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With apologies to Charles
Dickens, this is a tale of two com-
munities.
Within the past few months,
there was a police officer-
involved shooting in each of these
municipalities. In each instance,
a suspected criminal was shot
and killed by a law enforcement
officer. In the first, a City of
Plymouth officer was involved in
a shooting in Plymouth Township.
In the latest, the incident began in
Northville Township and the sus-
pect was shot and killed by a state
trooper inSalemTownship.
About 48-hours after the shoot-
ing, Northville Township Public
Safety Director John Werth
released the patrol car videotapes
of the incident during a press con-
ference. He detailed exactly what
went on and provided answers to
the questions of reporters from
both television and print media.
He pulled no punches, that we
could see, and no matter how
tough the questions seemed to be,
or what the consequences, Werth
presented a full and complete
answer.
He provided the name of the
deceased, talked about why the
officers from his department
were pursuing him, what hap-
pened as they did and the exact
protocols they employed as they
encountered and interrogated
him. He provided details along
with his expressed confidence in
his officers' handling of the situa-
tion and their adherence to their
training.
He also said that the state
police would continue to investi-
gate the situation, particularly
since it was a round from a troop-
er's gun that killed the suspect.
That entire meeting and atti-
tude was quite a contrast to the
handling of the fatal shooting last
fall inPlymouthTownshipwhen a
City of Plymouth officer shot and
killed a man after responding to a
call of vandalism at a township
location.
In that instance, City of
Plymouth Police Chief and
Director of Public Safety Al Cox
issued a very brief statement
which contained surprisingly lit-
tle information. Cox referred all
questions to a detective in the
state police, who was in charge of
the investigation into the shoot-
ing.
After weeks, well, months, the
state police investigator released
his findings. The patrol car video-
tapes, he said, showed that the
suspect stepped out of camera
range when the actual threat to
the officer and shooting took
place. He did not release those
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
February 28, 2013
See
Shooting,
page 7
How to walk an obedience
school drop out:
First, announce to the dog in an
animated voice that the two of you
are going for aWALK.
Fight your way past the wiggling,
jumping, tail-wagging 85-pounds of
enthusiasm to get the leash and col-
lar to put on the animal.
Tell the dog to sit and place the
collar around her neck and attach
the leash. Just go ahead and do this
from a kneeling position after the
dog has knocked you off your feet in
her eagerness to leave thehouse.
Put the leash in your left hand
and have the dog sit on your left
side. Command the dog to HEEL in
an authoritive voice and start for-
ward on your left foot. Pick yourself
up from the pavement where the
lurching dog has left you, and try
again from your left side with the
HEELcommand.
Pull the leaves and bark from
your hair and brush the debris off
your clothing from the close
encounter with the shrubbery
where the dog has dragged you,
clinging to the leash. Tell the dog
NO in a commanding voice as she
attempts to chase squirrels through
the neighbors' landscaping, still
dragging youalong.
While the escaping squirrels
taunt the dog, reassert yourself as
the alpha and once again, have the
dog sit at your left side, and starting
with your left foot, announce HEEL
andbegin forward.
Remove the dead bird the dog
has unearthed
from her mouth.
Do not let her
eat any dead
animal matter whatsoever. Tell her
NO and LEAVE IT as you pull her
forcefully from the underbrush
where the dead bird was mysteri-
ously located.
Clean the mud and slime from
your shoes where the dog has
dragged you through the swamp-
like terrain in her eagerness to
pounce on another treat she has
located twohouses down the block.
Tell her NO forcefully and give a
corrective hard pull on the leash as
you attempt to reach into hermouth
We are hard-pressed to imagine a community where the
police chief would be the sole investigator of charges against
himself.
Yet, that is exactly the case in Inkster where complaints
filed by two unions representing both the command officers
and the patrolmen were investigated solely by the man tar-
geted in the documents. The complaints cited case numbers
and incidents of the chief's impeding the work of detectives
and officers and, in several documented incidents, placing
the lives of patrolmen, witnesses and even himself in serious
jeopardy by failing to follow accepted police operational pro-
cedures. The complaints, filed as a vote of no confidencewith
the city manager, apparently fell on deaf ears throughout city
hall, where the officers received no response to their com-
plaints fromanyone other than the chief himself.
The city manager, to whom the chief allegedly reports,
took no action in the investigation, and all communication to
the officers came directly from the chief, who says that all
the complaint issues are lies anduntrue. He claims that noth-
ing in the witnessed and documented cases cited is true and
that the officers involved are all lying about him. He has gone
so far in this “investigation” as to call the union president up
on charges at a Chief's Hearing, and suspend him pending
termination, expected this week. That action, will of course,
result in an unfair labor practices hearing, which will most
likely result in the rehiring of the officer involved after pro-
tracted legal wrangling and expense.
This incredulous and ridiculous situation continues with
no involvement of the city council members, themayor or the
city manager, who are all concerned about losing control of
the city to an emergencymanager.
This is the same group of folks who have raised water
rates to the highest level in the area and defend three-month
water bills of $6,000 as legitimate. This is the city where the
council members maintain the water meters are some kind
of time machines or have supernatural powers and can
determine the rate of water used in a home prior to the
meters being installed.
If ever there was evidence that some genuine manage-
ment ability was needed, these instances would certainly
qualify. The city council members, who continue to demand
control of the city and contend that the poor chief is just over-
worked and the $2.5 million water meters are a great invest-
ment, refuse to do the jobs for which they were elected and
involve themselves in these charges against the chief or at
least insist that the city manager, whom they employ, take
some legitimate investigative action. It is rumored they fear
retaliation by themayor, whomany claimhelped put the cur-
rent chief in his job as a political favor. The mayor publicly
refers questions to the city manager in an effort to distance
himself, at least overtly, from the situation. The city manager
simply does not respond.
We think this is a clear failure on all fronts to properly and
correctly take charge of a city. That these failures are in two
basic services residents deserve, water service and public
safety, makes this abdication of responsibility even more
egregious.
The claims of these police officers, some of whom have
stated off the record that they fear that one day the chief will,
in one of his fits of rage, actually harm someone, deserve the
If ever there was evidence that some
genuine management ability was needed,
these instances would certainly qualify.
”
Officials should do the job or get out of the way
Secrecy
serves
no purpose
Sit on the curb and staunch the flow of blood
from your nose which impacted with the tree
when the dog once again yanked you
forward in her pursuit of squirrels.
”
Taking a treacherous walk on the wild side
See
Officials,
page 7
Letters
Dinner participants
are thanked
To the editor:
Romulus Middle School would
like to take this opportunity to
thank all of you for your attend-
ing our annual soul fooddinner.
The night was a huge success
for our students. With your gen-
erosity, we wer able to raise close
to $500 for our Student Activity
Fund.
The Romulus Middle School,
in cooperation with the Romulus
Minsterial Alliance hosted a Soul
Food and Jazz Dinner featuring
our own Romulus High School
Jazz Band and recording artist
Zyaire Ford, a Romulus High
School student.
This has become a community-
wide event.
We had the local politicians,
businessmen/women and minis-
ters serve the dinners to the pub-
lic. This was a way for the com-
munity to meet their officials, as
well as get “served” by those they
“serve.”
The event took place on
Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. in the
Romulus High School. There was
no cost for this event.
Special thanks to all of our
cooks, workers and attendees, we
could not have done it without
you.
TheRev. RitaTalley,
Coordinator
See
Walk,
page 7