The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, January 25, 2010 - 5A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, January 25, 2010 - 5A
DPS OVERSIGHT
From Page lA
that complaint, we'll decide wheth-
er or not to step up to an internal
investigation," Brown said.
She said most complaints are
from people who are not satisfied
with the way an officer treated
them and from people who are not
happy about being thrown out of a
football game for being drunk.
Regardless of the incident, DPS
reviews each complaint by talking
to the officer in question, available
witnesses, the person who filed the
complaint and viewing any evi-
dence like video footage.
Brown said an investigation is
never led by the supervisor of the
officer in question "so that there's
some sort of independent eye."
" After an investigation is com-
pleted, a complaint is deemed
either unfounded or founded.
Brown said DPS investigations
determine most of the complaints
to be "unfounded," meaning a citi-
zen voiced concern about an offi-
cer, but the investigation concluded
that the officer acted appropriately
in the particular situation.
A complaint also will be labeled
unfounded if there is a lack of evi-
dence.
Out of 17 complaints received by
in 2007 and 2008, 13 were classi-
fied as unfounded.
A complaint is only labeled
founded when it is determined
an action a person is complaining
about did take place and that the
officer did not follow protocol or
engage in proper conduct.
Depending on the incident, DPS
Executive Director Ken Magee will
determine any final discipline orcor-
rective action. Brown said an officer
will typically attend counseling, but
that it's possible for an officer to be
suspended or terminated. .
According to the February
2009 Commission on Accredita-
tion for Law Enforcement Agen-
cies (CALEA) report - a document
obtained by the Daily through
a Freedom of Information Act
request - one DPS officer was sus-
pended and one was terminated in
2008 while five officers were sus-
pended in 2007.
Once the investigation of a com-
plaint is completed, the person who
brought the complaint receives a
written response about the out-
come from the investigating lieu-
tenant officer. If the complainant
has further concerns, he or she can
appeal to Magee, who is informed
of any complaint filed with the
department and is updated on its
investigation.
While the DPS Oversight Com-
mittee's main role is to act as a
check on the campus police, it does
not have any direct involvement
in dealing with complaints filed
with DPS. Instead, the committee
HEALTH CARE
From Page 1A
October, College Democrats has
teamed with Organizing For
America - the grassroots con-
tinuation of President Barack
Obama's campaign - to hold
phone banks where they have
called more than 6,000 Demo-
cratic supporters, encouraging
them to contact local legislators
to lobby in support of health care
reform.
College Democrats also holds
Diag Days to urge students to
make phone calls to local leg-
islators to support health care
reform.
By encouraging University
students to contact legislators,
Samuel Marvin, chair of the
University's chapter of College
Democrats, said he hopes to get
young voices heard in the health
care debate.
"We know that a lot of people
voted in 2008. They voted for
Obama, they voted for Demo-
cratic senators and they voted for
Democraticcongressmenbecause
health care is an issue, and it's
something people want," Mar-
vin said. "We want to be as big a
part of that as possible, so we can
reallyget the student perspective
as something that's talked about
and something that's respected
in the debate."
The College Democrats have
also worked closely with United
States Congressman John Dingell
(D-Mich.), the sponsor of the bill
in the House of Representatives,
who has been a strong advocate
of health care reform during his
54-year career in Congress.
In an e-mail interview with
The Michigan Daily yesterday,
Dingell wrote that the best way
for students to get involved in
health care reform is simply to
start speaking up.
"The message is really the
same for everyone - make your-
self heard," Dingell wrote. "It
could be as simple as sharing
your thoughts around the dinner
table when you go home, but the
important thing is to keep talk-
receives a list of complaints at one
meeting each year.
Brown said if a complaint of
"substantive nature" is presented,
DPS makes sure the committee
hears about it before the annual
report. But besides these infre-
quent instances, Brown said the
department doesn't contact the
committee.
"We don't pick up the phone and
tell the oversight committee when
somebody has made a complaint
that they were thrown out of a foot-
ball game, and then we've discov-
ered in the investigation that yeah,
they were thrown out because they
were drunk and disorderly," Brown
said. "We don't take up the com-
mittee's time to go back that day to
say 'oh, this was one of those com-
plaints."'
