About to get started here in a minute

The mic setup is real wonky today. A lot of echo going on, I'll do my best

As they do not have a quorum, they are going to start with public comment.

First commenter tells a tragic story of a certain citizen, apparently a preacher, who has been making his two young children sleep on his porch in the freezing cold.

According to the commenter, the police were unable to do anything as there is no specific statute forbidding this behavior. She asked the board to do research into if such an ordinance does or does not exist and if not to advocate for one

Interim police chief Bettison responded that the matter had come to the attention of the police, and that CPS is involved and the children are out of the house.

Minister Eric Blount commented next. He expressed his outrage that the bailiff in the Sherman Lee Butler case. He pointedly implied commissioner Woods is corrupt, saying "What have they got on you... Woods?"

Whoops I meant to post this with my previous tweet. detroitnews.com/story/news/loc…

The next commenter traveled to Lansing to advocate for safe driving and better traffic enforcement . Chief Bettison responded he is very concerned with the issue of reckless driving in Detroit, and several commissioners committed to traveling to Lansing to further the advocacy.

The next commenter is alleging her local block club is harassing her. She was referred to the office of the chief investigator for help.

The next commenter mentioned "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" and mentioned that many are lucky enough not to have had such encounters

It later became clear she was referring to reckless driving, not contact with extraterrestrials.

They have a quorum, so they called the meeting to order and approved the last meeting's minutes and agenda.

Comm'r Woods introduced a presentation on the state of auto insurance in the city.

The presenter, Eric Poe, CEO of CURE Auto Insurance, says that the average rate in Detroit is $6k a year, and in, for example, Philadelphia, the rate is closer to $700

He goes on to claim that abuses in the towing industry, and alleged that a few large towing companies are illegally charging exorbitant fees to the insurance card now ied, which has led to multiple rate increases in a short time.

Here's how the scam works: Detroit has ordinances limiting tow costs. So these guys tow to JUST OUTSIDE the city limits (Southfield, etc) and charge truly goofy amount. Average is $3k. Poe brought an example of an $11k bill.

Poe says insurance companies won't write policies for Detroiters because they don't want to deal with this racket.

Poe suggests cops have people check a box saying they decline a police authorized tow.

Comm'r Bernard says this matter must become more widely known and Chief Bettison said the police are doing what they can, and suggests we "stay tuned"

Poe jokingly asked for a bulletproof vest. Honestly sounded only half joking. Comm'r Woods said he was being facetious but it's not NOT a concern. This is a big racket and messing with it could be dangerous

Can you imagine getting your car towed for a check engine light, and they hold your car hostage for ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS?

Comm'r Burton described going to a Tigers game and seeing a line of tow trucks waiting to start taking cars.

Not Burton, Bernard said that, my apologies

There's a Bernard, Banks, Bell and a Burton on this board. It gets challenging, is what I'm saying.

Both Burton and Bell are Willie E. Just saying.

The board quickly and unanimously approved a motion on the retirement of DPD Captain Conway Petty

Moving on to the Chief of Police report. Crime rates are remaining steady. Highlight: 131 carjackings this year, down from 150 last year and a steady drop from an earlier era of common carjackings.

Comm'r Woods praised Bettison for his advocacy of several police accountability bills before the state legislature

Comm'r Bernard suggested that citizens be better advised of their rights in terms of police interactions and acquiring incident reports, especially concerning domestic violence.

The Chief's report having concluded, they are going back to public comment

A commenter says she has been harassed by a specific police officer, who she named. She also claimed the captain of the relevant precinct threatened her

Next commenter said that a police officer who harassed her has been charged with brandishing a firearm, and the commenter feels that is a light charge. They were referred to the prosecutor's office

Next commenter said he designed an app to help with the towing issue, and he said he needs help to launch it, and he says he is being stonewalled

The next commenter said her sister was injured in an auto accident and was told by the 8th precinct, apparently, that they "don't do" auto accidents. She says the police are chronically uninformed about basic facts and asks for help.

Next commenter praised the DPD and Comm'r Burton called for a round of applause for the police

Scotty Bowman called in to protest the lack of charges in the Sherman Butler case. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bom…

Comm'r Bell says that the board have STILL not received the body cam footage from the Sherman Butler shooting. Chief Bettison simply says he plans to share it with them in the future

Former Commissioner William Davis called in to protest the victimization of the citizenry by the aforementioned towing companies.

Public comment being over, they're moving on to oral communications. Just housekeeping, next meeting, etc.

Now they're hearing reports from the various subcommittees

Comm'r Hernandez tried to submit the Finance Committees budget recommendation. Comm'r Burton walked out in protest, to the distinct displeasure of the chairman. The item was moved to Unfinished Business.

Since they lost the quorum, they quickly voted to adjourn. Woods is upset. Said these kinds of stunts are an affront to the people of Detroit. Comm'r Bernard says Burton didn't deserve to get criticized like that. She was starting to say something else when the motion passed.

Well folks, this closes my coverage of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners meeting for December 5th. Learn more about our coverage of local meetings at documenters.org

‼️IMPORTANT: If you believe anything in the coverage today is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line