2026-09-22 - Public Safety Committee

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07:57>> Sorry, I got caught in a discussion in

07:59the back room. So, I'm going to call

08:01public safety to order.

08:03And first up, we have an update from our

08:06fire department on accreditation,

08:09which I know is something our it's it's

08:11maybe our chief's favorite topic.

08:14>> It's one of them. It's one of them.

08:17Let's see here.

08:21All right.

08:23[snorts] Well, the Grand Rapids Fire

08:25Department is here today to discuss our

08:28third reacreditation.

08:30So, this has been a decadesl long

08:34process of continuous improvement. And

08:36we're happy to report out that we are

08:38still one of 334 agencies u

08:42internationally that are accredited and

08:45one of 127 agencies worldwide that are

08:49both accredited and ISO class one.

08:51[snorts] What that means to me is we're

08:53pretty darn good. Uh but we're not

08:55perfect. Uh we we have some work to do.

08:58Uh reacredititation in this process is

09:01administered by the center for public

09:03safety excellence is not a formality.

09:06It's not a checkbox. They they really

09:08put the screws to you every time you go

09:11through this process. They push you to

09:13get better. And we have peers come in

09:16from across the country to evaluate us.

09:20There are four main areas that we have

09:22to do to get through accreditation.

09:24First off are a lot of documents. I'm

09:27talking like about a thousand pages of

09:30documents. self assessment, standards of

09:32coverage, how we respond, risk

09:35assessment, and communitydriven

09:37strategic plan.

09:39A peer-reviewed team is assigned. Again,

09:41these are chief officers, subject matter

09:43experts from across the country of

09:45similar or larger sized agencies.

09:48They review all the documents, ask a lot

09:51of questions, and if uh we meet a

09:54certain level, then they decide to come

09:57on site. Uh we hosted them a few months

09:59ago here in the city for a week. Uh they

10:02fly in on a Sunday evening. Uh we do a

10:04tour uh city manager. I believe Lou was

10:07able to attend uh the welcoming ceremony

10:10and then uh 3 4 days of interviews,

10:14in-depth interviews with a lot of city

10:16employees, uh human resources, water

10:18department, you name it, these assessors

10:21are digging through to make sure the

10:23fire department does what it says it's

10:24supposed to do. And then finally, a

10:27commission hearing much like this. Uh

10:29there's a commission of 15 board members

10:31that we sat before recently in Chicago

10:34and have to present your case on why you

10:37should be reacredited.

10:40Uh this is the work of many. I am simply

10:42the fire chief and I will tell you as a

10:45former accreditation manager, this is a

10:48tremendous amount of work, but it's

10:50valuable work. Our accreditation

10:53manager, Miss Alex Basler, got us

10:55through this cycle and last week passed

10:58the torch to Captain Scott Langlo, who's

11:02going to be accreditation manager for

11:03the next cycle. We also had acting

11:07lieutenant Carly Heisma and Assistant

11:09Chief Ed Braymond round out the the core

11:12team, but I'm here to tell you that

11:14about 15 to 20% of the department worked

11:17on this. uh firefighters all the way up

11:20through every rank.

11:23Again, we're pretty good, but we're not

11:25perfect. Uh 18 recommendations came out

11:28of this process. I will tell you that's

11:31that that is pretty good. Uh the first

11:34few cycles we had probably 25 to 27

11:37recommendations.

11:39The vast majority of these

11:41recommendations uh and you data people

11:43will like this. uh we do not do a great

11:46job in telling our story. I have very

11:49good fire data and statistics. I do not

11:52have great data and statistics for

11:55technical rescue, for water rescue, for

11:58fire prevention. And they said, "You

12:00have a good department, but you need to

12:03focus more on outcomes, not inputs." So

12:07about nine of the 18 recommendations is

12:09for us to go to our programs and

12:12identify outcomes for these programs so

12:15the city and our citizens know what

12:17they're buying, what level of service

12:18they're purchasing, and and we can

12:21discuss that.

12:23Uh continuous improvement. It is not

12:26just a phrase on a wall. It is something

12:28the fire department adopted again about

12:3015 to 20 years ago. It took us 10 years

12:34the first time through to get ready and

12:36now we're 15 years into this cycle. So,

12:39long time coming. Uh, very proud of this

12:41organization, proud of the city for

12:43supporting us and certainly open to any

12:46questions you may have about this

12:47process.

12:48>> Thanks, Chief. And I don't I I first

12:51want to lead with the the most important

12:53headline here, which is to affirm like

12:55this is clearly a commitment to

12:57excellence. Yes. uh and you know the

13:00fire department provides really critical

13:02services to the community. So having a

13:04department that we really have

13:06confidence uh is doing this self

13:09assessment is is great to see. Um

13:13I often say that I think that uh money

13:16should be the trailing part of any

13:18conversation, not the leading part of

13:19any conversation. But I think it is

13:21worth pointing out for the folks at home

13:23uh that all of this work directly ties

13:26to uh uh reductions in people in

13:30homeowner insurance, uh commercial

13:31property insurance. Um having just

13:34gotten my renewal bill for my house and

13:36wondering why it went up 20%. Um it's

13:39great to know that you know at least

13:41it's not because there's uh it's not

13:43because of services the city is working

13:45on. Um so I think it's it's you know it

13:49bears stating again and again and again

13:51that you're really saving our taxpayers

13:54uh real money in their in their personal

13:57lives by by doing this.

13:59very very secondary to the fact that

14:01you're you know committing committing to

14:03and doing the work to make sure you're

14:05maintaining excellence and uh yeah it's

14:08and it's great to have an organization

14:10that's like I'm sure there are criteria

14:13is getting more sophisticated all the

14:15time so the very fact that we're talking

14:16about outputs not inputs well that's a

14:18fairly sophisticated shift and probably

14:21wasn't something that anybody in the

14:22country was saying 15 20 years ago the

14:24way they're saying it now uh so it's

14:27it's great to see that that culture of

14:29just doing better. So, thanks,

14:31Commissioner Kilgar.

14:32>> Thank you, Mayor. I concur. Uh, thank

14:35you, Chief, for your presentation. Uh,

14:37if for the Well, first I'll start by

14:39saying I really appreciate your mindset

14:41with this and moving forward. Um, as you

14:43may know, I love cooking and I think uh

14:46public service is much like cooking.

14:48Even if a recipe you feel like it's

14:49perfect, someone can offer you something

14:51that'll make it even better. So, I think

14:53it's a great work that you're doing.

14:54It's a good mindset to be in for uh for

14:57our department. Uh and then could you

14:59for the public uh just give maybe one

15:02example of one of these recommendations

15:04uh for folks who maybe are like myself

15:06not familiar at all with what a

15:08recommendation may look like.

15:10>> Sure. So the peer team comes in and

15:12again evaluates every area of the

15:14department. A specific recommendation

15:16was to do a uh essentially failsafe

15:19testing of our communications. So, we

15:22have processes in place. We have certain

15:26buildings, certain parts of buildings

15:28where our radios simply don't work. And

15:30we do post someone where the radio stops

15:33working. We have cell phones. We have a

15:35lot of different runners, uh, different

15:37things we do. We have a policy, but we

15:40we don't practice that like we need to,

15:43right? And they said, "When is the last

15:44time you've practiced that?" And I'm

15:47like, "Oh, boy. Uh, that's a great

15:49question." Right? So the recommendation

15:51is at least annually to run through a

15:53communications failure to make sure our

15:56company officers know when they're in

15:58the basement of a large building that

16:00it's second nature to know what to do.

16:02So again, we have things in place, but

16:05we can do better at at certain aspects

16:08of it.

16:09>> Thank you so much. That was a great

16:10example. Thanks.

16:12>> I just had a quick question. First of

16:14all, wonderful work. Couldn't be more

16:17pleased to have you serving our

16:18community. you have a great department

16:20and you represent them well. I also have

16:22seen over the course of time serving on

16:24this committee that you and the

16:26department serve outside of the city of

16:27Grand Rapids at times because of our

16:29expertise.

16:30>> Um whether that's equipment or training

16:32or just the size of person power here in

16:35the community. Does that come into

16:37account? How do the things that happen

16:39outside of Grand Rapids go into this um

16:41as they're evaluating you? Because you

16:43have a nuance there that some other

16:44departments don't have. Yeah, external

16:47external relations is a category in

16:49this. So, they want to make sure that if

16:51you're a good department that you're

16:53giving back to the fire service. So, we

16:55have several members that teach at

16:56colleges and universities. We have

16:58several presentations given each year uh

17:01across the country and even our auto and

17:03mutual aid partners in the local area.

17:06They want to understand how we interact

17:08and give back. So, yeah, we did pretty

17:10well in that area.

17:11>> Thank you for your collaborative

17:12leadership.

17:12>> Thank you,

17:13>> city manager. Thank you, [clears throat]

17:15mayor. I too want to share my

17:16appreciation to the chief and all the

17:18firefighters in the department and also

17:21um if the chief could just highlight an

17:23additional service he recently

17:26enhanced through the homeless outreach

17:29team in conjunction with network 180.

17:31Can you highlight for the committee

17:33those expanded hours and resources?

17:35>> Yes, absolutely. So, as part of our

17:37hearing in Chicago, the lead peer

17:40assessor highlights uh really good

17:43programs at each department. The two

17:46programs that he highlighted in Grand

17:47Rapids were the empower team and the hot

17:50team. These are in place across the

17:52country in a lot of different

17:54departments, but our size city with this

17:56depth and breadth of resources he felt

17:58was exceptional. And during our prize,

18:01we have really expanded our homeless

18:03outreach efforts. We had 40 people in

18:06our department sign up to assist in this

18:09and our hours now go to 900 p.m. in the

18:11evening and we're doing Saturdays and

18:14Sundays as well. And so although it's a

18:16financial commitment that city manager

18:19and I have to figure out how to pay for

18:20and we will uh we felt it was important

18:23when we have a million visitors coming

18:26into our city to make sure it's the

18:28safest best experience possible and not

18:31just for them but for the people in our

18:34community that are experiencing

18:35homelessness. So that was an area that

18:37accreditation highlighted as a win for

18:40this community.

18:41>> Great. Great to hear. Yeah.

18:45>> Okay. Thanks, Chief. Really appreciate

18:47it.

18:49>> That brings us to our next briefing. Uh,

18:52and this is, uh, presentation on code

18:55compliance work.

18:57And Miss Bohawk is coming up, I see.

19:00And we have slides.

19:04Soon as the slidem gets it on. All

19:07right. Thank you.

19:10Make sure I can I'm going the right way.

19:12Yeah. All right. Good afternoon. I'm

19:14Connie Bohhatch. I'm senior managing

19:16director of community services and um

19:19joining me today is um our assistant

19:22code compliance director Scott Baker and

19:24information systems coordinator Bernard

19:26Schaefer. So I've been responsible for

19:29code compliance since January 1st of

19:322010. I was uh gifted a department that

19:37at that time the budget had been slashed

19:41and the day before I started uh 50% of

19:45the staff it was their last day on

19:48December 31st due to massive layoffs

19:50that the city was having and

19:52experiencing. So over those subsequent

19:55years because now we're way far along,

19:58right? Um, we did a lot of work, um,

20:01examining all of our functions and

20:03processes and really trying to figure

20:05out how do we transform our services to

20:09be able to provide

20:11important services with a staffing model

20:14that was so reduced and no resources.

