MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The state’s civil rights watchdog is filing additional charges of racial discrimination against the Grand Rapids Police Department. “The Grand Rapids Police Department provided no evidence that they treat individuals of another race the same in similar circumstances.”Grand Rapids officials said they have not yet been served with the latest charges. We’ll be reviewing the charges and responding appropriately.”The new charges join two other racial discrimination charges filed by the MDCR this summer stemming from the gunpoint handcuffing of Honestie Hodges and the detainment of a compliant Black motorist. There’s first an opportunity for mediation between Grand Rapids police and the complaint-maker, but with no resolution it could go to an administrative law judge. It wasn’t until July 2022 that the MDCR announced its first charges of individual discrimination against the police department.

Michigan’s civil rights watchdog announced two charges of discrimination against the Grand Rapids Police Department on Wednesday, further heightening scrutiny of the department following an officer’s killing of a Black motorist in April.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A judge heard arguments Wednesday morning on Grand Rapids’ request to throw out the racial discrimination cases against the city’s police department. Rather, the contention was over technical reasons, whether the Grand Rapids Police Department was a proper and eligible party to be sued on the discrimination charges. MDCR attorneys said the matter could be solved by naming the city as a defendant alongside the Grand Rapids Police Department, which is currently the only named defendant. Grand Rapids’ attorneys say Whitney Hodges fit the suspect description. Attorneys for Grand Rapids contend Mason was not wholly compliant and was not detained for 20 minutes.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Attorneys for Grand Rapids deny the city’s police department discriminated against two Black people previously detained by officers. In addition to technical reasons, the city contends in legal documents that the state’s civil rights watchdog failed to show Grand Rapids officers had no legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for their actions. In court filings obtained by MLive/The Grand Rapids Press via the Freedom of Information Act, Grand Rapids attorneys denied police officers subjected either Honestie or Mason to unlawful discrimination and unequal treatment on the basis of race. In both cases, attorneys say among other things that the state’s civil rights watchdog failed to show Grand Rapids police officers had no legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for their actions. While Honestie, who died from COVID in November 2020, was Black, Grand Rapids’ attorneys say her mother fit the attempted murder suspect’s description.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Grand Rapids is asking a judge to throw out the racial discrimination charges brought by the state’s civil rights watchdog against the city’s police department. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) on July 25 announced the charges against the police department of Michigan’s second largest city. Grand Rapids filed motions to dismiss the cases in separate filings on Aug. 9 and Aug. 10. Related: Attorney hopes civil rights charges will change how Grand Rapids police interact with Black peopleThe “charges” against the GRPD brought by the MDCR aren’t criminal charges. If that fails, the matter goes before an administrative law judge, like in the case of Grand Rapids.

Although the Michigan Department of Civil Rights does investigate discrimination complaints involving sexual orientation and gender identity, legal protections for LGBTQ people in Michigan are shaky. Plaintiffs argued they have a constitutional right to deny service based on religious beliefs—a flashpoint around LGBTQ rights in the United States. In the meantime, Trevino says the Michigan Department of Civil Rights will keep investigating complaints under the purview of the interpretative statement. More on MLive:Petition to create LGBTQ protections in Michigan civil rights law appears short on signaturesAnti-trans violence reached a record high last year. Michigan Supreme Court bypasses Court of Appeals to hear LGBTQ case

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Local NAACP President Cle Jackson is pleased with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights’ announcement this week about formal racial discrimination charges being filed against the Grand Rapids Police Department. Jackson told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press that city leadership must take the charges serious in order to see real change. “With regards to Honestie’s case, (the NAACP) were the ones who initiated a formal complaint against the Grand Rapids Police Department,” Jackson said. ALSO READ: Attorney hopes civil rights charges will change how Grand Rapids police interact with Black peopleJackson said the NAACP looks forward to the next steps in each case. Cle Jackson, Greater Grand Rapids NAACP president, speaks during a press conference earlier in 2022.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – An attorney representing the family of Honestie Hodges hopes civil rights discrimination charges against the Grand Rapids Police Department changes the way officers interact with Black people. Related: Grand Rapids police discriminated against 11-year-old and Black motorist, civil rights watchdog saysMDCR Executive Director John E. Johnson Jr. said Monday that Grand Rapids police were unable to show that people of another race in similar situations would have been treated the same. The handcuffing and detainment of Honestie at gunpoint sparked community outrage, and Grand Rapids city leaders later adopted a policy for how officers should interact with juveniles. There’s first an opportunity for mediation between Grand Rapids police and the complaint-maker, but with no resolution it could go to an administrative law judge. That judge would then make a recommendation to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, which would make a final determination.

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights announced on Monday formal charges of discrimination filed against the Grand Rapids Police Department.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The state’s civil rights watchdog has charged the Grand Rapids Police Department with racial discrimination in the gunpoint handcuffing of Honestie Hodges and the detainment of a compliant Black motorist. He said Grand Rapids police were unable to show that people of another race in similar situations would have been treated the same. Mason, who is Black, was driving that day with her three children when Grand Rapids police stopped her for an expired plate. A Michigan civil rights department spokesperson previously told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press that the new “charges” are not criminal charges, but start an administrative process. That judge would then make a recommendation to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, which would make a final determination.

Related: Grand Rapids police have drawn outrage for years for pulling guns on minority residentsMDCR continues to investigate a little more than two dozen discrimination complaints against the department. That is, it did until Lyoya was fatally shot in the back of the head by a Grand Rapids police officer during a struggle. Lyoya’s funeral was held Friday in Grand Rapids. People have been traumatized by the treatment at the hands of local law enforcement,” said Cle Jackson, president of the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP. It’s long overdue, long overdue.”Both Jackson and Patterson believe there is a pattern or practice of racial discrimination at the Grand Rapids Police Department.

