was open behind them, with 2 men standing in the doorway. These two men were dressed the same, but without any markings or insignia that communicated they were ICE.
Because GR Rapid Response to ICE members refused to leave, the ISAP office manager then said that everyone needed to leave. In this instance people complied and they promptly locked the door behind us. This provided those with GR Rapid Response to ICE an opportunity to speak with those who came for appointments, provide them with out ICE Alert phone number and other ways we could support those who were being threatened by ICE.
After about 20 minutes, Grand Rapids cops showed up in the building asking what we were doing and who was “in charge.” The GRPD cops then were invited into the ISAP office and talk with the office manager. Two minutes later the GRPD came back out of the office and then instructed people to leave, as we were all on private property. After some conversation, everyone left the building to meet up with those who were outside, when the GRPD made it known that people could stand there either.
At this point there were more GR Rapid Response to ICE volunteers on the scene numbering roughly 25. At the same time, several more GRPD cruisers arrived, making it a total of 6.
No sooner had we all moved to the sidewalk, that the two men who were in the back area of the ISAP office, slipped out another door, this time with masks on. Several people followed them and tried to engage them verbally about what they were doing, while simultaneously filming them.
For the next 2 hours the community that had shown up to the call to defend members of the immigrant community, continued to be vigilant and see if any of the people who had earlier appoints in the ISAP office would be released. One by one people who had earlier appointments walked out the front door, where they were greeted with applause and hugs. Several of the people who were released felt that their release was due to the fact that GR Rapid Response to ICE was present with numbers.
Not everyone was fortunate on this day. We found out that on Wednesday morning, people who had earlier appointments were taken by ICE, most likely to the Calhoun County Jail in Battle Creek. You can see video here of ICE agents taking someone just as GR Rapid Response to ICE was arriving.
I also spoke with a woman who was in tears because her husband had a deportation order and he did not come out of the ISAP office the whole time people were there. People were offering comfort for this woman, plus they let her know that GR Rapid Response to ICE can also offer financial support, transportation, other forms of material support, and even Sanctuary, if she and her family no longer felt safe where they were living.
Movimiento Cosecha was present the entire time to offer support, to engage those from the affected community, plus they were livestreaming what was happening on Facebook.
GR Rapids Response to ICE and Movimiento Cosecha organizers also used the time to talk about how to respond to this new tactic that ICE was using. This is what they came up with:
- For anyone who has a future appointment at the ISAP office and wants someone to accompany them, GR Rapid Response can provide that kind of support.
- For anyone who does not want to risk being taken by ICE while attending their ISAP appointment, GR Rapid Response to ICE can offer Sanctuary for them and their family members. For those who want support they can call 616-238-0081 or send an Email to info@grrapidresponsetoice.org.
Also, GR Rapid Response to ICE is asking people to show up anytime between 9am and 3pm today – Thursday, June 5th.
Lastly, as Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE continue to pressure the City of Grand Rapids to adopt a Sanctuary policy, remember that Mayor LaGrand and Chief Winston continue to claims that the GRPD does not cooperate with ICE. What we all witnessed on Wednesday was a very clear example of how the cops collaborated with ICE at the ISAP office, where ICE agents were present. Once again, we are being lied to by the GRPD and Grand Rapids elected officials.
Every year at the beginning of the summer, the Detroit Chamber of Commerce holds their annual Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island.
According to the Detroit Chamber, the four-day conference is to discuss key issues facing the state. However, for anyone who has attended this annual event or taken a close look at the conference website you can see that what is really being discussed are concerns for the business community and members of the Capitalist Class.
First, let’s look at the sponsors of the four-day conference. Sponsors include Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Ford, GR, DTE, Consumer Energy, Enbridge, Amazon, Rocket Mortgage, Bank of America, Trinity Health, Comcast, Airbnb and Meta, just to name a few. These are all businesses that put profits over people.
Second, those who are part of the Capitalist Class always use the Mackinac Conference as a platform to make announcements about how they want to influence public policy. Here are just a few examples:
- The DeVos family announces that they will spend millions in the 2026 Election to solidify Michigan as a Republican stronghold.
- At the end of the conference former Gov. Rick Snyder is working on what he hopes will be a $20-$30 million campaign to make 2026 the education election. There were no hard specifics, but Snyder did allude to possibly doing a ballot initiative.
Third, you can look at the conference agenda to get a good idea of what was discussed and who was invited. For example, on the first day there was a session of the State of Housing, which featured only politicians and business people, like Josh Lunger, who is the Political Affairs person at the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce. Lunger crafted the GR Chamber’s proposal to criminalize the unhoused and then championed the version that the City of Grand Rapids adopted.
Another example was from May 29th, where one could have attended a session entitled, Michigan’s Role in America’s Defense. This panel feature military industry reps, plus Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin. Senator Slotkin was on the panel, not only because of her being a former CIA staffer, but because she announced a new Military plan for Michigan, which is to say she wants to channel more taxpayers money to the Michigan Military Industry. You can read her plans for more militarism at this link.
