Detroit Councilman Wants to Change Police Behavior, Not Funding

In the wake of the death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis City Council says it will completely rebuild its public safety department. But in Detroit, a City Council member who also served as a deputy police chief says the Motor City needs a different answer.

There’s been weeks of protests in Detroit and across the nation since George Floyd, an African American man, was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer.

Members of the Minneapolis City Council say the police department there should be torn-down and rebuilt.

“The thing we have to focus on more than just the dollars is the behavior. Can we get behaviors to change?” – City Council Member James Tate

Activists in Detroit are demanding that city officials defund the police.

But Detroit City Council member James Tate, a former Second Deputy Chief with the Detroit Police, tells WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter what’s being proposed around the Twin Cities area should not necessarily gain any traction in the Motor City.

Click the player above to hear the full interview with Detroit City Council Member James Tate.

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Author

  • Quinn Klinefelter
    Quinn Klinefelter is a Senior News Editor at 101.9 WDET. In 1996, he was literally on top of the news when he interviewed then-Senator Bob Dole about his presidential campaign and stepped on his feet.