20:17And I'm really proud of the work that we

20:19did in those um, beginning years um, and

20:24what we continue to do as we move

20:26forward. Um it was a lot of hard work

20:28from a lot of staff. Many of them are

20:30not here any longer. Um but a few of

20:33them are and they continue and it's

20:35really impressive because in the code

20:37compliance um department the innovation

20:41um that is that you see you may not see

20:43it but it continues to evolve and in

20:47particular

20:49um and in particular um our approaches

20:51continue to evolve. So, our mission is

20:54really simple. Um, to protect and

20:57protect the health and safety, eliminate

20:59blight, and preserve housing stock in

21:01our neighborhoods. I mean, that's pretty

21:02straightforward, but how we accomplish

21:04that work is really critical, and that's

21:07where our evolution continues to take

21:09place. We make great strides, I believe,

21:12in trying to balance um that work with

21:14partnerships and community connections

21:17um to resources that can help reduce um

21:19barriers to compliance. And Mr. Schaefer

21:21is going to talk more about that

21:22important work um in the presentation.

21:25And so now I'll turn it over to Mr.

21:26Baker who is the expert um and he'll

21:29highlight our core services um including

21:32inspections for compliance with nuisance

21:34zoning and property maintenance codes.

21:39>> Thank you, Connie. Uh proud to say I'm

21:42one of those survivors of the layoffs.

21:46Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

21:47Um, first thing we want to talk about

21:49when we talk about neighborhoods is is

21:51is a nuisance ordinance. Nuisance

21:54ordinance is the first thing people see

21:56in a neighborhood and it can have the

21:57biggest negative impact when you drive

21:58through a neighborhood and see tall

22:01grass and trash, but you might not

22:03notice a house that has a roof for

22:05peeling paint issues. In 1980s, the city

22:08had a rat problem. So, it instituted a

22:10trash reduction program in its core

22:12neighborhoods.

22:14Uh those inspectors are out every single

22:16day walking streets looking for tall

22:18grass, trash, and rubbish in yards and

22:20inoperable vehicles. Currently, our

22:22department is made up of four inspectors

22:24along those lines. Two of which do

22:26proactive inspections, two of which do

22:28follow-up inspections on complaints that

22:31our office receives. On average, we

22:33handle just over 9,100 cases annually

22:36with 59% of those cases being generated

22:38by staff doing the proactive work.

22:41Our

22:44property maintenance code is the 2021

22:46international property maintenance code

22:48known as the IPMC along with some local

22:50amendments.

22:52This is the ordinance that addresses the

22:53conditions of all the residents and

22:55commercial buildings in the city. There

22:57are two primary modes of code

22:59enforcement through the property

23:00maintenance code. The first is our

23:03office receives complaints that we

23:04follow up on from citizens, police

23:06department, fire department or other

23:08city departments.

23:10These complaints can be anything from

23:12simple things like peeling paint, fence

23:14issues, or more hazardous things such as

23:16there's no hot water, a lacking of a

23:18utility, or block degress in a home. Our

23:22office averages 236 of those hazards

23:25annually.

23:26The second mode of enforcement is the

23:28proactive certification of rental

23:30properties.

23:32Our

23:34rental certification program is set up

23:36to incentivize proper maintenance of the

23:38property and reward those who have done

23:40that. When we inspect the property, we

23:42offer a 14-day verbal order to comply

23:45instead of just issuing a formal written

23:47notice. This reduces the fee per

23:50inspection as we charge for that written

23:52notice. If the owner can comply in that

23:5414-day timeline and they meet other

23:56criteria, we give them a six-year

23:59certification for the same price as the

24:01four-year. If an owner can't comply in

24:04that 14 days and we have to issue a

24:06notice or they've had some other issues

24:08between the rental inspections, then

24:10they receive a four-year rental

24:11certification.

24:13All others that require enforcement

24:16through legal action will receive a

24:17two-year rental certification.

24:20I think it's important to note that the

24:22system has worked really well for us

24:24over the years. Uh and we are proud to

24:26say that uh we certify our houses. Um

24:3095% of them are certified without taking

24:32any legal action.

24:35In 2012, the city adopted the 2012 IPMC

24:40and its amendments as its new property

24:42maintenance code and adjusted policy to

24:44begin the proactive rental program for

24:46the first time for single families and

24:49two families. In 2012, 0% of our single

24:52families were certified, 11% of our two

24:55families had certifications, and only

24:5764% of our multifamilies were certified.

25:01>> [snorts]

25:02>> This slide here is a representation of

25:05what things looked like in November of

25:062013.

25:08I'd like to point out that that's less

25:10than two years after our proactive

25:11enforcement started. And we increased

25:14our single families to 2,000 certified,

25:17increased our two families by 35% and

25:20increased our multifamilies by 26% for a

25:23total of 6,179

25:25buildings certified at that time.

25:29Jumping forward to today,

25:32uh 14 years of proactive rental

25:34inspections, we now have 84% of single

25:37family certified, 91% of two families,

25:39and 94% of multi multifamilies for

25:43[snorts] a total of 14,148

25:45buildings certified.

25:51At our initial inception of pro

25:53proactive certifications, we started

25:54with 11% of rental properties certified.

25:56Today, we're proud to say that we are

25:58over 90%.

26:00Proactively inspecting rental housing to

26:02enforce housing code helps our city keep

26:04people in their homes, improve housing

26:06quality, and protect tenant health and

26:08well-being. Proactive rental inspections

26:10also help preserve the existing stock of

26:12affordable housing by preventing

26:14affordable um rental buildings from

26:17deteriorating to the point where they

26:18may need to be demolished and replaced

26:21with a new building that makes more

26:22economic sense.

26:24Since those changes in 2012, we have

26:26inspected and certified over 45,000

26:29buildings and over 113,000 dwelling

26:32units. During that same time frame, the

26:34number of multifamily rental buildings

26:37increased by 183 buildings for an

26:40increase of 6,500 rental dwelling units.

26:46Our blight program in 2000, the city put

26:48into place its first BR blight program

26:50for vacant houses. When the code was

26:53updated in 2012, we updated the criteria

26:55as to what makes the property a blight.

26:57We then updated our policies to

27:00proactively inspect the properties to

27:02create a system where the owners were

27:03encouraged to create a work plan for

27:06improvements and update the inspector

27:08monthly on the progress they were making

27:09towards compliance.

27:12If they were able to do this, we do not

27:14charge for that monthly inspection. The

27:17owner fails to, then there is a monthly

27:19fee. [snorts]

27:21This incentivizes the owners to work

27:23with the city and bring the property

27:24back into compliance and ensure that we

27:27are checking the house regularly for all

27:29safety concerns associated with vacant

27:31houses. In 2023, we made our last update

27:34on codes and we expanded that program to

27:36include commercial buildings.

27:41So, this graph here shows you a

27:43representation of where we started with

27:45our blight houses in 2012 at the

27:47inception of our new program.

27:48>> [snorts]

27:49>> You can see the numbers were rising for

27:50a few years, but after um we made the

27:53changes, got things going correctly with

27:55new policies and procedures and

27:57proactively working with the owners

27:58helped get properties back to

28:00functioning housing stock. You can see

28:01the decline in our city over the last

28:03few years.

28:06Fees, everybody's favorite part, right?

28:10Co- compliance fees do become a lean on

28:12the property if they go unpaid, but it's

28:15not until after a very lengthy process.

28:19We issue the initial invoice, and there

28:21are two subsequent invoices that follow

28:23that it have late fees on them. After

28:26that, [snorts] the owner is mailed a

28:28special assessment letter letting them

28:29know that the invoice is part of the

28:31special assessment nuisance role. The

28:33owner then has a chance to appeal that

28:35invoice before it is placed as a lean.

28:38>> [snorts]

28:38>> All appeals are reviewed by the

28:40assessor's office and the attorney's

28:41office to make sure that code

28:43enforcement did the enforcement

28:45properly.

28:48Uh

28:50I would like to take a point here um and

28:53and let you know that while enforcement

28:55is punitive by nature

28:58that our office has worked very hard as

29:01Connie indicated over the last you know

29:03decade to change the way we do it. All

29:05of our programs are being set and

29:07designed with compliance in mind, not

29:10enforcement in mind.

29:12Um, to further that value, last year we

29:15substituted a co-compliance officer out

29:17in our budget for a c uh customer

29:20service community liaison. From here,

29:22I'll let my colleague Bernard explain

29:24that side of our department. Thank you.

29:31[clears throat]

29:32>> Good afternoon.

29:38code compliance department recognized

29:40the cyclical nature of clients with

29:41hoarding behaviors and the need for

29:43assistance beyond enforcement alone to

29:45create longerterm solutions. In 2014,

29:48Eric Jordan officer Shelley Weiss sought

29:50training through Eastern Michigan

29:51University in return to create and

29:53co-chair the Grand Area Hoarding Task

29:54Force. Our community liaison now leads

29:56this task force in partnership with the

29:58Kent County Health Department and MDHHS

30:00adult protective services. Hoarding

30:02interventions are provided countywide.

30:05Partnerships have broadened to those you

30:06see listed to provide case management,

30:08senior services, home maintenance and

30:10repair services, and mental health

30:12support. Excessive accumulation of items

30:15restrict egress, which can prevent

30:16someone from exiting a home in the event

30:18of an emergency, and delay emergency

30:20responders from entering a home. Items

30:23add to the fuel load and increase the

30:25burn rate of a fire, which can lead to

30:26adjacent properties being damaged.

30:29Individuals living in homes with

30:30excessive accumulations are often

30:31reluctant to seek assistance or allow

30:33others into the home. Over time, home

30:36maintenance issues may compile,

30:37resulting in uninhabitable property due

30:39to restricted egress, infestations, lack

30:42of essential utilities or functioning

30:44plumbing, furnace, or water heater.

30:46Referrals are received from first

30:47responders and home agencies concern

30:49family and friends and housing

30:50providers. Cold compliance staff perform

30:52in-home assessments and apply the

30:54institute for challenging

30:55disorganization clutter hoarding scale

30:57in combination with our city's property

30:59maintenance code to identify health and

31:00safety violations. Orders provide the

31:02motivation and requirement for

31:04correction. Our community liaison

31:06provides case management and sustains

31:08engagement between the client and

31:10supporting agencies until the violations

31:12are resolved. Without intervention,

31:14clients are susceptible to displacement

31:16through eviction or condemnation.

31:19task force assistance efforts and cases

31:21resolved increase each year. This

31:23progress supported the creation of a

31:24full-time position in 2025 that was

31:27filled by graduating Grand Valley MSW

31:29intern Emily Hill. The dedicated

31:31position allowed us to standardize

31:32assistance efforts between the liaison

31:34lead code compliance inspectors and

31:36supporting agencies. The position has

31:38strengthen existing task force

31:40partnerships.

