DETROIT – The Detroit Police Board of Commissioners has voted to deny the suspension of a sergeant in connection to the fatal shooting of a woman on Detroit’s west side last month.
The sergeant was in charge of the officers who shot and killed Kaizia Miller at a home on Meyers Road. Police Chief James White called for the suspension, but the board voted against it.
White shrugged it all off and said it’s part of the process and he still has options to discipline the officer. But it is a rare and surprising development for the board of commissioners to make the decision that came after a long, private meeting Thursday (Dec. 1).
On Oct. 14, the Detroit Police Department responded to a frantic 911 call from a mother concerned about her daughter’s mental health issues.
“Y’all came with guns drawn,” said Miller.
Miller ran her Facebook Live, and it showed an officer putting his rifle on the ground, and that’s when other officers moved in. She didn’t survive the altercation.
Concerned about how quickly officers made their move, White wanted to suspend the sergeant:
“I’ve got a very high standard for supervisors, and their responsibilities are very different than those of a police officer, and that’s why I made the recommendation, and the board reacted the way they did,” said White.
Detroit police Commissioner Ricardo Moore spoke with Local 4 Friday about his no vote on suspending the sergeant.
“The chief is a great guy who cares about the citizens.” said Moore. “He cares about his police department, and he does. And I kind of understand in the spirit of why he wanted to put this out the way it is. I just think maybe it was done a little too soon.”
The unnamed sergeant’s union representative, Mark Young, attended Thursday’s hearing as well.
“This young Sgt. is one of the most awesome people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, and he’s devastated by that whole situation,” said Young. “We never look at the law enforcement being victims too.”
Moore says there are other issues at play that he could not talk about but says those are about DPD policy, and he’s concerned changes need to be made as it pertains to mental health calls.
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