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Woodhaven police respond after confederate flag, signs placed in front of department

‘He is clearly here to protest our department and our officers’

WOODHAVEN, Mich. – Police are responding after a man protested outside of the Woodhaven Police Department with a confederate flag and signs that read “Black lives don’t matter.”

Police said that man has been doing things like that for years. They said normally he wears his protests on his clothing, but his decision to place signs on public property meant more people saw what he had to say.

Photos have been making their way around social media and people are outraged. The photos show the man in a ski mask with the confederate flag and offensive signs.

Read: Racially insensitive signs placed in front of Woodhaven Police Department

The man violated a city ordinance but officers only stepped in for a moment.

“Our officers then went out to try to explain that to him, or advise him as to what the regulations are, and he was unreceptive,” Woodhaven police Chief Robert Toth said.

Officers decided not to get involved any further. They said the man has been protesting that way for at least three years and trying to imply the things are what the department stands for -- not him. The department disagrees.

“He is clearly here to protest our department and our officers. However, the nature of the wording on the signs is found to be highly offensive to a lot of people it is absolutely no reflection on our officers or our community. It is not something we would condone, however, because of the constitution we are obligated to make sure he has the right to stand out there peacefully and express himself,” Toth said.

Toth said he couldn’t go into more details because the man is suing the department in federal civil court. The lawsuit was filed in 2018.

Read: More local news coverage


About the Authors
Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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