31:45I would like to take a moment to

31:46highlight two cases. This first case

31:48involved a blighted and condemned

31:50property monitored through our monthly

31:52black program. The inspector and police

31:54co-leazison officers determined the

31:56owner was occupying a condemned property

31:58that had a large hole in the roof over

32:00the bathroom, non-working utilities and

32:02unsanitary conditions. Stressful life

32:05events led to alcohol dependence and the

32:07owner was experiencing a period of self-

32:08neglect. The inspector and our community

32:10liaison established a relationship with

32:12him and through that relationship were

32:14able to restore his confidence in

32:15himself and the possibility of a better

32:17quality of life through community

32:18assistance. The repairs you see

32:20completed were coordinated in

32:21collaboration with senior neighbors and

32:23urban renovations.

32:26This second case was referred by

32:27property management for a chronically

32:29homeless housing provider. We met with

32:31this provider in 2025 to address

32:33reoccurring issues and provided some

32:35guidance for resident services staff to

32:36connect with adult protective services

32:38and clarify when to engage code

32:40compliance for support prior to pursuing

32:41eviction. This client was at risk of

32:44eviction due to a severe cockroach

32:45infestation, accumulation of trash, and

32:47unpaid rent. Mental illness was a

32:50contributing factor. Through 15 plus

32:52field visits, including being on site

32:53for the duration of the first cleanout

32:55to help ease the client's anxieties, our

32:57community liaison alongside our task

32:59force designated adult protective

33:01services specialist improve the

33:03relationship between the client and

33:04property management and organized a

33:06cleanout and cleaning of the unit, pest

33:08treatment, and refrigerator donation.

33:10Our community liaison assisted the

33:12client with each step of the eviction

33:14prevention program to clear the rent

33:16balance. Eviction was avoided and the

33:18client remains housed and maintaining

33:19safe living conditions.

33:22The newly permanent position has allowed

33:24us to broaden department assistance

33:26efforts to owner occupied housing with

33:27exterior violations. Twothirds of the

33:30complaints for owner occupied properties

33:31come from citizens.

33:34Exterior violations attract attention

33:36and the high cost for roof replacements.

33:38Repainting a new sighting can be a

33:39financial hardship for our lower fixed

33:41income residents. As an alternative to

33:43legal action, inspectors refer cases to

33:45our community liaison when an owner

33:47occupant is unable to resolve the

33:49violations by the compliance date and

33:51they have demonstrated a need for

33:52support due to financial hardship,

33:54mental health or physical health

33:55barriers. Our liaison contacts the owner

33:57begins repair assist coordination

33:59through community support such as home

34:01repair services, housing rehabilitation

34:03program, and revive home repair grant.

34:05Financial assistance for payment related

34:07utility shut offs is coordinated through

34:09Kent County Community Action.

34:15Thank you. Thanks, Bernard. So, you can

34:18see that our work is highly

34:19collaborative and um in addition to our

34:22external partners, we have a variety of

34:23internal partners um other city

34:26departments that we work with to um

34:28coord um collaborate on um addressing

34:31issues um throughout the community and

34:34individually and trying to help um sort

34:36of problem solve and come up with

34:38creative solutions to compliance. Um,

34:41and one thing I'd like to really note

34:43here is that, um, we have a new

34:45partnership with the Grand Rapids

34:47Housing Commission, um, where they have

34:50recently amended their plan to allow,

34:53um, the reservation of five housing

34:55vouchers for person for tenants who are

34:57eligible, um, that must vacate a

35:00property due to condemnation. so that we

35:02they're not dis um completely displaced

35:04and they they're not homeless um as a

35:08result of of what needs to happen there.

35:10So, this is a great partnership and very

35:13new and we're just coordinating it now,

35:14but I wanted to bring that to your

35:16attention. And then before we open it up

35:18to questions or comments, I just wanted

35:20to also um mention um a staff member,

35:24Phil Shafsma, who is um on the fourth

35:27floor in community development, but he

35:29has been um a key player in this

35:31department um since 2010 from the

35:34beginning, who has been there to help us

35:37look at all of our processes. He is

35:39wonderful with technology and really um

35:42been a critical comp um player in all

35:44the changes that we've made over the

35:46years. So, I want to make sure that he

35:47is recognized as well since he's not

35:49here today.

35:52>> Thanks. Um, I will say um uh this is all

35:56this is all a great review. Um, couple

35:58things to say. one is, you know, and

36:00this is again showing my age, but um uh

36:03you know, I was on city commission when

36:05that um economic downturn started to

36:08happen. But I also that was a point in

36:10which there was real I think massively

36:14more tension between code compliance uh

36:17uh folks and the people who were um

36:20asking to to you know do the work. And

36:23uh I will say as somebody I think I

36:25bought may have bought my first rental

36:27property in Grand Rapids. Well, if we're

36:29not counting the one I lived in during

36:31college. Um the first one that I didn't

36:33live in was like in 1995. And so I've

36:35gone through a years and years of these

36:37certifications. And um it's it's so much

36:42more um uh customerfriendly and um

36:47customer engaged than it than it was

36:49historically. Now, I mean, I can just

36:51decades through the through the process,

36:53it's it's so clear now when inspectors

36:55come out. I love the that, you know, the

36:58verbal going over of the two or three

37:00things um before you actually get

37:02written stuff. That didn't used to

37:03happen. Uh and you know, that's the

37:05difference between coming out and

37:06helping people get their place in

37:08compliance and coming in and saying,

37:10"Haha, gotcha." Um and so I really want

37:13to commend you know the department for

37:14for making the transition towards trying

37:17to get people exactly what you said that

37:19you're that the focus is not on catching

37:21people it's on making sure that places

37:23are in are in shape and and up to code.

37:25So uh I think it's really it's been

37:28great to see those strides and

37:30improvement of services here. Now, the

37:32one thing I will the second thing I'll

37:33say though is and this is something city

37:35manager and I have talked about and

37:37we've talked about started talking about

37:38at the at the broader uh commission

37:40level and that is um this is an area

37:43where there can potentially be conflicts

37:45and so I had to help out an individual

37:48um who really uh got his backup with a

37:52compliance officer and things were not

37:54going well um and um had to sort of be I

38:00had to mediate in that situation. Um,

38:02this was a couple years ago before I was

38:03mayor, but you know, you come out and

38:05tell somebody to fix their house and you

38:07know, you're getting into very personal

38:08space. Uh, and maybe and if and if we've

38:12got neighborhood or neighbor driven

38:14complaints, potentially got a

38:16neighborhood conflict there. And so, um,

38:18I'm excited that we're going to be

38:20getting a new mediator, uh, on board in

38:22the city to work because I I anticipate

38:25and I think the city manager

38:26anticipates, too, that a mediator can

38:28help in some of these trickier

38:29situations because your compliance

38:31officers aren't trained mediators.

38:33That's not their, you know, that's not

38:35the core of their job. And so, extra

38:37resources to help diffuse some of those

38:39conflict points, I think, is is a place

38:41I'm excited to see us go on on code

38:43compliance generally. So, Commissioner

38:45Kilgar. Oh, go ahead. Commissioner

38:47Sassi,

38:49>> thank you. Thanks for the presentation.

38:51I think that um you know, on the list of

38:55people that Scott Baker talks to a lot

38:56is probably me. [laughter] I I think you

38:59know, sometimes we forget, you know, and

39:02love our police department, love our

39:04fire department. Um and also we interact

39:07probably more so with your department

39:09with this code compliance department

39:11from questions that we get. Um, I

39:13certainly I was kind of just going

39:14through my email before this meeting and

39:16and I think this year there's been some

39:18really interesting cases too that the

39:20department and Scott in particular has

39:22helped with. Um, and there it's not just

39:25one thing, right? It's some of the the

39:27pieces that were discussed about the

39:29mental health and mental well-being and

39:32it's also about, you know, what uh, you

39:34know, a lot of neighborhoods and sort of

39:36the character and identity that they'd

39:38like to have. And so I just wanna to

39:41along with the mayor offer that

39:42appreciation for that really detailed

39:44work. So it's like it's a little bit of

39:47human interaction. It's like this

39:49compliance and legal piece. It's you're

39:50interacting with your other peers and

39:52other departments. And so um I know I

39:55never want to say the wrong thing as it

39:56relates to this department because I

39:58don't you know somebody would take that

39:59information and say okay well the

40:00commissioner said this and it's like

40:01nope I'm going to hear it right from the

40:03department. And so I really appreciate

40:05that. Um I too have had some friends who

40:07have gone through the certification

40:09process this past year has said it's

40:11been you know very user friendly. Um

40:14they're like first-time developers and

40:16so again appreciation for that. I was

40:18trying to go back I haven't been here as

40:20long as you miss Boh. Um but I was

40:24trying to remember what year and it

40:27might have been a couple years ago but

40:28maybe you and city manager can remember.

40:30Did we receive some uh dollars to

40:32support um like this blight monitoring

40:36program or was there something that we

40:38did? I'm I'm kind of remembering this

40:39from a community development meeting.

40:41>> We received some some funding um from

40:43the state.

40:44>> Okay.

40:44>> Um it was a very challenging grant um to

40:49implement. Okay.

40:50>> There were rules in place that um really

40:53didn't work for many of the properties

40:54that we had in our community. Okay. Um,

40:56and so we used a portion of the money

40:58but did not use all of it.

41:00>> Okay.

41:01>> Um, but we knew that going into it. Um,

41:03we worked really hard with the state

41:05trying to get them to change some of

41:07their requirements um because they were

41:10not legislatively dictated and that we

41:12didn't we were not successful in that.

41:14>> Okay. Okay.

41:15>> But we we worked every angle of every

41:18property that we thought could

41:20>> benefit from.

41:21>> Okay. I I probably should have asked the

41:22mayor because he probably was in the

41:23legislature at that time still too. I

41:25just I couldn't I couldn't quite

41:27remember. And so um but from community

41:29development that this is you know again

41:31like at different points you all are

41:32trying to pull dollars from different

41:34places and how to advance this. So um

41:37you know we live in an environment where

41:39people don't really always respond to

41:42mail. I go through my mail every day

41:43because I don't know I'm afraid I'm

41:44going to get like a ticket or something.

41:45But um what is that? Could is there

41:49something that and maybe it could be

41:50after this meeting too, but just to kind

41:52of show um what is the response rate?

41:55You know, people get sort of and looking

41:57specifically at this at the at the

41:59vacant property blight monitoring, you

42:01know, they get um these inspections

42:03every 30 days and and if we could

42:06understand how many are like actively

42:07engaged in that communication, maybe how

42:09many aren't so much. If we could just

42:11kind of understand what that looks like

42:13um in a little bit more detail. But I I

42:16think that's a little bit more than what

42:17we can do today. So, thanks.

42:19>> Yeah,

42:20>> Commissioner.

