Horrible DPS during events

[Detroitnerd]

Look at this thread and compare with the thread about how certifications for concealed carry permits have doubled in the last five years. I know, many of those permits are not in southeastern Michigan, but still ... if the police won't protect the people, why not go armed?

[Meddle]

Perhaps we really want them to get distracted on their way to a home invasion or something?

Like a donut shop?

[GOAT]

SWMAP, I usually agree with you but I'm not sure I can in this case.

If the cop is responding to an urgent call he should have his lights and and be moving. He certainly should have his lights on especially with somany people.

The questions needed to be asked is did he have his lights on and was he moving quickly. If he had neither then he was negligent in his duty.

Perhaps Sport could chime in?

[Ray1936]

If Ray retired ten years ago or more, he remembers times when there were 5000 sworn officers.

Actually, 13 July 1984. That's, um.....27 years back.

[Al Publican]

I wonder how many wanted people get picked up downtown on fireworks night. That would be a good day to arrest everything from wanted thugs to dead beat parents. It would also thin out the crowd.

[HistoryNotHisStory]

The City of Detroit could have cutdown on a lot of craziness by enforcing the curfew. The curfew is already on the books in Detroit and is law for any night of the week. Teenagers in groups without their parents and legal guardian should have been taken to a holding area.

The Mayor should have told unsupervised youth to stay home or be arrested.

[softailrider]

No, I meant the idiots fighting in the street. The cops were fairly smart in not getting involved with petty bullshit. There's bigger fish to fry here.

Sorry, the situation stopped being petty when a gun was pulled. That should be the opinion of anyone who has an ounce of sense.

[gazhekwe]

I expect a police officer to stop and find out what the problem is if I am trying to flag him down. Of course, if he was proceeding with lights on to a call, that would take priority. The OP did not say these officers had their flashers going. That would be an important piece of information. In my experience, officers have responded to citizen alerts. Here in Southfield, they even go to the trouble of knocking on doors to rein in errant children or find out who owns stray dogs.

SWMAP's take on the numbers, twice as many officers 15 years ago forgets that we had twice the population then also. So, the police per citizen ratio would be about the same.

[English]

Yes I meant DPD. I wrote that from my phone. Detroitnerd, that is exactly what it was like

Folks, can we please edit the thread? The title is misleading.

[Scottathew]

Yeah, I had this crazy idea that when a fight breaks out and the police are rolling by, you could flag them down to help preserve the peace. Is that crazy or unreasonable? I don't think so. I'd argue that the majority of people wouldn't think that crazy or unreasonable.

LOL. I totally agree with you. Flagging down the police in this situation is totally warranted. In most cities you would have got help.

[SWMAP]

Following is eye-witness reporting on Fireworks Night by P.O. John Bennett on his website on Tuesday morning. He makes it clear that radio dispatch orders were flying around on Monday night due to overwhelming security incidents:
" Some people and groups weren't there last night to see the fireworks. They came to cause mayhem and create a chaotic situation which it was for the undermanned and overwhelmed police department. It was said that 400-500 police officers were in Downtown Detroit last night but that wasn't near enough to deal with the number of people, no matter how inflated, that was in the Downtown area.
Radio call after radio call came over seeking assistance with a mob fight or shots fired. There appeared to be thousands upon thousands of un-supervised teenagers Downtown"

Bennett also notes:

The police department is losing an average of 15 officers per month to retirement. On June 30, 2000 we had 3,139 police officers. On June 30, 2011 our number will sit at 2,116 police officers. That's a difference of 1,000 officers.
We are losing the battle and were it not for officers who did a yeoman's job we could've lost Downtown last night to thousands of teenage hooligans who can't tell north from south. How embarrassing would that have been for the city's leaders.

My concern is that many posters here are so relentlessly denigrating toward Detroit police officers. The scout car that "drove right by" wasn't likely on the lookout for "donuts" - they were likely responding to urgent orders.

[Detroitnerd]

My concern is that many posters here are so relentlessly denigrating toward Detroit police officers.

Perhaps if Detroit police didn't so often drive right by trouble and look the other way, the attitudes regarding Detroit police would change. Failing that, I see no reason why people, including the OP, shouldn't criticize police who refuse to be flagged down to preserve the peace -- especially when they have no lights or flashers are on.

[Scottathew]

My concern is that many posters here are so relentlessly denigrating toward Detroit police officers. The scout car that "drove right by" wasn't likely on the lookout for "donuts" - they were likely responding to urgent orders.

Openly criticizing\questions != "denigrating"

[tarynd85]

I apologize for the typo in the title. I tried to edit it, but was not able to change the title. And, I think it is crazy to think I can't flag down a cop when a problem arises. There was 2 cops in the car. Windows down. Driving about 5 mph. Everyone was yelling and flagging for them to stop, but they kept driving. No flashers on. No sirens. Obviously if they were on, i wouldn't think they would stop. That is when I called 911. 3 times before they answered. There was 2 cops on EVERY corner that night. It was very upsetting, that when I needed them, other than to direct traffic, could not be helped.