Brown said given the work DPS
does, it's impressive that they
receive so few complaints each
year.
"We have very few complaints
yet we're dealing with difficult
people all the time and difficult
situations all the time," she said.
She cited the CALEA assessment
report DPS officially received in
August, which made DPS the 13th
out of about 600 police agencies
in the state to be accredited. DPS
was also the first law enforcement
agency from the Big Ten confer-
ence to receive accreditation by the
commission.
Brown said DPS excelled in han-
dling citizen complaints and inter-
nal affairs investigations - one of
the categories the report evalu-
ated.
The report listed that DPS
received 12 citizen complaints in
2008,11 in 2007 and 13 in 2006 and
concluded that DPS appropriately
managed the complaints.
"The agency is keenly aware that
complaints against the agency or
employees are to be taken serious-
ly," the report stated. "The agency
provides the opportunity to file the
complaint online, in person, or in
writing. Persons who wish to file a
complaint can do so anonymously."
Brown said DPS was happy with
the overall results from the assess-
ment.
"We're pretty proud of it, but it
also says to our campus community
I think that, 'yes, indeed, we're one
of the best there is in the country,"'
Brown said.
Though DPS receives less than
15 complaints each year, police
agencies at other colleges in the
state of Michigan, receive far fewer
complaints than DPS.
Fred Harris, associate director
of the Central Michigan Univer-
sity Police Department, said the
department has received either
zero or one complaints each year.
Greg O'Dell, police chief of Eastern
Michigan UniversityPolice Depart-
ment, said the department receives
between zero and five complaints
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ar. the board - said he has received
sam Terrell, chair of Michi- about five grievance reports from
ate University's oversight the oversight committee during the
tee, said the body has last six years.
d one complaint in the last "One of the purposes of the com-
rs. mittee isnto make sure thatthe most
me said he was not aware seniorleveloftheUniversityis fully
any complaints other cam- aware and accountable for taking
ice departments receive on into account the recommendations
al basis and could not com- and taking appropriate actions to
PS's performance to other correct any potential problems,"
Slottow said in a recent interview
ever, he said the majority of with The Michigan Daily.
ints submitted to DPS are The reports given to Slottow
inor." typically describe the grievance,
ey're) almost more custom- analyze the facts and include rec-
ce related such as the way ommendations on how to fix the
dy spoke to somebody - if situation.
rude and used profanity However, Slottow said he has
ething of that nature - as never received any reports recom-
d to something that would mending major policy changes.
idered a violation of the law "In each one of those, they basi-
of force," Magee said. cally said either the grievance
added that DPS receives was determined to be unfounded
e compliments than com- or there was some minor activity
or change that occurred that has
the average of once every already beentaken care ofbased on
get a letter from a citizen their discussion with DPS," Slot-
menting our staff or one of tow said.
ployees or the department Though the grievance has
al," Magee said. already been handled by the time
it reaches his desk, Slottow said he
OPTING TO FILE reads the report to see if there is
A GRIEVANCE anything more the University can
do, which, he said, there usually
e they are given a different isn't.
rievances do notdiffer from "There have not been recom-
nts in content, instead they mendations for me to take onbehalf
rocedurally in which body the University," he said.
them. But he said that could change
DPS Oversight Committee in the future, which is why he is
o complaints as "grievanc- responsible for receiving the com-
ause Public Act 120 of 1990 mittee's reports.
sat the oversight committee Though some grievances make
eceive and address griev- it to Slottow's office, at other uni-
y persons against the public versities in the state, there is some
'fficers or the public safety variation in what reaches the desks
sent of the institution." of top officials.
separate terminology has At EMU, the president receives
some confusion. Brown all complaints as soon as they are
e word "grievance" typi- filed, while the vice president of
fers to employees who have CMU is advised of all complaints.
l issues with their supervi- At MSU, however, the oversight
committee does not send a report
not quite sure that the term to a university executive.
so much to a citizen com- Over the last few months, details
I don't know how a citizen reported in the Daily have, accord-
ievance," Brown said. ing to several independent lawyers,
gh grievances and com- called into question whether the
can have the same subject student, faculty and staff represen-
they differ completely in tatives on the committee have been
body reviews them. If a elected in compliance with a 1990
files a complaint with DPS, state statute that gave the Univer-
plaint will be reviewed by sity the right to create a campus
'estigators and looked over police force. In doing so, the statute
DPS Oversight Commit- also mandated the creation of an
r the investigation is com- oversight committee.