Fourth, there were numerous candidate debates being held during the Mackinac Policy Conference, specifically for Detroit Mayor, the Michigan Senate Race and the Michigan Gubernatorial race, all of which will happen in 2026. So, you have candidates running for significant seats in Michigan and these candidate were speaking primarily to members of the business community and the Capitalist Class. Any candidate with a real conscience would have boycotted the Mackinac Policy Conference.
The Mackinac Policy Conference is an event put on by the business class, in order to cater to the Capitalist Class, while inviting the political class to make sure they do what those with economic power really want to see happen in Michigan.
State of Emergency Town Hall held last night, asking the question, where do we go from here?
Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack made some opening remarks, with vague language and no condemnation of systems of power and oppression. This sort of set the tone for the 3 hour meeting held at the Wealthy Theater.
An estimated 200 people were in attendance to hear from some 20 panelists, which included lawyers, civil rights groups, activists and family members of several of the recent police killings in Kent County. What follows are comments made by the panelists, most of whom were responding to the questions that Commissioner Womack had asked.
Ven Johnson, the lawyer representing the Lyoya family was asked to speak first. Johnson made some useful remarks about the power of police unions and how they have deep pockets to pay lawyers to delay court proceedings, like in the case of Chris Schurr. Johnson said of the police unions, “they are well organized, so it is time that we are too!”
Question #1 – Why do you believe the trial of officer Schurr ended in a mistrial.
Erykai, who is a relative of Samuel Sterling said, “Activists have spent more time in jail than these murders have. The murderers work inside a system, so they are supported. We need support too”
Cle Jackson with the NAACP responded to the question by saying, “Let’s call it what it is, racism. Specifically in regards to the jury selection.” Jackson went on to say that we need actionable steps. Like another traffic stop study. He also said we need policies, enforcement of those polciies and transparency. “The NAACP is going to file a FOIA for the Internal Affairs complaints against Schurr.”
Eric Brown with the Grand Rapids Urban League stated that it was a mistake that Chris Becker tried the case and that it should have been Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Commissioner Womack also criticizes the jury selection, but then stated. “I’m not going to criticize our system, but we got work to do to change our system. I want to thank the GRPD for setting me straight when I was younger.”
Aly The Activist stated that the GRPD has beat activists who have spoken out against the GRPD. She also said that the GRPD has killed more than Patrick Lyoya, with the example of Hank Wymer, a person the GRPD shot 7 times, even though he was unarmed and seeking mental health assistance.
Eduardo Montiel, who is an organizer with the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression, said that the mistrial sends a message that they (the cops) get to do what they want. He also stated that the policing system is designed this way, since it was born out of the slave patrols in the US.
Question #2 – what would you say to the Lyoya family, who are struggling to understand this justice system.
Rodney Brown stated that there are no words to say to the Lyoya family. Brown also talked about managerial racism, which is the name that Todd Robinson gives to Grand Rapids in his book, A City within a City: The Black Freedom Struggle in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Brown said that this system is not playing with the community and that as a Black man he feels that he is in a perpetual sense of grief over how Black people are treated in this city.
Erykai made the observation that when Chris Schurr came and went from the courthouse, he had a whole contingent of cops escorting him, but the Lyoya family only had 2 officers.
Question #3 – why were trials of Schurr and Keeley happening at the same time?
Jermar Sterling simply stated that it was meant to divide the community.
Question #4 – What message does it send with all of the court proceedings, mistrials or judges dropping charges against cops?
An African American lawyer made the claim that the Obama Administration had done more on policing than any other president, specifically though his 21st Century Police Task Force. This claim was not challenged and the lawyer did not provide clear evidence of the claim. The question I would ask is, why did the Movement for Black Lives, the movement that made police violence against Black people an issue, why did it happen during the Obama Administration?
Question #5 – After watching the video of Keeling running over Sterling, Doggett and the Lyoya case, as a former cop.
A former cop named Maurice stated that Officer Schurr had other weapons to use and didn’t use them. He also said that the System isn’t broken or flawed, but that we should be able to see a copy of the GRPD training manual. Maurice made the point that the GRPD training manual was never presented by Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker. The former cop called for Mass boycotts targeting the GR Chamber of Commerce, the tourism, sports and entertainment industries in Grand Rapids.
Question #6 – Why didn’t any charges come in the Doggett case regarding the car?
Ven Johnson stated that the police can do whatever they want and can get away with it. The people on top cover this shit up. They don’t want to pay up for what happened. Kent County juries have always been this way with stacked juries. He suggested that we submit a FOIA as to why so few people of color are not on these juries. He also made the point that the white jurors who are selected have never had an issue with a cop.
Question #7 – What else can we do so that what happened to Doggett in the future?
Cle Jackson responded by saying, “I don’t really know what to do.” Jackson then went on to talk about how so few politicians ever talk about this stuff, that they should be voted out and that activists should be put into a position of running as candidates.
All of this lasted until 8pm and since there was little to no real analysis or plan of action to respond to the question – where do we go from here – I decided to leave. You can watch the entire 3 hours and 20 minutes and draw your own conclusions, but here are a few of my responses.