42:21>> Thanks, Mayor. I also want to extend

42:24thanks uh to the the uh code compliance

42:27uh team. Um just an example, this was uh

42:31December of last year in 2025. It was a

42:34really challenging uh uh communications

42:38from a constituent who had recently lost

42:40her mother uh and was in the process of

42:43getting the rights to uh her mother's

42:46home. Uh there was a challenge of

42:48communication and process and somehow

42:51her home wasn't under the correct

42:53designation. Uh it was a rent they were

42:56it was somehow a rental but it's her

42:58main you know her primary home. And I

43:00think the challenge was actually the

43:02court system of they were in the process

43:05of receiving those rights. And so just

43:07to see uh the co- compliance team work

43:10uh with myself uh the constituent uh the

43:13court system uh and make sure that we

43:16could provide some relief and kindness

43:19in such a time of losing uh a parent was

43:22really powerful to me. So, I think um it

43:25was a awesome example of the work that

43:27they do uh every day. And I'm thankful

43:30to get that hands-on experience with

43:32them. And I also sat on the housing

43:34appeals board uh before I was elected.

43:36And I think that was an awesome lesson

43:38for me um as a public servant and grace.

43:41And I'm hoping that through um our

43:44inspections and as we uh talk more about

43:46inspectors, we can also lift up grace uh

43:49in this moment as we know we are not

43:51necessarily in the 2008 uh recession and

43:55those challenges during that time where

43:56folks are getting laid off, but folks

43:58are getting laid off right now. Folks

44:00are having significant challenges with

44:02keeping employment and getting jobs. And

44:04so we do need to continue to think of

44:07how our fines look, how our inspections

44:10look, and how we can continue to give

44:12grace. And I think I may have been

44:14Commissioner Isi's appointment on

44:16housing appeals. I don't remember.

44:18Maybe. Yeah. Thanks. But thank you all

44:21for your work.

44:23>> Thanks,

44:25colleagues. Well, thanks so much, Miss.

44:27>> Great. Thank you so much.

44:30Uh, next up, uh, I believe Miss

44:32Lipkcom's going to present on our

44:34civilian violence prevention and

44:35intervention, um, uh, work in the

44:38community.

44:52All right.

44:54So violence has become a staggering

44:58crisis in cities across the nation, an

45:02urgent public health epidemic that

45:04demands collective action. And when one

45:07neighborhood is harmed, the effects

45:10reach us all, making safety and healing

45:13a shared responsibility. By working

45:15together to prevent harm and invest in

45:18people, we help build communities where

45:21everyone can not only survive, but truly

45:24survive and thrive. Good afternoon,

45:27public safety committee. My name is

45:28Leticia Lipkcom, and I have the honor

45:31and privilege of serving as the city of

45:33Grand Rapids civilian violence

45:35prevention and intervention manager for

45:38the past year.

45:40Today, I invite you to join me in

45:42reflecting on the past year as I brief

45:45this committee on the work that many

45:47hands have helped advance. And speaking

45:49of many hands making light work, I would

45:52like to just point out a couple of

45:54representatives in the audience today.

45:56I'd like to first thank Commissioner

45:58Isasi for her fearless leadership on the

46:00safe task force, as well as recognizing

46:03Shannon Harris, who is also here today

46:05and serves on that task force as well.

46:08We have a number of representatives from

46:10the cure violence program. We also have

46:13a representative from the African

46:16resource center who is one of our

46:18program participants here. Mr. Bernard

46:20is here. And I also would be remissed if

46:22I didn't shout out and thank officers

46:25Howard and officer Daly who met with me

46:28and had some community coffee chats as

46:30well as Chief Trigg who was the very

46:33first person to take our violence

46:35reduction strategy um voting tally

46:38sheet. So a leader is only as strong as

46:40the foundation that they stand on. And

46:43so I'm really pleased to represent some

46:45of the work that we as a collective have

46:47been able to implement in the city of

46:49Grand Rapids. So today you're going to

46:51hear about violence reduction as a

46:53strategy. I'm going to focus on several

46:56key areas from that strategy to our

46:58summer prevention efforts to cure

47:00violence community impact and then I'm

47:03going to end with the year ahead. And

47:05while there is so much more to share my

47:07goal is to present the information

47:09efficiently and leave time at the end

47:11for questions. So, let's begin to with a

47:15brief introduction to CVPI,

47:18Civilian Violence Prevention and

47:20Intervention. It's a long name, I know,

47:24and I will talk about all of the

47:26different ways over the past year that

47:28we have been effective in community.

47:31Here are some of the essentials. So, you

47:34should know that when it comes to CVPI,

47:37this initiative is housed within the

47:40Office of Oversight and Public

47:42Accountability, and it marks the very

47:45first time that the city has created a

47:48full-time position focused solely on

47:51preventing and reducing violence. Our

47:54office serves as a hub for

47:56community-based strategies that advance

47:59public safety and healing through people

48:02centered approaches.

48:03We work to address root causes of

48:06violence by coordinating cross- sector

48:08partnerships, elevating community

48:10voices, and expanding awareness. At its

48:14core, CVPI

48:17exists to build trust, reduce harm, and

48:21improve quality of life for everyone in

48:24the city of Grand Rapids.

48:26This year, a major focus was launching

48:30the development of a citywide violence

48:32prevention strategy with direct

48:34community partnership. You guys know

48:36that I'm very big on working together

48:38collaboratively

48:40collaboratively as I believe that no one

48:42entity or organization can push the

48:45community forward alone.

48:48This year a major focus was launching

48:51that strategy and we were able to engage

48:54more than 500 stakeholders. We collected

48:58200 plus responses on the proposed

49:00strategy. We captured 50 plus written

49:04submissions through a community

49:06visioning exercise.

49:09To gather that real time community

49:11input, we used creative engagement

49:14tools, which is one of my favorite

49:15things to do. Throughout city hall,

49:20you were able to observe signs that

49:23where we placed a public input QR codes

49:26asking one simple question. We asked

49:29everybody day people to imagine a

49:31community where everyone feels safe,

49:34supported, and free of harm. What word

49:38or phrases would describe that

49:40community? And I'd like to highlight for

49:42you that some of those top themes that

49:44kind of bubbled to the top were words

49:46like peaceful, equitable, trust,

49:50thriving, stable,

49:53neighborly, demilitarized policing, and

49:57resourced.

49:59We also released a city-wide voting

50:01sheet inviting residents to select their

50:04top five strategies from our

50:06evidence-based options. We had 11 of

50:09them. And to make engagement more

50:11approachable, we used human- centered

50:14design activities, including a creative

50:16Mad Libs game, categories, and artistic

50:20prompts to spark interaction to address

50:22some of these serious issues.

50:25Another core pillar of this work has

50:28been serving as the city liaison to the

50:31safe task force. This year, the task

50:34force strengthened collaboration across

50:36Grand Rapids, convened nearly 80

50:39stakeholders, and expanded its

50:42communications reach by 32%.

50:45All centered on reducing violence and

50:47elevating community voice. The SAFE task

50:51force experienced significant growth

50:54with dedicated coordination from CVPI.

50:57We hosted the Safe for Life community

51:00gathering in the third ward drawing

51:03nearly 60 plus community stakeholders

51:06and we received substantial media

51:08coverage. Not only that, SAFE awarded

51:11$40,000

51:13in grassroots grants and launched two

51:15new partnerships with side strategies

51:18for technical assistance gr and grant

51:20readiness as well as a $20,000

51:24investment toward the gun violence

51:26memorial art installation.

51:28Additional reach from SAFE includes the

51:31Safe Summer poster campaign, which I'll

51:33talk a little bit more about later.

51:35distribution of safe summer community

51:37kits, ongoing tableabling efforts, and

51:40so so much more.

51:43Our oversight of the Cure Violence

51:45Partnership with the Grand Rapids Urban

51:47League continues to advance proven

51:50intervention. A full annual report will

51:53come later this fall, but highlights

51:56include 45 plus initiatives piloted in

52:01priority geographic areas. 4,311

52:06engagements leading to violence

52:08interruptions and disruptions.

52:11Program expansion with new part-time

52:14staff supporting Heartsides Placebased

52:17outreach. ongoing City Vibes programming

52:21averaging 85 youth on weekend nights and

52:25connecting 50 plus families to resources

52:28for food, employment, and housing. Now,

52:32surely the news cannot cover all of

52:34these violence interruptions and

52:36disruptions, but this is to highlight

52:39the work of the cure violence program

52:41and all of the things that don't happen

52:43because of boots on the ground in the

52:46streets of Grand Rapids. Cure violence

52:48remains a holistic model focused on

52:51proximity, relationships, and practical

52:54support.

52:56Our summer of safety delivered a wide

52:59reaching seasonal impact. We expanded

53:02summer violence prevention capacity into

53:04the third and first wards, serving a

53:07whopping 727

53:11youth across all three program sites. We

53:15launched a safe summer poster campaign

53:17with 150 plus safe summer programs

53:22promoting free youth activities

53:24citywide. And I'm also happy to report

53:27that we distributed over 200 safe summer

53:30kits. We also supported safe pitch

53:34projects providing youth opportunities

53:37ranging from self-esteem and

53:38affirmations for young women to

53:40workforce development and handson career

53:44pathways for young black and brown men.

53:48Beyond these core initiatives, however,

53:51several additional efforts demonstrated

53:53community impact. We hosted a GRPD

53:57coffee chat series to strengthen mutual

54:00understanding around violence

54:02prevention. We developed a violence

54:05prevention branding kit that even

54:07inspired resident requests for yard

54:09signs. We partnered on the backpack

54:12build adding violence prevention lens to

54:15400 backpacks distributed through the

54:18community storehouse resources. The

54:21storehouse of community resources,

54:23excuse me. and Cure Violence hosted

54:26multiple successful community events and

54:29the city adopted its first ever gun

54:32violence awareness proclamation just to

54:35name a few. So looking ahead, momentum

54:39continues and some of our upcoming

54:42efforts include expansion of it takes a

54:45village to two active sites in each

54:48ward. That's something that I've been

54:50promising. And our office is working

54:52very hard to be able to deliver. Imagine

54:54a community next summer where each ward

54:57is activated and there's more than one

54:59site for our community's children to

55:01have a safe space for belonging, food,

55:04fun, and fellowship. In addition to

55:06that, I'm happy to be working on the

55:09youth rising GR safety and opportunity

55:12summit, which is going to be coming to

55:15our community, as well as an

55:17installation of the gun violence

55:19memorial art installation project that

55:21we all have been waiting for, as well as

55:24continued collaboration with the Kcon

55:27youth justice team. and even more that I

55:30did not highlight on this slide. As we

55:32deepen community partnership and

55:35strategy alignment.

55:37With that being said, I know this was a

55:39very dense presentation with a lot of

55:41information. We as a collective have

55:43worked so hard over the course of the

55:46year to reduce violence in the community

55:48and provide real opportunities for uh

55:51our residents to see themselves

55:53differently and to create a community

55:56that is safe and thriving and supported

55:58by the city of Grand Rapids. I would

56:00like to thank you for your time and your

56:02attention to this presentation. And at

56:04this time, I do welcome any questions,

56:07comments, or requests for clarification.

56:16Thanks. That was pretty clear. I guess

56:17you don't have any questions. Awesome.

