A coalition of Detroit activists is denouncing a proposed city ordinance that would require some police footage to be made public, saying the measure would still protect officers who engage in misconduct.
The post Critics blast Detroit police video ordinance as weak and full of exemptions appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Detroit has always run on women’s strength: holding families together, organizing blocks, running the quiet machinery of care.
Now, the city is giving that strength a formal voice.
The Detroit Women’s Commission is a new group in the mayor’s office. They’re meeting monthly to discuss challenges women face in Detroit. And how to improve the lives and experiences of women calling Detroit home.
It’s getting started at an interesting time. Detroit could have its first woman mayor in November, a mayor that this commission would be working with.
Producer Jack Filbrandt spoke with Detroit Documenters Colleen Cirocco and Noah Kincade to learn more about Detroit’s Women’s Commission.
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The post The Metro: Detroit Women’s Commission could shape policy alongside the next mayor appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
The attorneys representing young people in Detroit’s courts say their pay hasn’t kept pace with their purpose.
They haven’t received a raise in more than three decades.
Wayne County juvenile attorneys handle neglect and delinquency cases. They represent kids and families in crisis, but unlike public defenders, they are independent contractors who receive a set fee per hearing and no benefits.
Juvenile attorney Marc Shreeman says the pay is about $500 for a preliminary hearing and pretrial appearance, roughly half of what similar attorneys earn in nearby Oakland County.
Shreeman says low pay, coupled with rising caseloads, is having an impact. In 2019, roughly 120 attorneys were taking juvenile cases in Wayne County; now, there are fewer than 60.
The dwindling number of juvenile attorneys and stagnant pay come as Detroit faces a rise in youth violence compared with last year, and a higher number of teens being caught with firearms. City officials have responded by strengthening curfew enforcement and raising fines for parents of minors found out after hours.
WDET contacted multiple county officials for comment.
The Wayne County Executive’s Office did not respond.
A representative for the Wayne County Court Administration, which distributes pay to juvenile attorneys, said in an earlier statement that the department is “working closely with Wayne County to address potential funding options” and that staff have met with the Ways and Means Committee to discuss the issue.
WDET also contacted Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch, who chairs that committee, but did not receive a response.
Juvenile attorney Shreeman joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss the work of public defenders in a time when young people are facing more danger.
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The post The Metro: Detroit’s juvenile attorneys face old pay rates in a new era of youth violence appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
A state appeals court handed a partial victory to critics of Detroit’s controversial ShotSpotter surveillance system, ruling that city officials violated a transparency ordinance when they approved contracts for the gunshot detection technology without properly notifying the public. In a published decision released Thursday, a divided Michigan Court of Appeals panel found that the Detroit […]
The post Court of Appeals sides with ShotSpotter critics in Detroit, finding city ‘repeatedly’ violated transparency law appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
The thousands of domestic violence calls Warren police receive annually are pushing law enforcement to act differently, to move faster and meet survivors where they are.
In May, city police launched Operation Cycle Break, a new program designed to close the gaps in how domestic violence cases move through the system. The goal is fewer repeat calls, and fewer incidents overall. The effort brings together the Warren Police Department, prosecutors, a nonprofit that supports survivors, and researchers at Wayne State University.
Detective Sergeant James Twardesky and Captain Brent Chisolm of the Warren police department are the architects of Operation Cycle Break. They joined the show to explain the initiative.
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The post The Metro: Warren police launch program to break the cycle of domestic violence appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
“Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value,” former President Joe Biden used to say.
What he meant was that budgets aren’t just numbers on a page. They represent the things that we prioritize, the stuff we want expanded, and the work we want to shrink.
The 2026 Michigan state budget took some time to sort out, but late last week a $75.9 billion budget was finally passed.
Robyn Vincent spoke with Zach Gorchow, the president of Gongwer News Service Michigan to learn more about what the state budget reveals.
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The post The Metro: The values revealed in Michigan’s latest state budget appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Hank Winchester, the longtime WDIV-TV consumer affairs reporter who was placed on leave this summer while police investigated misconduct allegations, was recently fired from the station — and newly obtained records reveal the detailed allegations against him. Winchester, 51, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who had been with WDIV since 2001, was accused of inappropriately touching […]
The post WDIV fires Hank Winchester: Police records detail allegations appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Among those held is a 33-year-old father with life-threatening cancer, and he’s been denied.
The post ACLU sues over detention of immigrants in Michigan, citing unconstitutional ICE policy appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, Kristen Ford plays songs from her seventh album”Pinto.” First inspired by seeing Ani Difranco as a teenager, Kristen’s new record is her first for Ani’s Righteous Babe Records label!
Also, we dip into the archives for songs from Lady Blackbird, ZZ Ward and Mon Rovia, all recorded this year, Grant Lee Phillips in 2000 and much more!
See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.
Acoustic Café Playlist for September 28, 2025
Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today. Give now »
The post Acoustic Café: Rocker Kristen Ford is our guest, and in-studio archives from Mon Rovia, ZZ Ward, Lady Blackbird + more appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Negotiations continue in Lansing in an effort to complete a state budget before an October first deadline. Failure to do so would mean a partial government shutdown.
