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Judge bans Detroit police from using tear gas, batons or rubber bullets against peaceful protesters

2020-09-07 | 🔗
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.