City Manager Mark Washington delivered a report summarizing measures taken by the City of Grand Rapids to increase police force diversity at another contentious City Commission meeting last week.
At the March 17 meeting, after clarifying that his report and investigation would avoid the topic of the recent officer-involved shooting of Da’Quain Johnson, Washington said he ordered the interim police chief to conduct a review of all officer-involved shootings over the past five years.
He also noted that the city under his watch has made significant strides in establishing new community programs with the intent of improving policing in Grand Rapids.
“There are a lot of things that we have done together to improve policing and community relations in this community,” Washington told the public and the Commission. “There are several things that promote deescalation or transparency.”
In particular, Washington emphasized the importance of the city’s “efforts to improve recruitment and diversify the workforce.”
When asked to elaborate upon his claims, a city spokesperson told The Herald that the city’s workforce “should reflect the community it serves.”
“To that end,” the statement continued, “it has recruitment practices that are inclusive for underrepresented populations to ensure they are aware of City employment opportunities and encourage them to apply. All applicants are screened based on rigorous requirements and ultimately hired based on merit.”
With respect to the GRPD in particular, the spokesperson noted that the organization “works to both increase and diversify the candidate pool by reaching out to those who may not have considered a career in professional policing, especially young people who have deep knowledge of our neighborhoods and community.”
The spokesperson also said that all candidates, no matter what race, gender, or sexual orientation, must undergo the usual rigors of hiring, such as physical fitness testing and psychological evaluations.
Part of the city’s police hiring policy is outlined in the Grand Rapids Police Department’s Strategic Plan, a 2023 document meant to create “an equitable vision for policing in our community.”
The plan includes mandatory police officer training sessions in “implicit bias,” and aims to “[i]ncrease diversity of department” with respect to “race, ethnicity, residency and background.”
These aims, the document continues, will be pursued via two strategies. The first is to cultivate “a more robust and diverse candidate pool” and the second promises to “enhance recruiting efforts to include trips to Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”
Progress toward both goals, according to the plan, will be measured by quantitative metrics. The GRPD must track police personnel by “race, ethnicity and gender identity,” while ensuring that recruiting efforts for new hires focus on more diverse neighborhoods.
Washington’s reassurances come amid pressure from Grand Rapids residents, a number of whom excoriated the board at the meeting for not being active enough in its oversight and punishment of police officers.
The late Johnson’s mother, Angelica Johnson, accused Mayor David LaGrand of a “lack of concern” regarding the opinions of people in the community. She called it “disheartening” and said that “you really don’t care.”
“What are you really going to do as elected officials,” she asked, “as our children are being murdered by the GRPD?”
Another woman, Martha Cooper, compared the use of canines by the GRPD to “slave patrols.”
“I want no more dogs eating peoples’ faces in the name of justice,” she shouted.