Thursday, July 14, 2016
Ann Arbor, MI
MichiganDaily.com
INDEX
NEWS ...................................
OPINION ..............................
ARTS .....................................
CLASSIFIEDS.........................
SUDOKU................................
SPORTS..................................
2
4
6
8
2
11
Vol. CXXVI, No. 124| © 2016 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com
Nationwide police brutality sparks
dialogue on local law enforcement
Over 1,000 march
through downtown
for Black Lives
Matter protest
By ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily Staff Reporter
More than 500 people gathered
Wednesday at the Michigan Union
to march through downtown Ann
Arbor in protest of police brutality.
After congregating at the Union,
the protesters walked down State
Street and Main Street, stopping
several times along the way before
regrouping at the Diag to have
several people address the crowd.
The Ann Arbor Police Department
escorted
the
protest,
directing
traffic away.
The protest follows a recent
streak of police violence — videos
showing fatal police shootings of
two men, Alton Sterling of Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando
Castile of St. Paul, Minnesota,
launching a flurry of nationwide
protests. A shootingspurred by a
lone gunman last Thursday at a
protest in Dallas claimed the lives
of five police officers. A vigil for
the victims was held last Thursday
in Ann Arbor, and a smaller march
Saturday through downtown was
also organized in response.
Community-police
relations
in Ann Arbor have been sensitive
since the 2014shooting death of Ann
Arbor resident Aura Rosser by police
officer David Ried. The county
prosecuting attorney ruled Ried’s
actions “lawful self defense,” though
some residents were dissatisfied
and skeptical of the results of the
investigation.
In December 2015, the Ann Arbor
Human Rights Commission put forth
a 42-page report, recommending
an independent audit of AAPD
practices and the implementation
of a civilian oversight board to
independently review complaints
against police officers. Although City
Council voted in March to eagerly
accept
these
recommendations,
AAPD Chief Jim Baird expressed
skepticism of the need for increased
local oversight and stressed nothing
be implemented until after an audit
in a June memo.
Currently, the implementation
of
the
HRC
recommendations
remains stalled, though money has
been set aside in the city’s fiscal
year 2017 budget for an auditor. City
Councilmember Sumi Kailasapathy
(D–Ward 1), who also is liaison to the
HRC, told The Daily in an interview
Wednesday she expects a resolution
to hire an independent auditor soon
— which would precede ordinance
changes to implement an oversight
body — but was unable to provide an
exact timeline.
Kailasapathy
added
she
did
not believe the implementation of
increased oversight was a reaction
to deteriorating trust, but rather
a
check-and-balance
on
local
government.
“This is not an indictment of our
police force. This is about setting up
checks and balances,” Kailasapathy
said.
The atmosphere of the protest
was high in energy, with marchers
constantly chanting, “Hands up,
don’t shoot,” as well as, “No justice,
no peace” and “hey, hey, ho, ho, these
racist cops have got to go!”
SINDUJA KILARU/Daily
Ann Arbor Pioneer High School senior Dea Chappell marches on State Street during a Black Lives Matter protest Saturday in wake of recent instances of police brutality across the nation
NEWS
Four more years
City council votes to
put term extension on
November ballot proposal
>> SEE PAGE 2
OPINION
Prioritize Oversight
Police oversight commitee
will keep city residents and
police on the same page
>> SEE PAGE 4
ARTS
Can we trust ‘Mr.
Robot’?
USA drama returns with
dark, chilling premiere
>> SEE PAGE 6
SPORTS
Michigan vs.
Notre Dame
After a three-year hiatus,
the rivalry resumes in 2018
>> SEE PAGE 11
inside
See PROTEST, Page 9