DETROIT – Michigan State Police officials are standing by their decision to spend tens of thousands of dollars to send dozens of employees to a law enforcement conference in Orlando, Florida.
Records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show MSP sent more than five times the number of attendees than any other police organization in the state.
Retiring boss Col. Kriste Etue and 35 other employees took the trip at taxpayers' expense, the Local 4 Defenders learned.
National police conferences can be a chance for officers to learn and network with other crime-fighting experts around the country. Several Michigan police agencies sent representatives to a recent conference in Orlando, but concerns have been raised about the number of representatives sent by MSP.
Orlando is a huge draw for conferences, and that's where the International Association of Chiefs of Police held its conference this year. Police officers were sent there to learn, network and celebrate.
This year's attendees were treated to a day at Universal Studios and a visit from President Donald Trump.
"We understand reducing crime begins with respecting law enforcement," Trump said. "For too many years we have watched politicians wage attacks on our courageous police officers."
The point of a conference is to send a couple of representatives and have them bring back the latest information in crime fighting for the rest of their co-workers.
The Livonia Police Department sent three people, costing taxpayers about $4,000. The Wayne County Sheriff's Office sent six people for about $8,000. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office sent two people for about $3,000. The Detroit Police Department sent five people for about $7,000.
Michigan State Police officials sent 36 people to the conference, costing taxpayers about $50,000.
"They didn't need to send that many state police down there to represent Michigan," resident Carolyn Austin said.
"Oh, wow," resident Ladonna Hardin said. "Yeah, that's not good. Not good, in my opinion. No, don't spent our hard-earned dollars for them to have a good trip. You know, I would love to go on a good trip. I would love to go to Disney. I would love to go to Orlando and lay on the beach, go to Miami and lay on the beach. But I can't afford it. I have to go to work and continue to work, so I don't think that's nice. I don't think that was good."
Most residents understand paying for a couple of officers to go to the conference, but many thought 36 was too many for a single agency.
"We couldn't find anything else better to do in Michigan?" Austin asked. "Homeless people, kids out here that are hungry, not getting what they need, and we couldn't find anything better to do. We've got Coats for Kids. They could have helped out a whole lot of coats with that money."
Etue made national news when she was suspended for five days due to an inappropriate social media post about NFL players who protest during the national anthem. She made financial news when it was reported she would collect a $500,000 lump sum payment plus a $92,000 annual payment in retirement at the end of the year.
When it comes to explaining why she approved 36 employees to attend the conference in Florida, she refused to be interviewed.
When the Local 4 Defenders sent emails to the employees who attended the conference asking for information, we received a statement from a spokesperson.
Here is the full statement from MSP:
"The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Annual Conference is the premier educational conference for the law enforcement profession, offering an unparalleled educational and networking experience for law enforcement leaders from around the world. Because of the tremendous educational value of this conference, the MSP sets aside money within our budget to provide as many of our commanders with the opportunity to attend as we can afford. For the last several years, we have selected between 50 and 65 members to attend. Each year, the conference is hosted in a different city, with recent conferences held in Philadelphia, Chicago and San Diego. For many of our members, this is the only professional development conference they attend.
"It's important to remember that the MSP is a very diverse public safety agency made up of over 3,000 employees in four bureaus that include field services (troopers, detectives), commercial vehicle enforcement, forensic services, emergency management, homeland security, criminal justice information, biometrics, and training. Comparing our agency and role to that of a local police department is not fair, especially when you consider that networking with our colleagues from other state police organizations always requires out-of-state travel.
"In addition to the training sessions offered, the IACP Annual Conference also has an extensive public safety vendor display area where new technologies and services are demonstrated to attendees. The ability to interact with so many vendors in one location has proven invaluable, as it allows employees who are responsible for these systems and technologies to evaluate and critique products in a hands-on environment.
"Further, for at least two decades now, the MSP has been actively involved with the IACP. In fact, former MSP Director Michael Robinson served as IACP President during his tenure as MSP Director, and Colonel Etue has served on both the IACP Board of Directors and within the leadership of the State & Provincial Police division of the IACP.
"Finally, every year, we have employees recognized by the IACP with awards for their achievements, as well as employees selected to present in training sessions during the conference."
MSP officials said the department is larger than most departments and therefore should not be compared, but the Detroit Police Department has about the same number of employees as MSP.
One lieutenant who went to the conference retired two weeks later, according to records.
"That's not good," Hardin said. "Our streets need every penny that we can get."