LANSING, Mich. (May 16, 2022) — Today, Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint), along with Sens. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and Erika Geiss (D-Taylor), issued the following statement in support of police improvement and accountability bills moving through the Michigan Legislature. Senate Bills 473-484 were introduced to address issues that have arisen, from past and recent interactions between officers and residents around the state, in which no-knock warrants and/or excessive use of force occurred:
“As public officials, our duty is to develop solutions to systemic problems. To that end, we have spent the last year working together with colleagues and stakeholders on a bipartisan package of bills to address police accountability and transparency issues in Michigan.
“There is a need for us to improve police policies and practices to prevent traumatic, life-altering incidents from happening to our community members. From national tragedies to local issues, troubling interactions with law enforcement serve as reminders that no-knock warrants should be banned, and knock-and-enter warrants need to be defined better. We also need to ensure that all police officers are equipped with body cameras so that investigators, policy leaders, and the public can view the footage — which would help increase transparency and establish accountability between officers and residents — should something go wrong.
“It is clear that fundamental changes in our approach to public policy and policing are needed, and we are committed to seeing these bills passed and sent on to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.”
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