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Chief James Craig in a Wednesday news conference.
An environmental audit into a Detroit police precinct that housed two officers who posted a racist video this winter has found "many" of its officers to be "racially tone deaf," Chief James Craig announced in a news conference Wednesday.
The audit at the 6th precinct found the insensitive culture was for the most part limited to the afternoon shift, when officers Gary Steele and Michael Garrison worked. The two made national headlines In late January for sending a young woman walking home during a cold snap, then posting a Snapchat video in which one was heard saying "walk of shame." They then added captions that said "black girl magic," "celebrating black history month," and "bye Felicia." Steel and Garrison, who are both white, were eventually fired from the department after an investigation.
The probe led to the environmental audit. The audit found three of four command officers may have contributed to the racially insensitive culture in the precinct. One of those three command officers retired, another was demoted, and the third is being monitored and will undergo cultural sensitivity and other training.
Additional steps taken as a result of the audit, according to The Detroit News, include:
- Two officers with a high number of citizen complaints will get more training.
- A new captain and two sergeants were added to the precinct "to address diversity concerns and facilitate change in the culture."
- A cultural diversity training program is being implemented for everyone at the precinct, civilian and uniformed.
- "Peer review training" is ordered for officers who had been trained by Steele and Garrison.
The Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality is calling for the department to conduct similar reviews at all precincts.
During the Wednesday news conference, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan acknowledged that "there are pockets of unacceptable racial attitudes that still exist" in the police department. He said that moving forward, the audit process would become standard when "these types of issues arise."