56:19Thank you so much,

56:22>> Mayor. I I I do want to uh also thank

56:25Miss Lipkcom and her uh attitude often

56:30dealing with very difficult um topics

56:33and as we know it's very challenging,

56:34but she is both compassionate but also

56:39very focused. And so I want to thank her

56:41for a real balanced approach.

56:44>> Thank you, city manager.

56:46>> Thanks again, Mr. Mayor.

56:48>> Yeah, thank you so much for the report.

56:50Uh truly grateful because violence is a

56:52pandemic capacity which we have to

56:54address. What message would you give to

56:57to the wards currently with where we are

57:00and as while summer has ended as of

57:02yesterday, now the fall season is here.

57:05what message would you give that we need

57:07to embrace um as it pertains to, you

57:10know, curtailing and cutting down on

57:12some of the violence efforts that are

57:13there? A

57:14>> couple of messages that aren't my own,

57:16but I think are very efficient in this

57:18particular situation for such a time as

57:20this. A couple of things. Number one, I

57:23would say to each ward, we are the

57:25change we have been waiting for. Number

57:27two, I would say be the change you wish

57:30to see in your own community. And number

57:32three, I would say get involved. There

57:35are so many opportunities to get

57:37involved. I will be releasing

57:40publication. There's opportunities for

57:43people to become involved in the safe

57:45task force. There's always opportunities

57:47to drop into the OPA office to get

57:50involved with any of our programmings,

57:53our programs through OPA, OEE, and

57:55civilian violence intervention and pre

57:57and prevention. And the last thing is

58:00when people become a part of the

58:01process, I would encourage them to do so

58:04because you develop inevitably a sense

58:06of pride and ownership over the work. It

58:09becomes later on not that the city did

58:11it, but we did it. We pushed our own

58:14communities forward. So be encouraged,

58:16keep hope alive, and get involved.

58:19>> Thank you so much. And thank you to the

58:22folks from Cure Violence who came out. I

58:24um I want to recognize them. And and I

58:26want to point out, we pointed out at an

58:28earlier meeting, city manager and I and

58:31Mr. Davis are actually going to go down

58:32and talk to the to the the mothership

58:35for the entire national movement is in

58:38Chicago. And so we're going to go down

58:39and talk with leadership in Chicago. Um

58:41hoping to continue to reinforce and grow

58:43that work. Um, I mean, I I personally

58:46will just say that I think that at the

58:48end of the day, um, uh, building a

58:52community where violence doesn't start

58:54is a whole lot more effective, uh, and a

58:57whole lot better for everyone in the

58:58community than than trying to deal with

59:00it after it's already happened. And so,

59:03um, I don't think we can ever, uh, work

59:06too much at trying to build an actual

59:08peace peaceful community. Um, and and

59:11that takes all of us. We're all we're

59:13all part of violence prevention work.

59:15Um, and I will say on a on a final note,

59:19um, I was looking back uh, last week I

59:21was at a PM MIA um, event and I thought,

59:26you know,

59:28at the time of the Vietnam War, there

59:30was a real movement in our country of

59:33people who thought deeply and

59:35articulated urgently the need for peace

59:38and the need to build for peace and the

59:41need to to to do the work of building a

59:44peaceful community And I say all the

59:46time that fear and hate and violence are

59:50fast

59:51>> and they can be devastatingly effective

59:53at at accomplishing their objectives,

59:56but that peace is slow and work is slow

1:00:01and building is slow. You can tear

1:00:04things down a whole lot faster than you

1:00:05can build them up. So, thank you for the

1:00:08long persistent work in trying to bend

1:00:12our community towards towards one of

1:00:15empathy and mutual support and peace

1:00:17because that's that's the ultimate goal,

1:00:20right? A community where we all really

1:00:22can live in peace.

1:00:23>> Yeah.

1:00:24>> So, thank you.

1:00:25>> Thank you.

1:00:29Speaking of peacekeeping, um our

1:00:33uh first responders to uh public order

1:00:37things are uh are our police department

1:00:39and um they are doing great work out in

1:00:43the community and I want to uh and this

1:00:45is our time to start with um talking

1:00:49about first our I think do you want to

1:00:51take the uh community police officers

1:00:52first? Great. Um that's something that I

1:00:55think has broad broad community support

1:00:57because intuitively um we all know this

1:01:00is this is an exciting direction for our

1:01:02for our public safety work to go. So uh

1:01:05and thank you for your focus on it,

1:01:06Chief Tri. I know you continue to be

1:01:08laser focused on this. We even got a

1:01:10picture of you in the slides uh when

1:01:12when you had hair. Uh [laughter]

1:01:15>> wow, a surprise. My own guy set me up.

1:01:18That's all right. [laughter] We'll talk

1:01:20back at the building.

1:01:21>> So go ahead. This uh this program is

1:01:24very near and and dear to me cuz I was a

1:01:26a community officer uh between 2010 and

1:01:292013. It was the first position that I

1:01:31applied for uh specialty unit that I

1:01:34applied for. Uh only reason I left the

1:01:36unit was cuz I was promoted to a

1:01:38sergeant. So uh fond times as I talk

1:01:41sometimes about um providing a service

1:01:44to this this city and sometimes when we

1:01:45were short staffed it's a fast food type

1:01:48service because it's a lot of calls and

1:01:50uh minimal staff. Well, the the CPO is

1:01:52able to whine and dine, right? It's

1:01:54they're able to dive into problems, uh

1:01:56make the connection with businesses,

1:01:58residents, and and really build that

1:02:00connection. We look we start on the uh

1:02:01the our strategic plan, our priority.

1:02:04Safety is always going to be uh number

1:02:06one in innovation with the technology

1:02:08that helps keep our city safe, but the

1:02:10engagement piece is important, right?

1:02:12Everybody wants to be able to identify

1:02:13and be able to have a connection uh with

1:02:15their neighbor, let alone their uh their

1:02:17uh their police officer. So, this unit

1:02:19is so important. Um, not only was I a

1:02:23CPO back in the day, Lieutenant

1:02:25Lieutenant Daly was, Sergeant Howard

1:02:27was. Uh, so they're going to speak in

1:02:29depth to how the program has uh has

1:02:31changed. They're going to explain how we

1:02:33had to dissolve the unit due to the the

1:02:35staffing issues we had. It we we weren't

1:02:38um uh to protect our city, we had to

1:02:41make sure we had to uh the bodies out

1:02:42there to answer calls first. you know,

1:02:44being a CPO is somewhat a a privilege

1:02:47and it's a it's an added service and u

1:02:49I'm glad that we were able to bring that

1:02:51program back and it's what the community

1:02:53asked for, right? They wanted that. It's

1:02:54something we were able to bring back to

1:02:55them. So, I think that's a uh a benefit.

1:02:58Uh Lieutenant Daly is is is commanding

1:03:01the unit right now. Uh he's 25 years of

1:03:04service and uh a great leader for our

1:03:06department. He has experience in the SRT

1:03:08internal affairs. So, he brings a um uh

1:03:12a great mind to this this unit because

1:03:14it it's not what it was because we we

1:03:16had 18 officers you can learn and and I

1:03:19was tasked with bringing it back and I

1:03:21had to I brought it back in an increment

1:03:22of five. I just thought let's bring it

1:03:23back in three increments of five and

1:03:26build it up to at least 15 and see where

1:03:27we are from there. Uh we stalled a

1:03:30little bit, brought back three just this

1:03:31September due to some staffing concerns.

1:03:33We didn't want to pull too much from

1:03:35patrol, but uh it's a great unit.

1:03:37They're going to come up here, at least

1:03:38Lieutenant Daly is, and and give you the

1:03:40insights on what all they're doing. And

1:03:43Lieutenant Daly gets credit for what

1:03:44this unit is is doing. Because it's a

1:03:46unit of five, we had to kind of think

1:03:48outside the box. How could we uh still

1:03:51fulfill the needs of a a CPO, but also

1:03:54uh be kind of the Swiss Army knife for

1:03:56various tasks and needs of our our city.

1:03:58So, I'll let him speak on that.

1:04:00Lieutenant Daily,

1:04:01you go, sir.

1:04:04>> Thank you. I, as Chief Trigg stated, I'm

1:04:06Lieutenant Daly and I have the privilege

1:04:08of overseeing [laughter]

1:04:10our community engagement unit. Um, I'm

1:04:13glad that Chief Trigg was able to put

1:04:14some clarification into the timeline of

1:04:16this photo because Matt Wyel and I could

1:04:19not narrow down what year this was

1:04:21taken. Uh, this is then Officer Trigg as

1:04:24a North community officer. Uh to dive

1:04:28into the history of the program, our

1:04:30community policing officer program began

1:04:33with Chief Dolan back in 1998.

1:04:36Uh it grew to a total of 18 police

1:04:38officers with two supervisors

1:04:42back when [snorts] we had an authorized

1:04:44strength of approximately 400 police

1:04:46officers. Uh the objective under that

1:04:49model was to handle neighborhood

1:04:51concerns with a very law enforcement

1:04:54leaning approach.

1:04:56Um while this program was still in

1:04:59place, um

1:05:01Chief Rahinsky created our community

1:05:04engagement unit in 2017

1:05:07um to handle all recruitment and

1:05:09outreach citywide, statewide, and and

1:05:12throughout the country.

1:05:15Um, as we experienced a staffing

1:05:18downturn at the at the police department

1:05:20and citywide, um, our CPO program was

1:05:23remodeled and five community police

1:05:25officers were assigned to a afternoon

1:05:28shift. Um, this was an attempt to keep

1:05:32the police community policing model

1:05:33alive, but also add bodies to handle the

1:05:37calls for service during our busiest

1:05:39time frame of the day. Um, unfortunately

1:05:42due to a continued staffing downturn for

1:05:44a variety of reasons, our community

1:05:47policing officer program was disbanded

1:05:49in 2021.

1:05:51Uh, the community policing officer

1:05:53program was not alone in this. All

1:05:55specialized units within the Grand

1:05:56Rapids Police Department experienced a

1:05:59staffing downturn um as we experienced

1:06:02this crisis. Um,

1:06:06moving forward, um, the community police

1:06:09officer program returned in 2025

1:06:12to improve the police department's

1:06:14collaboration and customer service,

1:06:17starting with, as Chief Trigg said, just

1:06:18five police officers and one supervisor

1:06:22uh, who was Sergeant Howard. Um, we're

1:06:25fortunate uh, to fall under some strong

1:06:27leadership. We have a great morale at

1:06:29the police department. our staffing

1:06:31numbers continue to increase. Uh so we

1:06:33just this month added three additional

1:06:35community police officers to bring that

1:06:38model up to eight people. It's not the

1:06:4018 that we originally had. Um but you'll

1:06:43see here this roll out is different and

1:06:45we're we're truly striving to do more

1:06:47with less. Um,

1:06:50uh, one thing that Chief Chig, Chief

1:06:53Trigg did that's different than our

1:06:54previous model is that he assigned these

1:06:57community police officers to the

1:06:59community engagement unit. Um, they

1:07:02still report to their service area

1:07:04captains, but day-to-day operations are

1:07:06guided by Sergeant Howard. Um, and due

1:07:08to the small size, it's um, much more of

1:07:11a team approach as they crisscross the

1:07:14different wards in the city and the

1:07:16different service areas. Um, one of the

1:07:18things that Sergeant Howard has truly

1:07:20driven home is that um, leaning on other

1:07:23city infrastructure to really accomplish

1:07:26the mission of that uh, that team.