- Why do these town hall meetings involve panelists? Why can’t we just have an open forum, where everyone can make comments, instead of being talked at? If you are asked to be a panelist in future town halls, tell those who are hosting that you will not participate unless it is an open forum from the get go.
- During the 2 hours that I was there, no one suggested that the GRPD should be defunded or abolished. The GRPD does not really prevent crime or reduce violence, they primarily show up after something has happened. When communities have their needs met, there is no real need for cops.
- The Black Lives Matter movement was born out of responding to policing and police violence. In 2020, they created a toolkit on how to Defund the Police, yet we act like these ideas are ridiculous or we won’t call for defunding the GRPD because I won’t get re-elected or I won’t get funding for the non-profit I work for.
- No one talked about the $69.1 million that was unanimously approved by the Grand Rapids City Commission for the GRPD two weeks ago. There there are all the other tens of millions that that is being allocated for the carceral system – the courts, new toys for the GRPD, and other entities that provide support to the cops. Imagine how that amount of money could be used to benefit the community for jobs, housing, healthy food and other basic needs that so many people don’t have.
As a long-time community organizer I grow tired of attending events that do not develop strategies and tactics to address issues like police violence and a legal system that is designed to benefit those with political and economic power. If any more of these emergency meetings are to be planned, we need to demand that they are structured differently and that by the end of the meeting we will have a plan of action.
Photo credit in this post goes to John Rothwell.
In late May, the US Army Corps of Engineers released a report about the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline and their proposed tunnel that would run under the Great Lakes.
Locally, channel’s 13 and 17 ran stories about the report. The headlines for the online versions of those stories are instructive, since they present how headlines can be misleading. It’s also interesting, because both WZZM 13 and WXMI 17 used the same Associated Press (AP) article.
The AP article emphasizes that the construction of a pipeline tunnel by the Enbridge Corporation would do lots of environmental damage to ecosystems where the construction would take place. Some of the environmental impacts would be the loss of an estimated 300 trees, a serious impact on aquatic life, cause significant soil erosion, the vibrations from the drilling would have geological consequences, loss of wetlands, vegetation, the harm of construction equipment, the trucks hauling soil and the possible destruction of archaeological sites.
The AP story does quote the Sierra Club and a spokesperson for the group Earthjustice, which stated: “My key takeaways are the Army corps has put blinders are in service to Enbridge and President Trump’s fossil fuel agenda.”
The Michigan-based environmental group Oil & Water Don’t Mix, are a bit more to the point on what the Enbridge Line 5 tunnel would mean, stating:
The construction of a new pipeline tunnel would massively disrupt the ecosystem, destroy wetlands, and contaminate the Great Lakes. Moreover, under a backroom deal struck by Enbridge and former Gov. Rick Snyder, Michigan taxpayers would be stuck for 100 years with owning a risky underwater tunnel and the financial costs of any failure. The oil tunnel would also extend the life of dangerous polluting fossil fuel infrastructure at a time when urgent climate action is needed.
Unfortunately, the AP article does not link to the US Army Corps of Engineer’s report, which you can find here. The AP story also omits a response from the Enbridge Corporation, which has the usual propaganda message from a company that makes massive profits from moving fossil fuels from point A to point B, without any real concern for the consequences of such activities.
Lastly, it is worth noting that in 2018, Gov. Whitmer campaigned on the promise that the Enbridge Line 5 would be shut down. This has yet to happen and it is unlikely to happen, especially if we put our trust in the political process. What I want to know, is why don’t we have a Standing Rock for Line 5?
For several years, the Kent County Sheriff’s Department has been using 25 cameras that are spread around Kent County, cameras that relay information about vehicles and license plate numbers.
According to a recent article on 404 Media, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is now using what are called Flock cameras to obtain license plate numbers to track down undocumented immigrants. The 404 Media article states:
Data from a license plate-scanning tool that is primarily marketed as a surveillance solution for small towns to combat crimes like car jackings or finding missing people is being used by ICE, according to data reviewed by 404 Media. Local police around the country are performing lookups in Flock’s AI-powered automatic license plate reader (ALPR) system for “immigration” related searches and as part of other ICE investigations, giving federal law enforcement side-door access to a tool that it currently does not have a formal contract for.
The massive trove of lookup data was obtained by researchers who asked to remain anonymous to avoid potential retaliation and shared with 404 Media. It shows more than 4,000 nation and statewide lookups by local and state police done either at the behest of the federal government or as an “informal” favor to federal law enforcement, or with a potential immigration focus, according to statements from police departments and sheriff offices collected by 404 Media. It shows that, while Flock does not have a contract with ICE, the agency sources data from Flock’s cameras by making requests to local law enforcement.
While state and local law enforcement agencies normally lack the authority to enforce federal immigration laws, the Trump administration has encouraged them to participate in a program called 287(g), a provision of the the Immigration and Nationality Act that authorizes DHS agencies including ICE to delegate certain immigration enforcement actions to state and municipal police.