Such an action could prompt a closure of state parks, including Belle Isle. Secretary of State offices could close, and even Detroit’s casinos could be affected.
The state has not yet said what its plans are if next week’s deadline is not met. Democrats and Republicans have not been able to reach a deal on key issues such as road funding.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties until Wednesday evening. Steady rain is expected and could possibly be heavy at times. The weather service says some areas upstream could see one to four inches of rain.
If you’ve experienced flooding in your area in recent months, it might be a good idea to check your basement periodically over the next few days. Make sure to place important items out of reach of possible flood waters.
Detroiters got a chance to see the Jimmy Kimmel show again last night. WXYZ-TV aired the program.
Kimmel’s show was suspended last week after the late-night comedian make remarks concerning political reaction to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In response, several stations around the country decided not to air the show and the ABC network followed suit.
The network says it temporarily suspended the show to keep from inflaming a delicate situation. Kimmel said last night that he did not mean to make light of Kirk’s death.
Kimmel’s show airs in Detroit weeknights at 11:30 p.m. on WXYZ-TV.
The Detroit Tigers are looking like they may have a hard time making the Major League Baseball playoffs.
At one point during the summer, the team had a 14 game lead in the American League Central. But now Detroit is on a seven-game losing streak, and has lost 9 of its last 10 games.
Cleveland beat the Tigers 5 – 2 Tuesday night, allowing the Guardians to grab a share of first place in the division. The Tigers and Guardians play again tonight and tomorrow in Cleveland.
There are just 11 games left in the regular season.
And the City of Detroit continues its celebrations after the Lions’ win on Monday Night Football this week. The team posted a decisive 38 – 30 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. After the game, Lions quarterback Jared Goff praised the team’s tenacity.
“It was a good representation of what we want to do and I thought again being able to kind of springboard off of that last week and do it again –in a different fashion, though. More running the ball. More ground and pound. Obviously, D-Mo having the night he had is incredible. I think we displayed that we can win in different ways.”
“D-Mo” is running back David Montgomery, who ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. The Lions now have a record of two wins and one loss.
They host the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field on Sunday afternoon. Game time is 1 pm.
If there’s something in your neighborhood you think we should know about, drop us a line at DetroitEveningReport@wdet.org. You know how much we love hearing about Detroit
Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Local cooperation with federal agents stokes fear and exposes communities to costly lawsuits.
The post Advocates warn Michigan police against cooperating with ICE appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
A quiet shift is underway in Detroit, one led by residents pushing for change inside the places that have long excluded or marginalized Black people, people of color, and other vulnerable communities.
The Detroit Equity Action Lab, directed by Asandi Conner, is at the heart of this effort.
Conner trains and supports a network of fellows working in Detroit’s schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and arts organizations. Their mission is to bring equity into the institutions where it is often resisted.
For Conner, this is justice work. It is about shifting how organizations make decisions, whose voices get heard, and what accountability looks like. She says protests wield power and capture public attention, but lasting change often happens in the daily grind of strategy and persistence.
That approach feels especially urgent now, as political support for diversity, equity, and inclusion shrinks nationwide under the Trump administration.
In a separate conversation, Conner’s colleague Angel McKissic spoke about restorative justice circles that repair harm and build trust at the community level. Together, their approaches speak to Detroit’s vast justice landscape. McKissic works to heal relationships between people, while Conner challenges inequity inside traditional systems of power.
Conner sat down with Robyn Vincent to discuss what it means to rebuild systems from within.
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The post The Metro: How Detroit Equity Action Lab is training leaders to disrupt inequity appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
It’s been another violent year in America. There’s been a renewed focus on political violence following the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the attacks on Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota.
Jacob Ware studies terrorism for the Council on Foreign Relations and is the co-author of God, Guns, and Sedition: Far Right Terrorism in America.
In an interview with Detroit Public Radio, Ware says these latest acts of violence have done nothing to quell the potential for more.
“I think a lot of people in the domestic counterterrorism space are worried about what happens the next day, in terms of, ‘how does this escalate? Which extremist movements are watching this moment, looking for an opportunity, and how do we put that back in the bag?'”
Ware says it’s concerning that some of the safeguards to monitor extremism are gone.
“Our counterterrorism infrastructure has been largely eroded, if not destroyed, by the Trump administration, and in particular, DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts in places like the FBI and DHS,” Ware said.
Under the Trump administration, efforts of federal law enforcement have been reassigned to immigration enforcement. Ware says undocumented immigrants are not a threat of political violence or terrorism.
“Undocumented immigrants can be a source of a variety of challenges, including crime, including drugs, but it typically has not had a relationship with with terrorism,” Ware said. “In fact, in a study I conducted last year, I found that the number of terrorist fatalities caused by undocumented immigrants in US history is actually zero.”
Ware believes law enforcement’s focus on immigration enforcement is one factor in a rise in terrorism. Another is a lack of deterrence.
“When President Trump pardoned 1,500 people who committed an attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he began to erode that deterrence,” Ware said. “People in America no longer feel like acts of violence perpetrators on behalf of political ideologies are going to be punished.”