1:07:30Shortly after these these five were

1:07:32originally brought on, um, they were

1:07:34tasked with creating their own mission

1:07:36statement. Um, this was to create buy

1:07:39into the program, help guide them moving

1:07:41forward, and that mission statement is

1:07:43proactively creating lasting solutions

1:07:46to community issues in support of patrol

1:07:48operations through problem solving and

1:07:51partnerships in the community. Uh, that

1:07:53small team also worked and they

1:07:55identified all of the stakeholders

1:07:57citywide that would have an influence on

1:08:00their role. Uh the external stakeholders

1:08:03are residents and neighborhood

1:08:04organizations, businesses as well as

1:08:07business organizations, schools and

1:08:09churches. Uh the internal stakeholders

1:08:12uh that guide them are obviously their

1:08:15their primary backbone is patrol. When

1:08:17the call volume picks up in the city,

1:08:20they receive a uh significant amount of

1:08:22guidance through our investigations unit

1:08:24as to where persistent problems are

1:08:27originating as well as direct feedback

1:08:29from the command staff at the

1:08:31department. The areas of focus that were

1:08:34identified are code enforcement. Uh they

1:08:37spend a significant amount of time in

1:08:39our city parks. Um sex offender

1:08:42registration violations and crime

1:08:44prevention through environmental design

1:08:46which is otherwise known as septed.

1:08:49Um the CPO community police officer

1:08:52priorities uh are to support patrol

1:08:55community partnerships quality of life

1:08:57concerns that are intel and enforcement

1:09:00actiondriven.

1:09:03some of the initiatives that the the

1:09:05community police officers um have

1:09:08spearheaded um are listed here on this

1:09:11slide. A few noteworthy ones are um

1:09:15they're deeply um concerned about street

1:09:18takeovers and there is a lot of work

1:09:21that goes on behind the scenes um to

1:09:24actively prevent these in our community.

1:09:26Um it's safe to say without going into

1:09:29too many details, it's wildly

1:09:30successful. um

1:09:33abandoned vehicles, front yard parking,

1:09:35that's always been an issue in the city.

1:09:37This is something that they're able to

1:09:39capitalize on. That is one of the number

1:09:41one concerns that we hear back from the

1:09:43different neighborhoods throughout the

1:09:44city. Um drug abatement. Um this was uh

1:09:49especially [snorts] driven home with a

1:09:51bunch of uh an initiative um at Hartside

1:09:55Park and recognizing that's not strictly

1:09:57just a law enforcement population, but

1:09:59that's a very vulnerable population that

1:10:01occupies that park and relying on all

1:10:04sorts of other city entities to help

1:10:07further the success of that park. Um

1:10:10clergy on patrol is still ran out of

1:10:12this unit or was adopted by this unit.

1:10:15uh they've partnered with area churches

1:10:17throughout the city and just next week

1:10:19we're going to be hosting a church

1:10:20safety seminar. Um all churches

1:10:23throughout the city are invited.

1:10:25Um we've expanded our clear program uh

1:10:28which falls under our CPO side of the

1:10:30house. Um just last year we had other

1:10:34clear programs from across the country

1:10:36come in to to observe how ours is ran so

1:10:38that they could take those ideas back to

1:10:40their own cities. Um, we've since

1:10:43adopted another male clear program and

1:10:46our longest serving program is the

1:10:48female side of the house which uh,

1:10:50Officer Caitlyn Bernardo runs and she

1:10:52has uh, received a significant amount of

1:10:55outside recognition for that program.

1:10:58Um, we're also working uh, to continue

1:11:01to build bridges with all schools in the

1:11:03county, whether public or private. Um,

1:11:06this is especially important now as

1:11:08we're approaching the deadline for the

1:11:10BTAM law that goes into effect

1:11:11statewide.

1:11:13Uh, we maintain all of the business and

1:11:15neighborhood contacts that we had under

1:11:17the old program. Um,

1:11:20uh, and maintain that. A new initiative

1:11:22that they've adopted and hearing

1:11:24feedback from businesses is retail fraud

1:11:26enforcement. Um, so there's uh specific

1:11:29educational programs and deeper

1:11:31investigations that are able to take

1:11:33place to um help stop these high dollar

1:11:37retail fraud thefts. Um, one of the main

1:11:41goals of the CPOS is to decrease high

1:11:44utilizers of police services. And this

1:11:47is where they really shine and that

1:11:50they're able to identify

1:11:52addresses or businesses or persons in

1:11:56the community that are frequent callers

1:11:59uh and they can really focus on

1:12:00long-term solutions versus the the quick

1:12:04call for service and then it's passed on

1:12:06to the next night. They truly work to

1:12:08identify those to find long lasting

1:12:10solutions which in turn will decrease

1:12:12our calls for service. um

1:12:16housing and business uh code enforcement

1:12:19um by adopting the program into the

1:12:22community engagement unit that is where

1:12:24code enforcement was housed. So seeing

1:12:26that partnership develop and grow um

1:12:29long-lasting solutions there are also

1:12:31prevalent.

1:12:33Um and then our community police

1:12:35officers are extremely adaptable. Um so

1:12:39we took some members of this current

1:12:41team. They've for example uh adapted

1:12:44different hours to help uh with the

1:12:47presence during art prize specifically

1:12:48assigned to the downtown area and for

1:12:50the duration of art prize they're going

1:12:52to be the familiar faces of the police

1:12:54department that are down there. Uh

1:12:56there's some other um things that have

1:12:59come up where they've changed their

1:13:00hours as well or modified their shift um

1:13:03such as the opening of Acer just we

1:13:05didn't know what that would look like.

1:13:07We thought it would be beneficial to

1:13:08have extra police officers in that area

1:13:10and they readily accepted that

1:13:11opportunity.

1:13:13Um it should be noted um while this this

1:13:17model has only been uh in place for a

1:13:20very short amount of time uh the

1:13:22community police officers have been

1:13:24selected to receive an award in October

1:13:27uh from the um crime prevention

1:13:29association of Michigan for the way that

1:13:31the unit is ran and the initiatives that

1:13:33they've taken as well as our co-response

1:13:36team is also getting an award um

1:13:39in October as well

1:13:42With that, I'll open it up for any

1:13:44questions.

1:13:45>> Great. Well, exciting to hear all this.

1:13:47Um, I mean, amen. But that's that's

1:13:50about all I get to say. Sounds great.

1:13:52Uh, yeah. Um, I'll let the city manager

1:13:55go first.

1:13:55>> Sure.

1:13:56>> Oh, well, if you want me to. Okay.

1:13:57>> Uh, so comment and a question. Um, as

1:14:00someone who's lived in the Heartside

1:14:01neighborhood for more than 3 years now,

1:14:04um, I really appreciate um, your

1:14:06attention to uh, those experiencing um,

1:14:10like substance addiction as well as

1:14:12homelessness uh, within that park. Um, I

1:14:15think that's just one of uh, the police

1:14:18department especially. Um, this CPO

1:14:20program is just an essential part of

1:14:22making sure that those folks um, are

1:14:25supported in various ways. um as well as

1:14:28many of our nonprofit organizations and

1:14:30different uh departments throughout the

1:14:32city. Um more generally speaking, I'm

1:14:35curious as this CPO program expands and

1:14:39we hope to bring on more officers. Um

1:14:41how do you envision the geographic

1:14:43divisions of the service areas uh for

1:14:46those CPOS to evolve? Because as I would

1:14:50think about it in terms of building

1:14:52deeper community relationships, if you

1:14:54can have maybe one officer in uh devoted

1:14:58to a smaller area instead of two

1:15:00officers devoted to a area twice the

1:15:03size, you might be able to develop more

1:15:06uh deeper relationships within a

1:15:07specific area.

1:15:08>> Yes. Uh the ultimate goal um we like I

1:15:11said, we just added three new CPOS um

1:15:14this month here. As long as our hiring

1:15:17trends uh continue to increase, the plan

1:15:19is to add two more uh spring of 2027.

1:15:23That will allow us to give two community

1:15:25police officers to the five service

1:15:27areas throughout the city. Um that's a

1:15:30pretty good representation.

1:15:32Um I think and and adequate enough for

1:15:35those down the road as that continues to

1:15:37increase. Uh I can expect another five

1:15:40to come our way so that there's three

1:15:41per service area. um and continue to

1:15:44grow that back up and maybe at some

1:15:46point in the future we'll be above that

1:15:4818 number that we had before.

1:15:50[clears throat]

1:15:52>> Right. Wonderful. Thank you,

1:15:54>> Mayor. Uh for the sake of members of

1:15:56this committee and and those out in the

1:15:58public who may not recall 2021 as um

1:16:02Lieutenant Dia mentioned, I I do recall

1:16:05that uh operational change and that

1:16:08created a lot of dissatisfaction

1:16:10particularly among the neighborhood

1:16:11associations

1:16:13when they could not have access to their

1:16:15community police officers. And we

1:16:17attempted to remedy that. And um DC Trig

1:16:21I'm excuse me Chief Trigg and DC MRO

1:16:24will remember that. I think our pivot

1:16:26was to make the cap or attempt to make

1:16:28the captains kind of quasi community

1:16:31police officers and that didn't work

1:16:32because you had a lot of administrative

1:16:33responsibilities and you couldn't be

1:16:35accessible to the neighborhoods based on

1:16:37being accessible everywhere else. And uh

1:16:40so I I hope that we are able to continue

1:16:42to uh sustain the ongoing uh development

1:16:47of it. And and I just want to again

1:16:50point out um I I remember getting

1:16:52significant calls of concerns and

1:16:55dissatisfaction that uh neighbor

1:16:57particularly neighborhood associations

1:16:59could not have uh that kind of

1:17:01personalized access to community police

1:17:04officers. And then it was at a time

1:17:06where policing was being questioned and

1:17:08was being challenged to become more

1:17:10relational so that people can have

1:17:12relationships and connect with officers

1:17:15outside of a call for service and just

1:17:17engage. So I want to commend the chief

1:17:19for really restoring this program.

1:17:21>> And yeah, and if I can layer on top of

1:17:23that a second, um, a couple things that

1:17:25occur to me. one is um and I think it's

1:17:27implicit in your presentation but maybe

1:17:29not explicit and that is I think there's

1:17:32a growing sense that we have to be able

1:17:35to explain uh policing out in the

1:17:39community and so I think if uh if I

1:17:42think the community officers are are

1:17:45potentially a great bridge between you

1:17:48know uh folks and cruisers and uh the

1:17:52community and so I I I I know I I'm I'm

1:17:55sure you'll build in that sort of

1:17:57educational uh mission too to explain

1:18:00like what police what's happening

1:18:02generally in policing in the city

1:18:03because there's lots of community

1:18:05questions about you know how we interact

1:18:07with federal agencies and things like

1:18:08that and I think that um having having

1:18:11people who are more out granularly in

1:18:14the neighborhood I hope will help

1:18:16explain and educate um but I also hope

1:18:18that um you'll

1:18:22you'll build in um some feedback loops

1:18:25and some input into, you know, what

1:18:28community organizations and groups want

1:18:30and and obviously neighborhood

1:18:32associations are a great place to start.