Using the Flock technology provides an additional tool to be used by the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, the GRPD and other local law enforcement agencies to assist ICE in hunting down those who are undocumented and those that the administration are targeting, regardless of immigration status.
In addition, if the GOP-introduced legislation from April, House Bills 4336 & 4337, would create criminal penalties for individuals and organizations who knowingly assist or encourage immigrants without legal status in entering, residing, or being transported within the United States. This kind of information could also be obtained through the Flock camera systems being used right here in Kent County. The Michigan House Bills are currently in committee.
One other important point about the use of Flock cameras to obtain information for ICE and local law enforcement was made in a recent article on Common Dreams, stating:
Responding to the 404 Media report, journalist Krishna Sai Andavolu asked, “If ICE can use a nationwide network of license place readers for its purposes, what’s stopping the government from using it for whatever purposes they want?”
Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE has been pushing the City of Grand Rapids and Kent County to both adopt Sanctuary policies, which involve numerous points such as:
– policies restricting the ability of state and local police to make arrests for federal immigration violations, or to detain individuals on civil immigration warrants;
– policies restricting the police or other city workers from asking about immigration status;
– policies prohibiting “287(g)” agreements through which ICE deputizes local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration law;
– policies that prevent local governments from entering into a contract with the federal government to hold immigrants in detention;
– policies preventing immigration detention centers in Grand Rapids.
It could be that these campaigns to pressure both local governing bodies to adopt Sanctuary policies might consider adding that to Flock technology currently being used in Grand Rapids and Kent County could be used to share license plate information with ICE. Regardless, people who live in Kent County should be concerned with the increased surveillance technology being used, technology that will no doubt be used to suppress popular movements, and target vulnerable communities.
It has been nearly 20 months since the Israeli government began their most recent assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated to what the international community has called genocide, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. All of this information is to provide people with the capacity of what Noam Chomsky refers to as, intellectual self-defense.
Information
Students achieve Israeli divestment victories on US college campuses
Israeli Officer Says ‘Nearly Every’ IDF Platoon Has Used Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza
IN GAZA, FAMINE IS THE WEAPON — AND SO IS AID
Intensifying Israeli Onslaught Has Displaced 180,000 Palestinians in Just 10 Days
International Law and Israel’s Reign of Terror in Gaza
Devastation, bombing and starvation: Israel is destroying life in Gaza
THE RISING DEATH TOLL OF THE U.S.–ISRAEL AID DISTRIBUTION PLAN IN GAZA
New Israeli Law Allows Palestinians as Young as 12 to Be Imprisoned for Life
Analysis & History
EXCLUSIVE: Inside Trump’s New Gaza “Ceasefire” Proposal
Israeli forces open fire at new Gaza “aid” site, as Netanyahu rejects ceasefire deal
Philanthropy is just reputation laundering for the oligarchy.
It is that time of the year again, when GRIID posts about the various West Michigan Foundations from families that make up the Grand Rapids Power Structure. I start with the DeVos family, which has 5 different foundations.
The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation
GRIID has always begun our Foundation Watch work by looking at the foundations associated with the most powerful family in West Michigan, the DeVos family. The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation has been one of the largest in West Michigan, which was founded in 1989, the same time that Dick DeVos was the CEO of Amway. According to GuideStar, in 2023, the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation contributed $9,729,300.00 leaving them with $52,282,355.00 of funds left in their foundation account.
The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation made contributions to dozens of entities in 2023, but there are some clear categories of groups they contributed to, such as the Religious Right, Think Tanks, Education-centered groups, and social service entities, to name a few. Below is a listing of each from these categories, with a dollar amount and a brief analysis.
We also include groups that are DeVos owned or created, along with liberal non-profits. With the liberal non-profits, we believe that funding from foundations like the DeVos family foundations is a form of hush money. When we say hush money, we mean that these entities will not publicly challenge the system of Capitalism, the wealth gap, structural racism and other systems of oppression, which the DeVos family benefits from and perpetuates through their own political funding.
Religious Right
- Alpha USA – $100,000
- Global Leadership Network – $600,000
- Help Pregnancy Crisis AID Inc. – $25,000
- Mars Hill Bible Church – $200,000
- Partners Worldwide – $25,000
- Pregnancy Resource Center – $20,000
- Embracing the Journey Inc. – $50,000
These religious groups practice varying degrees of conservative politics, which fit into the ideological framework that the DeVos family is committed to. For instance, Global Leadership Network merges Christianity and Capitalism, plus the partner with far right groups like Prison Fellowship.
Far Right Think Tanks
- Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty – $20,000
- American Enterprise Institute – $375,000
- Center for Law and Policy Studies – $125,000
- Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies – $250,000
- First Liberty Institute – $50,000
- Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression – $25,000
- Institute for Cultural Evolution – $66,000
- Mackinac Center for Public Policy – $125,000
- Manhattan Institute for Policy Research – $100,000
- Philanthropy Roundtable – $50,000
- The Claremont Institute – $120,000
These Think Tanks influence public policy in individual states, like the Acton Institute and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy does in Michigan. The American Enterprise Institute and the Philanthropy Roundtable do the same thing, but at the federal level, which is why they are based in DC. They also fund regional think tanks like the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and the Claremont Institute, both of which work with the State Policy Network and the Heritage Foundation.