The federal government also uses community outreach programs to stop radicalization.
“Prevention is basically federal grants that go to local organizations—grassroots organizations—that work to build resilience against radicalization in their own communities,” Ware said. “That grant making ability has been built up over several administrations, including the first Trump administration… and that work has now largely been been canceled through through the DOGE cuts.”
The Trump Administration has used the killing of Charlie Kirk to blame left-wing groups, even though there’s been no evidence the alleged shooter was aligned with any.
President Trump wants to designate Antifa —the loose collective of left-wing individuals that oppose fascism—as a terrorist organization. Antifa has no leadership structure.
Ware says that’s not the only reason there’s little chance of Trump succeeding.
“It’s important to note that we actually don’t even have domestic terrorism laws, let alone domestic terrorism lists, in this country,” Ware said.
“So in theory, these are really empty threats. There is no way to designate a domestic group as a terrorist organization.
The post Threat of political violence remains high after Kirk killing appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Two Sterling Heights cops accused of brutally beating a Black man and siccing a police dog on him during his arrest in February 2024 have been ordered to stand trial in Macomb County Circuit Court. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that officers James Sribniak, 31, and Jack Currie, 29, were bound over on felony […]
The post Sterling Heights cops to stand trial after violent arrest of Black man captured on disturbing video appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
It’s been three months since the North Lake Correctional Facility reopened as an ICE detention center. IPR speaks to some attorneys who have been inside and in touch with detainees.
In mid-June, ICE opened an immigration detention center at North Lake Correctional Facility, a former prison north of Baldwin, in Lake County.
The detainees there are being processed for deportation. They can’t go in and out, but their attorneys can.
“I’ve been in the facility since it reopened. I think I’ve been inside four times,” said Richard Kessler, an immigration lawyer in Grand Rapids. He represents people in deportation cases. Some of his clients are currently detained in Baldwin.
“I was able to just arrive there and see the clients without pre-scheduling, which is what some facilities have,” he said.
Attorneys can visit seven days a week, and they can talk for as long as they want, which he said that’s as it should be in allowing people to see their attorneys.
He can’t speak to what the cells are like since he hasn’t actually seen them. But, he’s seen other parts of the facility.
“I’ve been in the kind of a lunch room area where we can be a visitation and some special visitation rooms. They’re typical, institutional-type rooms. I wouldn’t say they’re particularly dirty or anything. The temperature has been okay.”
He mentions the temperature, because, he said, immigration detention centers can be notoriously cold.
“I wish it was only a joke,” he said, but ICE facilities are referred to as “ICE boxes” down in Texas and in other parts of the U.S. In a different Michigan detention center, in Calhoun County, Kessler has found “it’s extremely cold most of the time in there. I always have to wear a special jacket or something.”
The post What lawyers have seen and heard inside Baldwin’s ICE detention center appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Under the Trump administration, the space for diversity, equity, and inclusion is shrinking. Federal dollars are drying up, and programs that once opened doors are disappearing.
Given this climate, could restorative practices hold additional weight? Restorative justice is not DEI. It does not sit in a binder or hide inside a grant report. It lives in people — survivors and those who have caused harm sitting together, telling the truth, trying to mend what was broken. It is harder to measure, but also harder to erase because it is built on relationships.
While restorative justice is not the same as DEI, both often speak to the same communities, those historically marginalized by race, class, or circumstance. Where DEI seeks to create fairer systems, restorative justice offers a way to repair harm when those systems fall short.
Angel McKissic, director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State Law and founder of the Metro Detroit Restorative Justice Network, helped lead the recent report Unraveling Harm, Cultivating Safety. Based on surveys and interviews with Detroiters, the report found that many residents want alternatives to the traditional justice system — responses that emphasize healing and accountability rather than punishment.
McKissic’s work brings those findings into practice. Through trainings and community partnerships, McKissic is helping Detroiters use restorative practices in schools, courtrooms, and neighborhoods. For her, justice can mean both accountability and healing.
She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to demystify some of the haze around restorative justice and why she believes it could transform Detroit communities and the criminal justice system more broadly.
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The post The Metro: While DEI is under attack, restorative justice holds its ground appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
A civil rights complaint is urging the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Detroit’s wrongful convictions and Wayne County’s illegal record purge that advocates say landed numerous innocent people in prison and blocked exonerations. In a letter sent to the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Freedom Ain’t Free, a Detroit-based nonprofit led by two exonerees, is […]
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The Warren Police Department is refusing to release public records to Metro Times, including video footage that shows cops allegedly beating a man with a mental health emergency. Christopher Gibson, 26, was “brutally battered, tasered and threatened with a barking K-9” by Warren cops while detained in December 2022, according to a recent lawsuit filed […]
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A longtime Detroit resident and father of five U.S. citizen children was released from immigration detention on Wednesday after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully denied him due process. Juan Manuel Lopez-Campos, who has lived in the U.S. for 26 years and has no criminal record, was arrested during a traffic stop […]
The post Detroit father of 5 released from ICE detention after federal court order appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
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