1:18:34But so not simply liazing with them, but

1:18:36asking them,

1:18:38>> you know, what do you need? Because I

1:18:40I'll give you a simple example was

1:18:42ironically it was before we had

1:18:43community police officers, but I had a

1:18:45uh an uh uh neighborhood association

1:18:48person who said, "Boy, if they would

1:18:50just come by our neighborhood

1:18:51association meetings, if the community

1:18:53officers would just come to our

1:18:54neighborhood association meetings, well,

1:18:56we didn't have any to send at that

1:18:57point." So, uh tough to send people you

1:19:00don't have. But um I I know that uh you

1:19:03know that's it's always going to be an

1:19:04ongoing process but but and I'm sure

1:19:06you'll be iterative and and questioning

1:19:09and not just providing providing

1:19:11information but seeking

1:19:13>> we thrive on creativity and that's

1:19:15what's gotten us this far with this

1:19:17small amount of people now. So

1:19:19>> yep y

1:19:23>> So uh Commissioner Sassy

1:19:26>> thank you thanks for the presentation.

1:19:28Um, you know, again, I think lots of

1:19:30questions from our neighborhood

1:19:31associations and, um, officer Andrew

1:19:34Smith on the north end has been, you

1:19:36know, really engaged with a lot of

1:19:39individuals. Um, has helped me on even

1:19:41some, you know, landlord tenant issues

1:19:43just to try to, you know, we talked

1:19:45about the mediation, but to try to do

1:19:46some of that mediation. Um, and so that

1:19:49probably falls in some of, you know, I

1:19:51don't know if that's high users or not.

1:19:52I remember, I don't know what year this

1:19:54was, but were there Did there used to be

1:19:56like little trailers? Was there like

1:19:57little trailers at different points in

1:19:59the city? Yes. Where we had

1:20:01>> uh so dig up one of those pictures cuz

1:20:03um somebody didn't believe me and I'm

1:20:05like no there used to be one over by

1:20:07well old house South High and uh you

1:20:10know that's what I remembered on the

1:20:11being from the southeast side. Um, but

1:20:13the thing that I, you know, wanted to,

1:20:16you know, to highlight here is what the

1:20:18mayor said is, you know, what is the,

1:20:21sometimes we have what we do, but I

1:20:23really appreciate what you said about

1:20:24how are we educating the public about

1:20:27sort of what are the responses and

1:20:29things. You know, some of us we have the

1:20:30benefit of going to the annual banquet

1:20:32and hearing so many stories that we

1:20:35might hear a snippet about, but then get

1:20:37to delve into it little a little bit

1:20:39more. The other day I wrote city manager

1:20:40and I was like why is over by Pearl and

1:20:43Monroe all blocked off and he gets on

1:20:45the horn is like it was you know

1:20:47somebody who is trying to die by suicide

1:20:49you know and even a lot of these you

1:20:51know engagement pieces that we just

1:20:52might not know. I also think it behooves

1:20:55us to say how do all of us and maybe

1:20:57that next iteration can be what do the

1:20:59not only what do our police our

1:21:01community officers do for the

1:21:02neighborhoods and you know obviously all

1:21:04the things that are listed here but also

1:21:06what our communities can do to support

1:21:08this work too right and so I think that

1:21:11is hopefully an evolving conversation

1:21:13some of the conversation we had today

1:21:14was around technology and the use of you

1:21:17know maybe a new 311 system and so are

1:21:20there ways that we can continue to use

1:21:21those as communication points so that it

1:21:24is not this, you know, right in the

1:21:26moment when I need it, but what are the

1:21:28proactive things? How do we um, you

1:21:30know, sort of clear the the cache, if

1:21:32you will, of what needs to be done? So,

1:21:34just wanted to bring that up because I

1:21:36think that was an interesting frame that

1:21:37you that you brought up, mayor, and was

1:21:39just talking with a couple of

1:21:41neighborhood association folks about

1:21:44it's not only what we can provide, but

1:21:46what can you also be engaged with then

1:21:48we can find this, you know, best place

1:21:50that we all want to be. Thank you.

1:21:56Um, okay. See no other, uh, we've got a

1:21:58second presentation from, uh, the chief

1:22:01and we've got 14 minutes, I think,

1:22:03before we have to be somewhere else. So,

1:22:05I think he can wrap it up then.

1:22:07>> Um,

1:22:09>> y um, so

1:22:13>> I just want him to add a little comment

1:22:14on some community feedback. Um yes, we

1:22:17uh um also

1:22:20police officers, they're they're the

1:22:22ones out there that we widely see on

1:22:23bicycles and and whatnot. And just

1:22:25another example, um uh a good amount of

1:22:28feedback came across my desk um during a

1:22:30nighttime initiative just last week

1:22:32where a group of them went out um and

1:22:34they covered all three wards in the city

1:22:36on an incredibly long bike ride and

1:22:39really balanced that assignment with a

1:22:41good amount of outreach and connecting

1:22:42with the people that were out and about.

1:22:44But as they stumbled across enforcement

1:22:46activities, they did that, too. But from

1:22:49the from my perspective and looking at

1:22:51their activity that night, it was a

1:22:53wonderful balance of enforcement and

1:22:56outreach. Um, and I received several

1:22:58emails of it was great seeing officer so

1:23:00and so and and this back again. And so,

1:23:03uh, exciting times that we're on.

1:23:05>> That's great. Yeah. Thanks.

1:23:08>> Thank you,

1:23:16Chief, while you're transitioning there,

1:23:18a quick question for you. That was a

1:23:19wonderful pre presentation from the

1:23:21lieutenant. Uh there has been moments

1:23:23over time where Grand Rapids has been

1:23:25looking at the national trend about

1:23:26recruitment and how to get officers.

1:23:30Does the community police officer

1:23:31program attract internal and external

1:23:33talent that wants to be a part of that?

1:23:36I hear a lot from people that are in law

1:23:38enforcement saying, "God, who would want

1:23:39to be a cop these days? It's thankless

1:23:41and I'm grateful for you. But does this

1:23:43sort of connectivity and going back to

1:23:46the relationship development around a

1:23:48community offer incentive to officers to

1:23:51want to be a part of that on the street

1:23:52work or is it not as attractive as I'd

1:23:55like to believe?

1:23:57I don't it's and being part of you know

1:23:59as a deputy chief so being part of chief

1:24:01interviews for uh the last um you know

1:24:05four years obviously three plus as a DC

1:24:07and and now I've seen probably 140

1:24:09people come before me and one of the

1:24:11questions is uh what are your future

1:24:13goals uh it's usually K9 and SRT you

1:24:16know they that's uh uh that's something

1:24:18and then detective bureau uh the

1:24:20community police officer that's

1:24:22something I think you more grow into as

1:24:24an officer uh once you're out there

1:24:25doing the work And um you know you you

1:24:28cut your teeth on nights, right? And

1:24:30once you do that u and then you start

1:24:32you know branching out what do you what

1:24:33do you want to do? I've always had a

1:24:34passion for people and a connection for

1:24:37for people. So I I looked at that that

1:24:39was the uh only specialty assignment

1:24:41that I really want. I know sometimes due

1:24:43to my my size people assumed SRT. It was

1:24:46not. Uh, but it was just I I believed in

1:24:49the work, right? And it was I probably

1:24:50would have still been there if it not

1:24:52for promotion and but Lieutenant Daly

1:24:55and Sergeant Howard are taking it to no

1:24:57another level. They really are. So, I'm

1:24:59excited to see what they can do with 15

1:25:01versus uh the eight that they have. So,

1:25:04u no, I love these uh presentations.

1:25:06They're beneficial. We set it these up

1:25:07on on purpose to be informational. um

1:25:10you know from the flock presentation

1:25:12that we did that got a lot of questions,

1:25:14a lot of feedback, but obviously since

1:25:16then we've added that to the

1:25:17surveillance policy uh which is good uh

1:25:20trying to be transparent and and lay it

1:25:22all out there and this is what it is and

1:25:24then so people can have an accurate view

1:25:26of it then determination down the road

1:25:27and then the transparency portal that's

1:25:29that's up and running on our website.

1:25:31the K9 presentation that we did before

1:25:33that, right? Uh uh got a good lot of

1:25:36good questions and feedback and have

1:25:37since added the uh uh the manual online

1:25:40so you can you can see, you know, how

1:25:42they're training and and and such. Um so

1:25:44just moving forward. So let's get

1:25:46through this. I know we're running out

1:25:47of time, but uh the crime stats, uh

1:25:50obviously through January through

1:25:51August, uh the autotheft still trending

1:25:54down.

1:25:55Uh there it is by monthly.

1:25:58uh the robberies uh also uh trending

1:26:01down. Once again, I I I attribute this

1:26:03to uh you can't understate the the power

1:26:06of officer presence and our staffing

1:26:08numbers uh going up. And then as you'll

1:26:10see later, the great work that our

1:26:11detectives uh do with with solving crime

1:26:15is huge and to deter it and uh

1:26:19accountability. So there's our numbers

1:26:21for per person shot. Um, obviously you

1:26:24see the uh the jump with the uh the

1:26:28fatal in 26 there, but as far as for the

1:26:31year, and this is I know I'm going kind

1:26:32of fast, but I know we're familiar with

1:26:34these slides. Uh, this is the areas uh

1:26:37our our five our service areas where the

1:26:40um person shot. Flip to the homicides.

1:26:43Uh, you know, we're currently um, you

1:26:46know, at 14 and these are the names

1:26:49associated with And we always mention

1:26:50these these all these names, they have a

1:26:52story and you know someday, you know,

1:26:55get this number as low as we as we can.

1:26:58You know, it'd be perfect to get zero. I

1:26:59know that's unlikely, but I know we got

1:27:01men and women that go out there and they

1:27:03do everything they can to make a

1:27:05difference and make this number as low

1:27:06as possible.

1:27:08Uh the the national averages, uh still

1:27:11proud of this number. As you see, we're

1:27:13still um uh our our clearance rate 2026

1:27:1711 to 14. just talking to the commander

1:27:19of the uh DB earlier today. Uh those

1:27:23three that are uh outstanding u uh

1:27:26expect to have those solved in a few

1:27:28months. They got great uh intel on those

1:27:31and we're moving forward on those. So

1:27:32that's a uh that's great for our

1:27:34department, great for our city. Uh 19

1:27:37recorded fatal overdoses year to date uh

1:27:40and 263 illegally possessed guns uh have

1:27:44been recovered through August.

1:27:47Uh here's a voicemail

1:27:50uh that that I'm going to read. Uh let's

1:27:52see how many is on there. Yeah. Okay. U

1:27:55that we got regarding uh uh mental

1:27:57health response. And I I just loved it.

