LANSING — Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) has issued the following statement after she introduced Senate Bills 234 and 235 to prevent police departments from poaching officers trained by the Detroit Police Department (DPD), and to provide additional funding for the DPD’s retirement system through an entertainment tax.
“The City of Detroit has been through so much this decade, but the integrity and professionalism of those who work at the Detroit Police Department has remained constant. Even when our economic situation was tumultuous, our officers stood strong and worked overtime to protect our communities. The state has repeatedly slashed municipal budgets, so it’s time for Detroit to find a new way to pay for their current and prospective benefits. It’s simply not fair for Detroit taxpayers to foot the bill to train our police officers, only for them to be snatched up and employed elsewhere. We need to protect our taxpayers and the officers who work so hard every day to keep our residents, and communities, safe.”
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