Education-centered groups
- American Federation for Children’s Growth Fund – $500,000
- Hillsdale College – $75,000
- Holland Christian Schools. – $155,000
- Northwood University – $250,000
- Potters House – $201,000
- University of Maryland – $1,020,000
The American Federation for Children’s Growth Fund promotes School Voucher programs, corporate tax credit, and other school choice programs. Hillsdale College was founded on Far Right principles. Hillsdale College has developed their own curriculum to counter the 1619 Project. The Hillsdale project is called The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum, which is a very sanitized and whitewashed version of US history. Hillsdale College also played a major role in Project 2025.
DeVos-owned, created or connected groups
- Chicago Cubs Charities – $10,000
- Grand Action Foundation 2.0 – $1,000,000
- West Michigan Aviation Academy Foundation – $515,050
Of course all these entities that were created by DeVos family members, also promote their ideological religious and capitalist values. On top of that, it also means that DeVos family members are funding their own entities and using their foundation to fund their own pet projects, like Grand Action Foundation 2,0 – which promotes development projects in Grand Rapids that use public funds and expands their wealth – or the West Michigan Aviation Academy – because it promotes the privatization of education.
Groups receiving Hush $
- Blandford Nature Center – $100,000
- Exalta Health – $10,000
- Degage Ministries – $5,000
- ICCF Community Homes – $25,000
- John Ball Zoo – $100,000
- Kent County Habitat for Humanity – $5,000
- Safe Haven Ministries – $10,000
- Women’s Resource Center – $10,000
These groups all provide some sort of social service – nature preserve, those who are housing insecure, people with disabilities, and those fleeing domestic violence. There are root causes to all of these issues, but these groups are not likely to address root causes and larger systems of oppression. When the DeVos family foundations make contributions, this will increase the likelihood that systems of oppression will not be addressed by these groups.
Foundations rarely make contributions without strings attached. The Dick and Betsy DeVos has a long history of funding far right and religious right groups, which GRIID documented 10 years ago when we started this project. Lastly, it is worth noting that the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, like all of the DeVos family foundations, compliments the campaign contributions they make to further impact public policy and promote their religious and capitalist ideologies.
Where are we 5 years after the uprising in Grand Rapids in terms of defunding and abolishing the GRPD?
It has been five years since Grand Rapids had thousands of people in the streets as a response to the police murder of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor and other Black people over the past decade. All of that came to a head on late May of 2020, with some of the largest actions in US history that were demanding something beyond police reforms.
The uprising that took place on May 30th in 2020 was not planned, even though there were several marches planned that converged on Rosa Parks Circle that day. The convergence of people on that day resulted in a major confrontation between those in the streets and the GRPD and other local cops who came to their aid.
Most of the rage was directed at the cops, who sustained a great deal of damage, even the loss of a few cruisers. Unfortunately, most of the commercial news media focused on the smashing of windows and downtown and a small amount of looting, rather than give attention to how people took out their rage against the police that day.
From the very beginning, Grand Rapids City officials attempted to control the narrative about what happened on May 30th of 2020, but some of us have presented counter-narrative, like what I wrote.
The City of Grand Rapids responded with repressive actions, like a curfew for the downtown of Grand Rapids, plus they called in the Michigan National Guard, which turned downtown GR into an occupied military action. Plus, for the first week after the May 30th uprising, the local commercial news media also hijacked the narrative centered around cops killing Black people.
On the one year anniversary of the May 30th, 2020 uprising, I wrote that there were three main narratives that emerged in Grand Rapids, narratives that continue to be used. Those narratives are:
- Narrative #1 is the narrative of systems of power
- Narrative #2 is the narrative of liberalism and normalcy
- Narrative #3 is organized resistance and a call to Defund the GRPD
I also put together a visual depiction of how the GRPD has tried to control the narrative about public safety since the May 30th rebellion in Grand Rapids through November of 2020, which you can find here.
What else happened after the May 30th, 2020 uprising?
One of the frameworks of the national uprising after George Floyd was murdered by a cop came out of the Movement for Black Lives and Critical Resistance to call for the Defunding of the police and the eventual abolition of policing. These ideas had been around for decades, but after the uprisings of 2020, they became part of the national dialogue, as more and more people, were tired of the usual police reform promises that came from politicians and more mainstream civil rights groups.
The Movement for Black Lives created a Defund the Police Toolkit, which provided excellent resources for local communities to adopt this strategy. On June 26, 2020, Defund the GRPD held its first Press Conference, where they announced clear demands for defunding the Grand Rapids Police Department.
On July 8, 2020, after weeks of pressure from community groups to Defund the GRPD, 3 City Commissioners were set to propose defunding the GRPD to the 32% City Charter mandated minimum. However, the City Manager and the City Attorney stepped in and prevent such a vote, making the claim that the City Commission did not have the legal authority to do so. City Manager Mark Washington did say that they would revisit possible reduction in GRPD funding later that year.