Michigan state officials have asked the US Department of Justice to launch a "pattern-or-practice" investigation into the Grand Rapids Police Department after an officer there fatally shot a man during a physical struggle following a...

The request for assistance from other agencies comes nearly three years since the state civil rights watchdog opened an investigation into the Grand Rapids Police Department. Officials with the state civil rights department in May 2019 announced they would investigate that question of racial discrimination, along with dozens of other individual complaints of discrimination against GRPD. The Michigan civil rights department opened a preliminary investigation into GRPD in March 2019. Lyoya’s death has once again placed statewide and national scrutiny on the Grand Rapids Police Department. Johnson said MDCR has fielded a total of just under four dozen complaints against the Grand Rapids Police Department.

Former and current state lawmakers from metro Detroit plan to file a lawsuit against Michigan’s redistricting commission, arguing it violated the federal Voting Rights Act...

Republicans and civil rights advocates have found themselves on the same side of an argument: They both say Michigan's newly drawn legislative districts are unfair...

Less than two weeks before Michigan’s redistricting commission is expected to approve the next decade of new voting districts, the state’s civil rights department declared...

And three Michigan schools still use the term Redskins, seen as the most offensive to Native American communities. Camden-Frontier Schools in Hillsdale County, Sandusky Community Schools in Sanilac County and Saranac Community Schools in Ionia County are the Michigan districts that still use Redskins as mascots. An additional 38 schools across the state continue to use Native American imagery. The use of Native American imagery in schools has been a longstanding issue for the state. The Michigan Board of Education adopted a Resolution in 2003 that supports the elimination of Native American descriptors and mascots by all Michigan schools.

In Michigan, the agency that’s in charge of enforcing anti-discrimination laws is the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR). “I’ve been involved in civil rights work since the ‘90s through the Detroit Chapter of the NAACP and also through our Michigan State Conference NAACP … Those combined skills, along with community work, puts me in a position to lead this magnificent staff that is both committed and dedicated to the work of enforcing civil rights.” — John E. Johnson, MDCR Executive DirectorOn May 24, John E. Johnson was appointed the new director of the MDCR by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. Listen: John E. Johnson discusses how, under his leadership, the MDCR is enforcing anti-discrimination laws. GuestJohn E. Johnson is the Executive Director of the MDCR. ”The Michigan Department of Civil Rights is the law enforcement agency for civil rights violations in the state established by the state constitution.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU) is asking the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) to intervene in a “potentially racially hostile education environment” in Brighton schools.

LANSING, MI — The Michigan Supreme Court has bypassed the appellate court in agreeing to a Department of Civil Rights request to hear its appeal of a lower-court ruling that held the sex classification in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act does not encompass sexual orientation. They have filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, arguing the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act doesn’t protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The Supreme Court called for briefs to be filed by Oct. 25 with no extensions unless good cause is shown. In the majority were Chief Justice Bridget McCormack, Justice Richard Bernstein, Justice Megan Cavanagh and Justice Elizabeth Welch. Read more:Wedding venue that declined to host same-sex marriage ceremony sues Michigan Department of Civil RightsLawmakers, Whitmer renew push to expand civil rights protections to Michigan’s LGBTQ residentsNew ballot initiative would protect LGBT Michiganders from housing, employment discrimination

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — Earlier this year, a 7-year-old biracial girl attending a Mount Pleasant grade school had her hair cut first by a fellow student, then by a school librarian. Two days later, Jurnee returned home a second time with nearly all her hair cut off down to a few inches from her scalp. · Cutting a student’s hair on school grounds either with or without parent permission is a clear violation of school policy. “A white employee and white administrators being investigated by a nearly all-white school board who hired an unknown ‘independent investigator’ is not an appropriate lens by which to evaluate this situation. Read more:Department of Civil Rights ‘deeply concerned’ about Mount Pleasant girl’s haircut by school stafferMichigan school district says girl, 7, asked to have her hair cutMichigan girl’s haircut by school staffer ‘modern-day scalping,’ says National Parents Union

SAGINAW, MI — A Saginaw man has filed complaints with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Michigan State Police, alleging troopers targeted and threatened him during a traffic stop this summer. Stephen J. Houston, a 27-year-old Black man, cited racial discrimination in filing the complaint against the two white troopers with the civil rights department. Michigan law calls for a concealed pistol license holder to immediately alert police to a licensed gun. The footage then devolves into overlapping chatter between the troopers, Houston, and yelling from the women, making portions of the audio difficult to discern. Michigan State Police troopers on July 11 pulled over Stephen J. Houston in Buena Vista Township.

Photo via Crain's DetroitDETROIT Mary Engelman, the acting Michigan Department of Civil Rights director, was appointed as interim director of the Department on Monday. Engelman previously served as the executive director of the Michigan Womens Commission, deputy director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and since August as acting director of the MDCR. We felt it would helpful to have an adviser to assist us in the process of searching for a new executive director, Wheeler Smith said. The Commission also approved a job description and posting schedule, as well as a process by which it will select a permanent executive director. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission was created by the Michigan Constitution to safeguard constitutional and legal guarantees against discrimination.

click to enlarge Steve NeavlingA racial incident at a downtown Detroit bar has evolved into a public discussion, called Lets Talk About Race, set for Thursday.The Michigan Department of Civil Rights will facilitate the community conversation at 3:30 p.m. at Checker Bar, 124 Cadillac Place.The impetus for the discussion was a complaint by Wendell Fleming, a Black patron who said he was mistreated and called names by an unnamed white bartender. The bartender was fired the next day for making racial slurs. Detroit is not one of those cities, and will not be. That is why we are excited about this conversation. Its part of our role as a good neighbor.