THIS IN THE HEAT AND THE HUMIDITY THAT’S STICKING AROUND AS WELL BACK TO YOU GUYS. ALL
RIGHT. THANK YOU, BRETT, ALSO
HERE AT 5 30 POLICE TRAINING AND
FARMINGTON HILLS UNDER SCRUTINY
TONIGHT AFTER IMAGES OF BLACK
MEN USED FOR WHAT APPEARED TO BE
TARGET PRACTICE SHOWED UP IN
PICTURES TAKEN DURING A BOY
SCOUT TOUR OF THE DEPARTMENT.
THOSE PICTURES MADE HEADLINES
ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT
WITHOUT A LOT OF CONTEXT ARE
PRIYA MANN SAT DOWN WITH FARMING
TONIGHT. HILLS POLICE CHIEF JEFF
KING WHO SHOWED HER THE
TRAINING, TALKED ABOUT THOSE
PHOTOS AND HOW HE PLANS TO TRY
AND IMPROVE THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE
COMMUNITY. GOOD EVENING FOR YOU.
GOOD EVENING, JASON. YEAH, I
HAVE TALKED TO TRAINING EXPERTS,
LAW ENFORCEMENT VETERANS, AS
WELL AS SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATES
. THE CHIEF WANTED TO SET THE
RECORD STRAIGHT AS THE PHOTOS OF
THAT BOY SCOUTS TOUR OF THIS
POLICE STATION CONTINUE TO BE
WIDELY DEBATED. I HOPE THE NEXT
TIME THERE’S A BOY SCOUT TROOP
DOWN THERE THAT THAT’S NOT WHAT
THEY’RE SEEING HOPE THEY ARE
SEEING DIVERSITY. FOR THE FIRST
TIME. LOCAL 4 HAS OBTAINED THESE
PHOTOS TAKEN DURING A BOY SCOUTS
TOUR OF THE FARMINGTON HILLS
POLICE DEPARTMENT IN APRIL.
DOWNSTAIRS IN THE TRAINING RANGE
, A ROLL OF THE IMAGES OF BLACK
MEN, SOME MARKED BY BULLET HOLES
. PARENT WHO TOOK THESE PHOTOS,
CONTACTED DION WEBSTER COX, A
LAWYER IN SOUTHFIELD, AT A
SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATE. WHEN I
SAW THOSE PICTURES, I WAS
OUTRAGED. I WAS AFRAID FOR THOSE
CHILDREN. THAT’S WHAT I KNOW,
BECAUSE THAT’S OUR FUTURE. AND
WHAT WERE THEY BEING TAUGHT?
REMINGTON HILLS POLICE CHIEF
JEFF KING SAYS THESE PICTURES
WILL TROUBLING DON’T TELL THE
FULL STORY. THEY WERE OF THE
SAME TWO AREAS, THIS AREA WITH
FOUR TARGETS HANGING AND THEN
ONE TARGETED THAT AT THE HEAD OF
OUR RANGE THAT HAD NO BULLET
HOLES ON IT WHATSOEVER WAS NOT
IN THAT PHOTO WAS 11 TO 12
ADDITIONAL TARGETS, NONE OF
WHICH WERE AFRICAN AMERICANS
WERE DOWNSTAIRS IN THE TRAINING
RANGE. AND WHEN YOU THINK OF
TARGET PRACTICE, YOU LIKELY
THINK OF SILHOUETTES LIKE THIS,
BUT I WANT TO SHOW YOU WHAT
OFFICERS ARE LOOKING AT DURING
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TRAINING,
AND THESE IMAGES LOOK A LOT
DIFFERENT THEIR REAL LIFE
SITUATIONS FEATURING A DIVERSE
SET OF PEOPLE THIS IMAGE RIGHT
HERE IN THE FOUR YEARS WE’VE
PURCHASED 850 EACH ONE OF THESE
IMAGES. WE PURCHASED 150 OF THAT
. SO THIS IS THE PRIMARY IMAGE
THAT WE USE FOR EVERYTHING WE DO
BOTH. TRAINING SITUATION,
AWARENESS AND QUALIFICATION.
