Quote Originally Posted by corktownyuppie View Post
Ran into Ron Scott [[Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality) earlier this week. He and I spoke briefly about Belle Isle. I think part of the problem/misunderstanding is that he is conflating two separate issues:

[[1) Strict enforcement of the laws as written, such as fishing permits, the speed limit, etc. [[which is ok, IMHO).

[[2) Unnecessarily hostile engagement of islandgoers who haven't done anything wrong, such as the earlier post of someone who was questioned by police even though they did not have a reason to be detained or probable cause to be questioned. [[which I'm not ok with.)

He mentioned that the protest was very calm and peaceful and that their intention is not to be confrontational, unless necessary. He mentioned to me that there's a group of classic car enthusiasts who do an annual get together on Belle Isle but that they're afraid to do the even their for fear of being harrassed. [[or worse).

I told him that if they're not breaking any rules, then I don't have a problem with them being on the island...his response was that after years of things being one way, it is unclear to the general population of what is within the rules and not. And he also mentioned that it is also unclear that there is a check on law enforcement to make sure they aren't overstepping their bounds.

Now let me pause and mention that Ron Scott is very vocal about the Emergency Management as being an "occupation", and he is viewing this through a civil rights issue rather than a financial issue. And, of course, given the last 50 years, there is certainly some reason for him to see it that way. But I do take him at his word that there needs to be better understanding from the people as well as the police about -- in practical, not theoretical terms -- how both guests and law enforcement are expected to behave.

He said he will e-mail me his list of "demands" that he is asking for from MSP, and I told him that I would keep an open mind and reserve judgment until I see exactly what people are asking for.

Is it possible that all of this is just a misunderstanding? Probably not 100%. Certainly there are going to be some changes that some people just straight up will not like. But, given that both Ron Scott and Brenda Jones have stepped back their confrontational tone, I think that a good part of this conflict can be ameliorated with better communication.

In other news, apparently, the Belle Isle "party crowd" has moved to Rouge Park, and the Assistant Chief of Police mentioned that now that they are relieved from policing Belle Isle, they will be deploying more police officers to Rouge Park and other parks as well.
I think it's worth noting that the police are issuing approximately four warnings for every one ticket. This ratio would seem to deflate Ron Scott's argument about "the rules" not being clear or clearly communicated. It seems to me that the police are cognizant of this and are responding reasonably. They recognize that the speed limits and other rules have not been enforced. They're now letting people know that things are changing. This could be viewed as an education campaign. If they were writing tickets and hauling people off to jail willy nilly it would be another story. But if you have an open warrant out you probably shouldn't drive 35 mph in a 20 mph zone. I think a lot of these arrests probably started with the officers intending to issue a warning and discovering something else in the process.