It's been weeks since Grand Rapids' most widely attended protest highlighted the need for greater racial equity and police accountability in our city. As community members move to effect lasting change in the wake of unrest, Director of the Office of Public Accountability for the City of Grand Rapids Brandon Davis explores his new and evolving role with the city and the community.
This interview has been edited for length.
Rapid Growth: How does your role interact with the GRPD? What power and what involvement do you have with the GRPD on a daily basis?
Brandon Davis: My responsibility is to be a liaison between the police and the fire department as well as with community. I serve in the executive office which is situated as a direct report to the city manager. I don't work for the police department and I don't report to the police chief. My responsibility is to push for additional accountability and transparency...
I have a lot of interaction with the police chief and to a lesser degree with his staff. But I don't report there.
RG: Under normal circumstances, how often would you be meeting with the GRPD? And what does that communication generally look like?
BD: In fairness, my office is new. So it's very difficult to give you a what everyday looks like right now ...
There's a very large amount of communication and I would expect that to continue. The chief and I have open lines of communication and call each other whenever we need to, in order to address issues that may arise.
... It's the Chief's job to lead the police department. That's not my job. But it is my job to look at what is being done, to look at it with an eye for equity and innovation, and to take the steps needed to make the necessary changes.
RG: I know that you served in an interim capacity starting in August last year. What has changed since you moved into the official role? And does that mean you have more responsibility, or is it just a continuation of what you were doing in the interim?
BD: When I was in the interim capacity, the major thing we were doing was building a foundation for this new office...
We were creating the responsibilities for the role as we create the office, even down to the actual space that the office would be in. So starting to create the strategic plan that would guide the operation of the creation of the office of oversight came — at least the idea, in part — came out of some of the recommendations that came through some of our studies, and also the vision of our city manager...
So that's the major difference from before and now. It's about operationalizing the things that we've been talking about, and that we've been trying to create on paper. So it is a major change. And again, the state that we're in right now probably makes the change more dramatic than maybe will be at other times.
RG: Can you share with our readers an easy way to understand the Civilian Appeals Board? What is its purpose?
BD: Currently, the complaints go to the Internal Affairs: a division of the police department...
[The complaints] are investigated by the Internal Affairs Division of the police department. And ultimately the police chief has the authority to make a decision about those complaints...
...the chief decides if the officer is responsible or not responsible or guilty or not guilty of the allegation that is raised. From there, the complainant or the citizen who brought the complaint could decide that they agree or disagree with the results that come from internal affairs. It's important to note that the jurisdiction of the civilian appeals board is limited to the things that are in the actual policy, but they are able to decide to raise that to the civilian appeals board level. If they raise it to that level, then the civilian appeals board sits as the appellate court. And they make a decision on whether or not they agree with the findings of the Internal Affairs Division of the police department.
So if they disagree, they have an authority that's unique. Not every city has this and it's a major power that they have. They have the authority to overrule the decision of the police chief as it relates to the finding of the charge.
RG: Can you give me an example?
BD: So let's say it was a case of excessive force, and the department said there was not excessive force. The civilian appeals board will be able to look at that and then say, 'We disagree with the department. It was excessive force.'
The way that it's designed is that the decision of the civilian appeals board is the final finding of fact here in Grand Rapids. So that will be the determining That will be it. Those are the facts.
So what what is your role in that process? Are you working with the Civilian Appeals Board? Are you guiding them through that process?
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I serve as the staff liaison to the Civilian Appeals Board. In that capacity, I present the facts of the case as determined by Internal Affairs. I can also provide my independent perspective of the facts and applicable policy.
So any ordinary citizen can get involved in the Civilian Appeals Board. Is that the case?
Yes. Currently there are some vacancies on Civilian Appeals Board. if people are interested in becoming a part of it, this is a great time to
go online to city's website and just fill out the application to become a part. I will say that I've seen the influence real quickly, which I think is a great thing. But if people are interested, they should do it quickly. Because I would assume they will probably fill up soon.