If a citizen files a grievance Independent lawyers stated in a
e oversight committee, the Nov. 16 Daily article that the elec-
ce has the potential to end tions for each respective party
he desk of a top University appear to violate state law because
trator. the students, faculty and staff of
verage, the oversight coin- the University do not elect the rep-
reviews two grievances resentatives.
ar. The Michigan Student Assembly
ow - the executive offi- has since altered its election meth-
is responsible for the DPS od for student representatives to
ht Committee and handling the oversight board to fall more in
ce recommendations from line with the state statute.
RESTAURANT
From Page 1A
taurants.
"The June event exceeded our
expectations, and the January
(event) was bigger and better
than June," Thomson said.
Restaurant Week is organized
by the Main Street Area Asso-
ciation, a non-profit organiza-
tion that works to attract people
to downtown Ann Arbor. Res-
taurant Week, which the MSAA
plans to make a biannual event,
is purposely scheduled during
traditionally slow times for Ann
Arbor businesses, Thomson said.
"January, for downtown, is a
slow time," Thomson said. "(The
goal of Restaurant Week is) just
to bring people downtown, give
downtown a little boost and give
people the chance to eat a little
something special and afford-
able."
Despite the usually lighttraffic
this time of year, downtown res-
taurants were packed last week,
according to Thomson.
"I don't know if you've ever had
lunch in downtown Ann Arbor
here in the week, but it's typically
not very busy," Thomson said. "I
just love seeing crowds - crowds
in restaurants at lunch. It's won-
derful!"
Thomson said the event was
originally inspired by a trip by
local business owners James
and Kathy Macdonald to Cali-
fornia, where they attended San
Francisco's Restaurant Week. At
the time, they owned Bella Ciao,
a restaurant on West Liberty
Street, and thought that copying
the event could draw attention to
Ann Arbor's diverse cuisine.
Brandon Johns, owner of Ann
Arbor restaurant Grange Kitchen
& Bar, which opened last August,
said he did not hesitate to partici-
pate in Restaurant Week.
"It's a good way to bring busi-
ness in January, simple as that,"
Johns said. "We haven't been
able to take a reservation for four
days."
On its regular menu, Grange
Kitchen & Bar's main courses
start at $21, but for restaurant
week they offered select menu
items at a discount based on vari-
ety and cost.
"We want to be cost-effec-
tive as well, because it is such a
deeply discounted dinner for us,"
Johns said.
Grange's Restaurant Week
dinner offered a choice of soup or
salad, a main dish of pan roasted
chicken, grilled lake trout or
cider braised beef, and a choice
of dessert - all for $25.
Binod Dhakal, manager at
Shalimar Restaurant, said that
in addition to bringing in new
customers, Restaurant Week
can also be a good time to test
potential new items on its menu,
which offers traditional Indian
dishes.
"We are introducing new items
so we can get feedback to refer-
ence so we can put those items on
our menu," Dhakal said.
Hope Mleczko, manager of
vegetarian restaurant Seva on
East Liberty Street, said Restau-
rant Week can be a great chance
to reach new patrons.
"We did see a lot of regulars
as well, but in addition to them
there are alot of other people - a
lot of new faces," Mleckzko said.
LEIDY
From Page 1A
all of its products are sold before
the lease on the shop's space ends
on Feb. 28.
"A lot of our regular customers
know that the store is closing,"
Peter Leidy said. "Our hope is
that it continues to be busy and
that most, if not all, of the mer-
chandise that we still have will
be gone hopefully sooner than
the end of February."
Because of the store's fam-
ily atmosphere, the shop and its
owners have developed relation-
ships with customers and the
Ann Arbor community through-
out its existence.