July 29. 2020 – The City of Grand Rapids announced that there would be a new Strategic Plan for the GRPD in August, but the announcement made it clear that there is no way for the GRPD to reduce their funding, using recent gun violence as the main justification.
August 10, 2020 – New GRPD Strategic Plan placates those unaffected by police violence and ignores those calling for defunding.
September 24, 2020 – GRPD planned for another riot during a protest to honor Breonna Taylor in Grand Rapids.
November 17, 2020 – Defund the GRPD and other community groups stopped the efforts of the City of Grand Rapids to use Cares Act funding from Kent County to purchase ShotSpotter technology that the GRPD wanted.
December 2, 2020 – A member of the Grand Rapids Power Structure sends the City Commission a letter to oppose any defunding of the GRPD.
December 27 & 30, 2020 – The GRPD police union and supporters increased their efforts to oppose any sort of defunding of the GRPD, making it clear that the efforts of Defund the GRPD were a threat to their institutionalized power.
February 24, 2021 – GRPD Strategic Plan revisions claim that Grand Rapids, “will become the safest mid-sized city and most trusted police department in the United States.”
March 9, 2021 – Justice for Black Lives activists were targeted and arrested by the GRPD during a protest, showing how the GRPD engages in selective enforcement of local ordinances.
March 31, 2021 – GRPD rolls out their Operation Safe Neighborhood plan, which involved the use of helicopters terrorizing people in mostly Black and Brown neighborhoods. This so-called community policing approach, is nothing more than a re-packaging of what the GRPD has done for decades.
April 6, 2021 – Local news media talk to GR City Commissioners about the police budget, where they all pretty much oppose any defunding of the GRPD.
April 20, 2021 – Grand Rapids City Officials and the GRPD release a memo, which essentially threatens people who protest the upcoming Derrick Chauvin trial.
April 27, 2021 – Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association says that the recent viral video of GRPD cops repeatedly punching a black motorists, is simply “fanning the flames of national outrage.
May 3, 2021 – Grand Rapids City Officials hold a 1 hour visual town hall to talk about the 2022 City Budget, which included the budget for the GRPD.
May 9, 2021 – GRPD arrests the wrong Black man who was on the way to a family funeral, but was charged with resisting arrest.
May 19, 2021 – City Commission hearing on 2022 Budget once again demonstrated how much contempt they have for public input, especially input that challenges their power.
Defund the GRPD did a lot of organizing around the 2022 City Budget proposal, which involved education on the budget, mobilizing people to come to the public hearing on the budget, sending electronic messages to Grand Rapids City Officials, organizing a demonstration with Justice for Black Lives to draw attention to continued police repression in Grand Rapids, and putting out their own list of demands for the 2022 Grand Rapids City Budget.
After Patrick Lyoya was murdered by the GRPD
Defund the GRPD and Justice for Blacks did the bulk of the organizing for 2 years around challenging the GRPD and building capacity for defunding the Grand Rapids Police Department.
Justice for Black Lives dissolved, but many people involved in that group created what became known as the Comrades Collective. DeFund the GRPD was still around, and engage in actions and other resistance work, but then Patrick Lyoya was murdered on April 4th of 2022, by a GRPD cop.
Within a couple of days after Patrick’s murder, the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression was formed. GRAARPR was formed out of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which is predominantly an ally group, which did not check in with the BIPOC-led groups Defund the GRPD and the Comrades Collective. This dynamic has created some tension and frustration within the organizing community and needs to be addressed.
People involved in Defund the GRPD, Justice for Black Lives and the Comrades Collective have faced significant repression at the hands of the GRPD over the past 5 years, and some of their members are still being targeted.
The number of people involved in working to defund and abolish policing in Grand Rapids has diminished for a variety of reasons, even after Patrick Lyoya was murdered by the GRPD. Some of those reasons are:
- BIPOC organizers that have been targeted have not be sufficiently supported, especially by those who identify as allies.
- There has been too much Respectability Politics injected into the larger movement, especially by politicians and mainstream civil rights groups that are more interested in police reforms and building so-called community trust with the GRPD than they are about defunding and abolishing the GRPD.
- When Chief Winstrom was hired in March of 2022, he made it a point to not only try to control the narrative about the GRPD, he adopted a no tolerance strategy that has seen the criminalization of dissent in Grand Rapids in the last three years.
- People put too much faith in the legal system, especially after Chris Schurr was charged with the killing Patrick Lyoya, Too many of us put hope in the outcome of the legal proceedings and the Schurr trial, when we should have at least been more suspicious of the outcome or never should have put any faith in a system that was never designed to actually bring about justice.
We have seen in recent months in Grand Rapids a clear pattern from the GRPD, with significant repression and no tolerance for any kind of protest. We need to move beyond simply protesting and start engaging in resistance work that doesn’t make it so easy for the GRPD to intimidate, harass, surveil and arrest people. We need to stop engaging in performative demonstrations that involve too many god damn speakers and no real revolutionary vision. If we want shit to change we are going to have to be strategic and willing to take risks.
