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Detroit Police Chief James Craig (Deadline Detroit photo)
Ex-Mayor Dave Bing, often perceived as laid back and uncontroversial, is causing a stir.
He said Wednesday that many blacks feel left out of Detroit's comeback and that the city is lacking leadership and is on the brink of unrest. Police Chief James Craig doesn't take kindly to the statement.
Craig defends his department’s strides in mending a “fractured” relationship with the community since he took over the department 21/2 years ago, Christine Ferretti writes in The Detroit News.
“We have done so much. It’s a slap in the face of every Detroit police officer to say we are one step away (from unrest). He has no idea what we do behind the scenes every day in fostering great relations,” Craig says.
Bing made his statements at the Detroit Policy Conference about frustration over the lack of leadership opportunities for African-Americans in the city. He said the city is “maybe one incident away” from an uprising like Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore or Chicago.