"Our family has relationships
with hundreds - if not thousands
- of people," Peter Leidy said.
"It's a sad time of saying good-
bye to the John Leidy Shop, but
it's also years and years of great
friendships and memories."
The store has suffered from the
changing gift market in which
customers shop for gifts at large
chain stores online instead of at
smaller, local shops. Peter Leidy
said the family has tried to strike
a balance between maintaining
the store's identity while keep-
ing up with customers' changing
tastes.
"There are certain lines of
crystal and china that the store
has been carrying since almost
day one," he said. "There is other
stuff that goes with how people's
tastes have changed over the
years. The tricky thing is you
can only change so much before
the whole identity of the store
changes."
For both loyal customers and
the occasional shopper, the shop
has been known to have a variety
of gifts that can suit almost any
person's needs. In 1959, the shop
not only occupied one storefront
next to the Michigan Theater but
also another on the other side.
One shop sold China, while the
other sold dinnerware.
The second storefront closed
in 2006, and the Leidy fam-
ily consolidated the shop's goods
into one space.
The store has always been a
family business, and upon John
Leidy's death in 1993, his wife
and children continued to run
the store.
Four of the five Leidy children
have other careers, but Peter
Leidy said his sister Liz will be
the most impacted by the store's
closure because she is most
actively involved in the day-to-
day business operations.
"She's not really thinking a
whole lot about that because
there is a whole lot of energy
with the store right now," Peter
Leidy said.
All the merchandise in the
store is on sale. For now, the fam-
ily is focusing on selling as much
of it as possible before the lease
runs out.
As of now, there are no defi-
nite plans for the space the shop
currently occupies. However,
the landlord has been talking to
potential new tenants, according
to Peter Leidy.
While the Leidy family is sad
to say good-bye to the shop, Peter
Leidy said the family takes com-
fort in having 58 years of memo-
ries they can reflect on.
"It's a bittersweet thing and
not all doom and gloom but years
of joyful memories," he said.
ing."
Marvin said he hopes to get
students involved because they
are one of the groups that would
be most affected by the passage
of health care reform. The bill
would allow students to have
continued coverage under their
parents' health insurance plan
until age 27.
"That's a big hurdle for a lot
of people when they graduate
because if they don't have a job
with good benefits, they're out of
health insurance," Marvin said.
Despite the optimism among
College Democrats and other
Democrats across the nation
regarding health care reform,
the Republicans gained a cru-
cial victory with the election of
Republican Scott Brown as Mas-
sachusetts senator last Tuesday
- a win many officials speculate
could put the passing of a health
care reform bill in jeopardy, at
least in the near future.
Charles Bogren, co-chair of
the University's chapter of Col-
lege Republicans, said the vic-
tory proves the nation is unhappy
with current health care reform
efforts and is ready for a change,
which is why his group is work-
ing to mobilize student opposi-
tion to reform.
Bogren added that he has seen
an increase in College Republican
membership this year, which he
attributes to students' opposition
to Obama's work as president.
"We've seen a lot more mem-
bers this year that have joined
because of what the Obama
administration has been doing so
far, and it's great to see this cam-
paign and this special election
show that a lot of people do agree
with us," Bogren said.
Last Thursday, College Repub-
lieans invited physician and
University alum Robert Steele
to speak about his concerns of
how the health care reform bill
would negatively affect the state
of Michigan.
Steele has been involved in
various health care debates over
the years and has been a member
of The Heritage Foundation - a
conservative think tank that does
research and analysis of public
policy issues - for more than 20
years.
With his background in the
medical industry and concern
for the current state of health
care reform in the United States,
Steele is considering running
against Dingell in the 2010 elec-
tion.
At the College Republicans
meeting, he said his idea to run
for Congress stems from his con-
cern for future generations, cit-
ing his four children and nieces
and nephews, who are facing a
country with an uncertain and
debt-ridden future.
"As I look out at the crazy
spending that's going on right
now, really the opportunities for
(younger generations) are basi-
cally disappearing with every
year of the exponential growth
of the budget and the deficit and
how the math is turning against
the next generation," Steele said.
"So that's why I wanted to get
involved."
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