The eighth and final episode in the All Access PD: Grand Rapids TV series on HBO/Max has now concluded. So what can we learn from this high-scripted TV show that featured the GRPD?
First, I want to provide a brief summary of each of the 8 episodes, followed by several points about why I think it is important for communities in Grand Rapids to look beyond simply the entertainment aspect of the All Access PD: Grand Rapids TV show.
Episode #1 sure reminded me of the show COPS, where Black bodies are criminalized and that Black people in urban settings are represented as thugs. This first episode affirms that stereotype, thus perpetuating structural racism and justifying state carceral violence.
Episode #2 ends with the mother of the shooting victim coming in to the GRPD headquarters and talking to Winstrom on camera, praising them for all they have done on this case. The mother states, “You give off a vibe that you really care.” The mother then praises the female homicide investigator, with Winstrom and another cop smiling as the episode credits are rolling.
Episode #3 follows the case of a Black person charged with a shooting, which further normalizes the white supremacist belief that Black people are inherently deviant and violent. This HBO/MAX TV series with the GRPD is presenting Grand Rapids as a city with a bunch of violent Black people who prey on other Black people.
Episode #4 was essentially about drug dealers and drug users in the Heartside area of Grand Rapids. Every one of the dealers and users were Black people, so this episode continues to perpetuate racial stereotypes and present the GRPD as compassionate saviors of the unhoused.
In Episode #5 Chief Winstrom gets the final word while the credits are rolling to say that the end result was justice. Simple as that. Winstrom gets to decide when justice happens, because it’s his show. However, after 5 episodes, the only thing that changed is that there were Latinos included as part of those committing crimes in Grand Rapids.
Episode #6 communicates that the only shooters and victims are BIPOC,, plus some of the video footage used communicates the message that there are Black gangs roaming the streets of Grand Rapids. This show will definitely contribute to fostering and maintaining stereotypes about Black people, since the audience will no doubt be predominantly white.
Episode #7 continued with representing Black people as suspects in gun violence, as drug traffickers, then added a new stereotype, by associating guns and drugs with rap music.
Episode #8 demonstrated how highly scripted this TV series about the GRPD has been. This was the last episode in the series and the GRPD clearly wanted to craft a narrative that shows how much they care about the community and how dangerous their jobs are.
What can we learn from the All Access PD: Grand Rapids TV show?
Here are several things that I think we need to talk about in regards to what the GRPD TV show was really about and what it means for this community.
- The GRPD TV show demonstrates that you can craft messages which say – most of the crime that is happening in Grand Rapids is being committed by Black and Brown people without being worried about any pushback from the community.
- The highly-scripted TV series is also about what the community wasn’t shown, which is the over-policing in BIPOC and poor neighborhoods, how much the GRPD works to protect property and maintain order, especially in the downtown, since Grand Rapids doesn’t want to alienate tourists, which means they don’t want to take money away from those who own this city.
- The All Access PD: Grand Rapids series was essentially both a recruiting plan for the GRPD and a Public Relations tool to boost their image locally and across the country. The GRPD TV show is also being used to leverage unconditional funding for the GRPD, since the Grand Rapids City Commission once again unanimously approved all of the money they have been requesting, along with how the Mayor and City Manager continued to praise the GRPD even after the Kent County Prosecutor decided to not re-charge the cop that killed Patrick Lyoya.
- The GRPD TV series attempted to present the cops as human being trying to do good and to continue to build back some form of community trust. There is no evidence in the TV show that the city is deeply divided over the GRPD and that their actions continue to alienate people throughout Grand Rapids, which was intentional.
Lastly, it should be stated that the All Access PD: Grand Rapids TV series is ultimately about controlling the narrative about policing. Ever since the 2020 uprising in Grand Rapids, there has been an all out war to control the narrative about the GRPD, because more than anything those in power do not want to succumb to the will of popular social movements, and they will not allow any conversation about defunding/abolishing the Grand Rapids Police Department. Grand Rapids is in a narrative war about the GRPD, and this was ultimately why Grand Rapids politicians and members of the Capitalist class have endorsed it.
Editors Note: Last week, the Grand Rapids City Commission unanimously approved the FY2026 budget, which not only provides $69.1 million to the GRPD as listed in the budget narrative, it provides millions more for new technology and other resources for the GRPD and entities that work directly with the GRPD. The total budget for what the system calls community safety – it would be more accurate to call it the Punishment Industry – comes to $247.3 million of public money.
Episode eight begins with a Lieutenant in the GRPD talking about “all the different hats that cops have to wear.” The GRPD responds to an accident involving a motorcycle and a car. A young white woman is injured and a young white male is sitting with her, attempting to stop the bleeding.
The cop asks the guy what happened and thinks he smells alcohol. The cop then grabs what he believes to be a suspect, and in response another white male become agitated and starts yelling at the cop to let the possible suspect go. Another cop steps in, puts his hands on another white male and then picks him up and slams him to the ground. The white male then asks the cop for his badge number and name, several times, but the cop never provides the information, and instead tells the guy he is under arrest as cuffs are put on him.