1:28:00And I I'll provide more details after,

1:28:02but I just really wanted to call and say

1:28:04thank you to the two officers that

1:28:05showed up for our family tonight when we

1:28:08called in a significant mental health

1:28:09crisis involving a minor. They were calm

1:28:12and kind and really patient, giving a

1:28:14whole lot of grace. And I just really uh

1:28:17and just really seemed trauma informed.

1:28:19They recognized that she was having a

1:28:21hard time and they were just really

1:28:22really patient with her and were really

1:28:24well informed about the resources and

1:28:26the community and what kind of support

1:28:28would be uh able to her. Uh our family

1:28:31also felt supported by the officer.

1:28:33Thank you all so much for the work you

1:28:35do. Thank you for the way you show up

1:28:37for the southeast side of Grand Rapids

1:28:39and how you show up for the youth and

1:28:41families in our community. Thank you.

1:28:43And these are just part of the things I

1:28:45like to show of the of the good that our

1:28:47men and women do. I am proud to say the

1:28:50uh you know that's we're south team

1:28:52officers. Uh officer Cole Hoyer uh a

1:28:56newer officer now I'm running um

1:28:58Manning. He's a newer officer. Uh

1:29:01Officer Dominguez and Officer Dawson

1:29:03Trick, which I'm very proud of. So, uh,

1:29:06of course, uh, but no, it it's those

1:29:08four officers that she comments a little

1:29:10bit more about the time they took

1:29:12because two different officers came two

1:29:13different times and the grace that they

1:29:15showed and whatnot. And that's what we

1:29:17see more times than not. And like I say,

1:29:19it's my job and our jobs as leaders to

1:29:21make sure we put that information uh,

1:29:24you know, before all of you uh, so you

1:29:26know that there's another side of uh,

1:29:28you know, some of the work that they're

1:29:29out there doing. So, uh, and lastly, I

1:29:32want to end with, obviously, we had an

1:29:33incident, uh, that occurred on Sunday

1:29:35morning. Uh, came in at at 7:10 in the

1:29:37morning. Uh, I got the call, uh, but our

1:29:40officers responded to a a fatal PI

1:29:42accident on Century Avenue, uh, at

1:29:45Mckendendrick uh, on the in the East

1:29:47Service area near Burton and uh, 131, if

1:29:50you're familiar with that. Uh, we

1:29:52revised that when we responded, we

1:29:54arrived on scene, the fire department

1:29:56was on scene. Uh there was a vehicle

1:29:58that hit a tree uh and it was on fire.

1:30:00Unfortunately, the subject had succumbed

1:30:02to his his injuries and due to the

1:30:06nature of that type, it's a PI, it's a

1:30:08fatal. It's normal practice that our our

1:30:10traffic investors investigators come out

1:30:12because obviously that's very serious

1:30:13and whatnot. So, they came out to

1:30:16investigate the incident. Uh we learned

1:30:18that the uh immigration officers had

1:30:21attempted to make a traffic stop of that

1:30:24vehicle near Hall and in Sentry, which

1:30:27is about a a mile uh down the road. Uh

1:30:30the vehicle fled from that attempted

1:30:32stop. Uh it proceeded down the uh Sentry

1:30:36uh southbound at excessive speeds uh and

1:30:39then wasn't able to make the turn, if

1:30:41you're familiar with the roadway, and

1:30:43struck a tree and then and then passed.

1:30:45Um, I have full confidence in our our

1:30:47our traffic investigators. They do a

1:30:49wonderful job and everything that they

1:30:50do, but due to the nature of it and the

1:30:53fact that this one has uh involves um

1:30:56you know uh the uh ICE agents and their

1:31:00ability or lack thereof, our trafficking

1:31:02unit lack thereof to have the ability to

1:31:05uh get all the details of what happened

1:31:07before the the the incident occurred. Uh

1:31:09I have requested the assistance for the

1:31:11Michigan State Police. I just think

1:31:12that's will help sh up a nice thorough

1:31:15investigation to make sure that nothing

1:31:17is missed. Uh and they're uh more

1:31:20equipped to get into the details of what

1:31:22proceeded and led to that um that event

1:31:25that led to that those speeds going down

1:31:27the roadway. So uh just wanted to get

1:31:29you guys up to speed on that as we uh as

1:31:32these details unfold. Obviously I'm

1:31:34limited to what I can share because it

1:31:36is an open investigation. Uh but it does

1:31:38involve uh obviously uh our police

1:31:41department from the the crash part and

1:31:43that's when we were first responded on

1:31:44scene. So any questions about anything

1:31:47that I can answer?

1:31:48>> Well, Chief, uh thank you for uh getting

1:31:51the state police involved there. I think

1:31:52that's uh appropriate to um things that

1:31:56areas where we may not be able to get uh

1:31:58a full pull picture of of the

1:32:01circumstances. It's uh I'm glad that

1:32:02we've got state police involved, but

1:32:05just just so we're clear, this is

1:32:06something that GRPD only responded to

1:32:09absolutely after the after the uh event

1:32:12um and wasn't involved in this stop in

1:32:15any way.

1:32:16>> Absolutely. It was a 911 call to our

1:32:17dispatcher regarding a a car versus tree

1:32:20and the car is on fire.

1:32:21>> Okay. So, thank you, uh Commissioner

1:32:23Kilgar.

1:32:24>> Thank you, Mayor. And yeah, I am um

1:32:26[snorts] uh just it is so disheartening

1:32:28to continue to hear of the absolute

1:32:31fear. I think if someone was driving

1:32:33that uh reckless and uh had that extent

1:32:36of a crash, I think there was quite a

1:32:38lot of fear uh involved in that. And so

1:32:41I certainly do not understand, this is

1:32:43just a comment really, I certainly do

1:32:45not understand what uh this federal

1:32:48agency is doing, but it certainly in my

1:32:50opinion is not making our community

1:32:52safer. [snorts] Um, but on a lighter

1:32:54note, I want to thank uh you, Chief

1:32:57Trigg, uh, for joining me for my

1:32:58quarterly community conversation series

1:33:00at Lifequest. Uh, we had some really

1:33:03meaningful conversations for a few

1:33:04hours. Um, some highlights uh that uh

1:33:08community members raised about the

1:33:10department were uh really being

1:33:12interesting interested, excuse me, in

1:33:15training uh procedures, recruitment,

1:33:18relationship building, and it was

1:33:21wonderful uh that both you and I uh were

1:33:24able to uh echo to the audience that we

1:33:27are committed to keeping them locked up

1:33:29uh and involved with all of those

1:33:31updates and that uh you and your

1:33:34officers are wanting to do professional

1:33:37development, wanting to continue to work

1:33:39to serve the community to your best

1:33:40ability. So, I really appreciated that.

1:33:43Um, it was hilarious. Pastor Bishop um

1:33:46said we had to get out or he was going

1:33:47to get a divorce. His wife wanted him

1:33:49back home. Uh, but uh, Chief Trigg and

1:33:51myself stayed um, until everyone left. I

1:33:54mean, so this was multiple hours and

1:33:56every single question uh, every single

1:33:59concern was addressed. And I think those

1:34:00are things similar to the voicemail that

1:34:03folks don't see and that is meaningful.

1:34:05Just as I mentioned earlier, the chief

1:34:07also sat in an LGBTQ plus training. I

1:34:10think these are things that um as we

1:34:12continue to uplift the positive that we

1:34:15need to put out there. So, thanks again.

1:34:17>> Yeah. No, thanks for uh uh uh having me

1:34:19involved and a tough conversation, but

1:34:21those are usually the best kind because

1:34:23things get uh things get worked through.

1:34:25And I know as you said, Pastor Bishop

1:34:27kicked us out of his church because uh

1:34:29we had a long line of people wanting to

1:34:30to follow up with us and uh I look

1:34:32forward to that and it was it was good

1:34:34good event.

1:34:35>> Okay. Thanks everybody. And it's we

1:34:37brought it in under two o'clock. Did

1:34:39commissioner you want to

1:34:40>> you want to say one more thing? Go

1:34:42ahead.

1:34:43>> Thank you.

1:34:44I was letting the age go before beauty

1:34:47again. So [laughter]

1:34:50the young age.

1:34:52>> Uh yes, the young age. We we were joking

1:34:54about it earlier today. Um I want to say

1:34:56thank you for bringing up this this

1:34:58final topic as it relates to this

1:35:00incident. I want to say thank you mayor

1:35:02for the words that you shared. I think

1:35:04um just as we spent the last hour

1:35:06talking about you know kind of what

1:35:09catches on or what doesn't. Um you know

1:35:12there were folks that were writing like

1:35:14we're hearing some rumors. is like,

1:35:15okay, you know, but I I I don't have any

1:35:18information to share with you because a

1:35:19lot of things happen in rumors, but we

1:35:21know this is a really connected and

1:35:22small community. Um, I want to say, you

1:35:26know, the the decision to go to the

1:35:28Michigan uh Michigan State Police is

1:35:31really solid. I think, you know, like we

1:35:33said, we had nothing. we were not

1:35:34engaged in this pursuit, but to give

1:35:37that fullthroatated support, we will

1:35:39always be open to being investigated to

1:35:42make sure that we were not, you know,

1:35:44we're not involved in this is really

1:35:45clear. And I want to say that continued

1:35:47effort. We had a proclam proclamation

1:35:50day for Hispanic Heritage Month. And

1:35:52certainly Latinos, uh, Hispanic

1:35:54individuals are not the only immigrants

1:35:55that are in this community, but they

1:35:57make up a very large majority and seem

1:35:59to be where the targeting is in this

1:36:02community. if we know, we all know that

1:36:04where that neighborhood is that is in

1:36:05the heart of, you know, Granville Avenue

1:36:08in a lot of, you know, Latino

1:36:10communities and families. And so I just

1:36:13want to re reassert everything that the

1:36:16department has done, city manager that

1:36:18you have led, mayor, that you've

1:36:19continued to highlight that we are not

1:36:21engaging in working with this federal

1:36:23agency that you know when we had things

1:36:26last year as it related to flock, we

1:36:28went beyond what we didn't have it under

1:36:30the surveillance policy, but we did that

1:36:32investigation. We've now added

1:36:34technology into the surveillance policy.

1:36:37And to to my colleagueu's point, I don't

1:36:39know what and we won't we won't don't

1:36:41won't know the details for some time,

1:36:43but that that that flicker of lights or

1:36:46whatever that is, it's so serious and

1:36:48that we are doing everything that we can

1:36:50in our control of what we control and

1:36:52what we have oversight over to make sure

1:36:55that um you know this federal agency

1:36:58that seems to be very running rogue and

1:37:00we have you heard from all of the

1:37:02training, MOS, Kalia, all the things

1:37:04that you go and be under and a part of

1:37:06and that we hold our officers to and we

1:37:09do not seem to be doing that with this

1:37:10federal agency with more money, more

1:37:13resources and not very trained people.

1:37:16So, I just feel very strongly about this

1:37:18topic and I appreciate city manager and

1:37:20mayor's leadership on this along with

1:37:21you uh chief. Thanks.

1:37:23>> Thank you. Yeah. So, thanks for the

1:37:24update. Thanks again and yep, we're

1:37:26moving to legislative.

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