In June, during the peaceful protest, there were some concerns about the GRPD officers not wearing name tags. Is this standard practice? Were they not worn for a specific reason?
I think it's an important issue that we should talk about.
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The officers were wearing uniforms, they're wearing what's called fatigues that are usually worn during training exercises. I'm sure you can imagine when officers are training they don't always have on their badges and things of that nature. They were called in and they were instructed to wear their fatigues.
However, it's important that they have on their badges, period. The fatigues do not have embroidered badges or name plates on them. And that needs to happen. So I've had the conversation with the Chief and the Chief has made the commitment and the city manager has mandated that those badges will be put on those fatigue uniforms. So they'll be embroidered with names and embroidered with badges. So that clear identification is there moving forward
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As an attorney yourself, how do you view the intersection of local policing and the disproportionate amount of people of color who are incarcerated, specifically in Michigan?
I am a strong advocate of justice, I stand for justice... There is no way to get around the fact that policing in this country was founded to capture runaway slaves. And the history of that racism was embedded there.
...We also have to talk about the importance of having a cultural understanding or being culturally competent...
The way in which we live, the way in which we move, they're not exactly the same. Although we're all human, we're raised different ways. There are differences in those types of situations. And that impacts all those things.
And we also have to recognize the humanity of officers and we have to recognize the role that the media has played historically of villainizing Black and brown people, which goes into the way that other people — especially white people — see those Black and brown people, whether they're officer or not an officer, and that's why the city has been very intentional about our training efforts.
...We need to make sure that we're doing everything in our power to prevent racism in a system that was designed with racist roots.
The phrases defund and dismantle the police are being heard. Can you differentiate the two for our readership and what it what might look like to defund or restructure here in Grand Rapids?
It's a difficult question to answer. I'll say that when we talk about defunding the police...this is beginning to develop into different meanings. When people were initially talking about it, it sounded like a big part of what we were hearing was basically no police at all. And it seems like that conversation is starting to change a little bit and now they are saying just invest in police differently.
When we talk about no funding or not having police at all, the city's charter mandates that the police department be funded. So because of that, the city doesn't even have the discretion...to just disobey the charter. There are processes for the charter to be changed...and obviously those things could happen.
You talked about the Civilian Appeals Board, but are there other opportunities for expanding the power of civilian groups at the city level, and what are those opportunities?
There are other boards and places to serve specifically in the public safety area. So there is the Public Safety Commission ... There is the CRC which is our Community Relations Commission...
Recently the police chief started the public safety Police Advisory Council that will be working with the chief to help advise him on policing matters in Grand Rapids. An update regarding the council will be provided by Chief Payne on or before July 7
th.
There are opportunities if people are interested and opportunities. I would love to be a resource. They can contact my office at
[email protected] and we'd love to help them find the right place for them.
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Brandon D. Davis, Esq., is the newly appointed Director of the Office of Public Accountability for the City of Grand Rapids. In that role, Brandon will serve as the liaison between public safety and Grand Rapidians.
Brandon believes that accountability, transparency, and collaborative innovation are the keys to ensuring the success of the Office of Public Accountability and the starting blocks of bridging the gap between community and law enforcement. Brandon brings a wealth of public service experience to this position. Most recently, Brandon served as the Senior Labor Relations Specialist for the City of Grand Rapids.
Prior to uniting with GR, Brandon was a noted trial attorney in Muskegon County and handled serious felony cases as a Senior Assistant Prosecutor. Brandon began his career in his hometown of Detroit, MI where he served as both a defense attorney and prosecutor. Brandon obtained a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Interpersonal and Public Communication from Central Michigan University in 2007. He then earned a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School in 2010.
Brandon also holds certifications from Cornell University in Diversity and Inclusion and Strategic Human Resources Leadership. Brandon is excited about the opportunity to serve Grand Rapidians in this new capacity. He looks forward to partnering with community to advance the work of the Office of Public Accountability which will help to ensure that all people feel safe, and are safe, at all times throughout our community.
Photos courtesy City of Grand Rapids.