While taking the two white males to their squad cars, the GRPD informs one of the young men that they are being charged with obstruction and failure to obey a cop. The GRPD cop then tells him that if this young man does any damage to the police vehicle, they will be charged with a felony.
The episode then cuts to the Deputy Chief of Police, who is talking about how he has always done patrol work and then begins to talk about how dangerous patrol work is. The Deputy Chief of Police – speaking directly to the camera – talks about how a fellow officer and patrol partner, was killed responding to a domestic violence call. A picture of the cop who was killed – Robert Kozminski – was shot by someone in July of 2007.
The next scene takes viewers into the daily roll call room, which has a table with a plaque on it commemorating Kozminski. The Deputy Chief of Police says the plague is there “as a reminder of how dangerous this job is.” Interesting that they spent more time talking about a GRPD officer who was killed in 2007, but only mention in passing that Patrick Lyoya was killed by a GRPD cop in 2022.
The GRPD responds to another call about someone who has barricaded themselves into a home that they don’t live in. The Deputy Chief of Police says that while some cops are trying to reason with the suspect, other cops are entering the house through windows. The Mental Health Team becomes involved and tries to talked the suspect down. At the same time, SWAT cops show up all geared up to try to take the person with a mental health crisis into custody.
Then we see the GRPD responding to a call about a bank robbery, where the suspect is a white male. The GRPD sees a man who fit the description, stopped him and put him in a police cruiser until the bank employee tells the cops this was not the man who robbed the bank.
Another patrol cop, who is patrolling in the Burton Heights area, says that there is a lot of drug dealing happening in the parking lots along South Division. This cops sees a low-level dealer, who runs and the cops tries to catch him on foot. The episode then jumps back to the person who barricaded himself inside a home.
The GRPD has more than a dozen cops there when the man finally comes downstairs and gives himself up. A GRPD cop, who is speaking to the camera, then says that normally someone like this would be taken to the Kent County Jail. However, with the new Mental Health Response Team, they work to provide other resources to address some short term needs. No sooner does the cop tell viewers this, he then admits that the man who was having a mental health crisis is going to the jail. The GRPD cop (Officer Howard) who is saying all of this, is the same cop that many activists have ID’d as a cop who often instigates harassment of people involved in social justice work, which I wrote about recently.
The episode cuts back to the bank robbery, where they now suspect a “homeless guy.” The cops find the guy, who was staying at a local hotel, and they arrested him immediately at gun point.
Now we are back to the drug dealer suspect. The cops have now brought in police dogs and are using their recently purchased drones to find the suspect. Using live drone footage, they found the suspect who is a Black male. The cops talk with him briefly, tell him he is going to jail, then tells the camera that they try to convince these people that they need to, “change their lifestyles.”
Back at GRPD headquarters, the Deputy Chief of Police informs the patrol squad that his son and daughter are going to do a ride-along with the patrol officers. For the next several minutes, the TV show producers try to humanize the cops, where the children of the Deputy Chief of Police are making light of their father also on patrol.
The cops then chase a suspect with a drug warrant, someone who is in a car and trying to get away from the GRPD. The cops throw a tire spike tool on the road, which will deflate car tires, thus enabling them to capture the suspect.
The episode switches to another call, where a late night party is in progress in Grand Rapids. Someone was shot near the Agave bar and the cops show up on the scene. The episode cuts back to the high speed chase. The tire finally deflates and the driver pulls over and is apprehended. This scene comes to a close with both of the Deputy Chief of Police’s kids arriving on the scene and talking about how much they enjoyed the ride-along.
Back to the Agave bar shooting and the Deputy Chief of Police says that some communities feel marginalized by the cops, but that they try to build relationships with them. The crowd outside the bar grows and people begin taunting the cops, when Chief Winstrom shows up. Several GRPD cops then praise Winstrom, with one cop saying, “everybody loves him.”
The episode ends with the daughter of the Deputy Chief of Police showing up in uniform as an intern, where Winstrom arrives to welcome the new recruit.
From a production perspective, this episode was all over the place, with no real story line coherence. However, it seems like they were attempting to get viewers to see cops as regular people and to show how “risky” it is to be a GRPD cop. However, in every instance in this episode, the GRPD was always heavily armed, with lots of cops showing up in each scene, and often using physical force when dealing with suspects.In each case the GRPD approached people at gun point, despite the fact that none of them had a weapon on them.
Episode eight demonstrated how highly scripted this TV series about the GRPD has been. This was the last episode in the series and the GRPD clearly wanted to craft a narrative that shows how much they care about the community and how dangerous their jobs are.
Having watched and deconstructed all eight of the scripted episodes, the GRPD rarely prevents violence from happening, often escalates violent situations, doesn’t demonstrate any accountability and disproportionately targets Black and Brown residents in neighborhoods that have been disinvested.
For all the hype that this show received from local news media, the All Access PD Grand Rapids show did nothing to improve their image or their standing in communities of color. The show also completely avoided addressing how the GRPD engages in a variety of repressive tactics when dealing with organizations and community groups that are demanding justice.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 