Reaction from Detroit Police Chief James Craig.
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Will welcome back
will welcome back
a federal judge in Detroit
ordering police to stop using
tear gas batons against
peaceful protesters for the next
two weeks.
Ruling comes after activist
group. Detroit will breathe, filed
a lawsuit, accusing the
departments of using excessive
force.
The police chief says officers
are only used force when will
werent peaceful.
I have seen your statement. This
is nothing new, nothing
different for us.
It doesnt change with a. We are
already doing.
That leads to this question,
quite obviously, chief.
Why then, did the judge feel the
need to issue this temporary
restraining order?
You know its interesting
will. The only thing I can think
of there was an evidentiary
hearing.
The only thing I could think of
is the protesters who are
masterful at changing. The
narrative have always claimed
that they were peaceful and we
use force,
and when you look at one hundred days of
protesting, there has been six
instances where we have had to
use some level of force
the first three days, second
time when they attacked our
vehicles
and then when they wanted to set
up a Seattle type zone and they
refused to be arrested
and then resisted arrest.
So, yes, force was used,
but just that force that was
necessary,
and so it changes nothing.
The protesters are excited and
applauding the decision, because
they continue to claim that they
were nonviolent.
They were peaceful
and shame on us,
but you know something that
was said earlier on your show
about dealing with this.
Someone has to step up and just
simply say this must stop
it doesnt matter. If you left,
if you are right
what the issues are,
they have an agenda
and one thing we have done here
in Detroit.
We have done that very well.
Will chief, I dont think
anyone wants to see overly
aggressive or strong armed
tactics against peaceful
protesters.
The question is: what defines the
peaceful protester
the claim in your temporary
restraining order by the judge,
claim and correct me if I am
wrong an August 22nd incident
with the Detroit police are
essentially, I believe, were they
not trying to take over an
intersection similar to what we
have seen in places like
Seattle.
So, in that situation an
intersection taken over, are you
now hampered in how you can deal
with that type of situation?
Absolutely not!
You know our intent will
continue to be. We will arrest
you without incident, but when
you resist- and there is video
that supports our claim- I mean-
can you see in the video where
protesters are literally
grabbing on officers, so they can
free their comrades from being
arrested,
thats, not peaceful
thats, resisting a lawful
arrest.
The judge also includes arrests
must be made on probable cause
thats, exactly what we were
doing
and so im confident were
going to continue to move
forward.
You know its a situation that
all of us, as a country are
dealing with
Will chief. I want to ask you
one last thing: before we go
in granting this temporary
restraining order. The judge
referenced Portland, Seattle and
Oakland
said these following the lead
of these types of departments is
what was referenced in the
temporary restraining order
is Portland. Is Seattle now the
models for policing in Detroit,
not for James Craig?
That does not, when you set up
allow protests that cause you to
retreat from a police station.
When you allow people to take
over six city blocks and then
they are shooting violent acts,
rapes and murder and the police
are not allowed to go in and do
a proper investigation. Oh
thats, not the model. I follow
were very different here in
Detroit,
and I just have to say again, as
I have always said, that we
didnt have looting
well. Didnt have burning here
in Detroit by and large, the
protests were peaceful without
incident.
There have been some days and
our position is simple:
detroiters dont want it and it
must stop and im not afraid to
stand up and say it
will allowing for peaceful
protests and stopping riots.
Transcript generated on 2020-09-08.