THESE IMAGES ARE APPROVED BY THE
MICHIGAN COMMISSION ON LAW
ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS OR COALS,
WHILE THESE IMAGES ARE FROM A
NATIONAL USE OF FORCE TRAINING
PROVIDER CALLED MILO. NONE OF
THE IMAGES ARE PRODUCED BY THIS
POLICE DEPARTMENT. I WOULD NOT
RECOMMEND HAVING ALL ONE RACE OR
ALL ONE SEX. I THINK WE NEED TO
HAVE A DIVERSE POPULATION OF
TARGETS THAT WE’RE LOOKING AT.
MORRIS COTTON IS THE FORMER
CHIEF OF POLICE FOR HIGHLAND
PARK AND SITS ON THE FARMINGTON
HILLS CITIZEN. SINCE POLICE
ADVISORY COMMITTEE FARMINGTON
HILLS I BELIEVE HAVE ABOUT A 19%
MINORITY BLACK POPULATION AND
OUT OF 1100 TARGETS. I BELIEVE
WE WERE DOWN TO LESS THAN 10% OF
THOSE TARGETS THAT WAS PURCHASED
REFLECTED THE MINORITY
POPULATION. SITUATIONAL
AWARENESS TRAINING AIMS TO BE AS
REALISTIC AS POSSIBLE,
REFLECTING THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND
SCENARIOS OFFICERS FACE IN THE
REAL WORLD CONDITIONS. THE
LIGHTING THE NOISE, THE IMAGES
THAT THEY SEE THEY’LL SEE THE
SAME IMAGE OVER AND OVER AGAIN,
AND THAT IMAGE MAY HAVE A
HANDGUN IN THEIR HAND, AND THAT
IMAGE MAY NOT HAVE A HANDGUN. IF
WE SEE AN OFFICER RESPONDING
INAPPROPRIATELY TO A SPECIFIC
TARGET. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO
IDENTIFY THAT, AND WE WANT TO
ADDRESS THAT, AND WE WANT TO
CORRECT THAT, AND THAT’S WHAT
VARIETY OF TARGETS. ALLOWS US TO
DO UNDERSTAND THAT IN ORDER TO
DO YOUR JOB, YOU HAVE TO TRADE I
GET THAT. BUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING
THAT DAY? I DON’T KNOW WHAT
HAPPENS IN THE OTHER DAY. I JUST
KNOW WHAT I SAW WHAT THE
PICTURES REFLECTED THAT DAY. IN
LIGHT OF THE CONTROVERSY, THE
CITY HAS REMOVED ALL THE IMAGES
AS A THIRD PARTY INVESTIGATES
CHIEF KING STANDS BY THE
TRAINING. HE APOLOGIZED FOR THE
PAIN CAUSED BY THOSE PHOTOS. THE
HEART OF THE MATTER IS THAT WAS
WHAT WE HAD ON OUR RANGE THAT
DAY, AND WE DIDN’T ACCURATELY
PORTRAYER. WHAT ARE TRAINING
ACTUALLY WAS THAT NIGHT SO IT
KIND OF OPENED THE DOOR FOR
SOMEONE TO PRESENT IT AS THAT,
AND THAT’S OUR FAULT AND, WELL,
WE KNOW WE’LL MAKE ADJUSTMENTS
AND WILL CRACK THAT AND IN ANY
WAY, SHAPE OR FORM THAT THAT
SHOULD AND THE CHIEF ALSO POINTS
OUT. THIS DEPARTMENT IS RANKED
AS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE STATE
. THERE’S ABOUT 600 LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN MICHIGAN
, 38 HAVE BEEN ACCREDITED, ONLY
EIGHT HAVE BEEN RE ACCREDITED.
THIS IS THE LARGEST DEPARTMENT
TO ACHIEVE THAT, AND THAT STATUS
MEANS YOU MEET MORE THAN 100
INDUSTRY STANDARDS, AND THAT
PROCESS TAKES ABOUT THREE YEARS
. AS FOR THOSE IMAGES AGAIN,
THEY HAVE ALL BEEN REMOVED
PENDING AN INDEPENDENT
INVESTIGATION. REPORTING LIVE
FROM FARMINGTON HILLS. I’M
PRIYA MANN LOCAL 4. TRANSPARENCY
IS CERTAINLY ENCOURAGING PRIA
AND I’M WONDERING THIS ALL BEGAN
WITH A TOUR. DOES THE CHIEF PLAN
TO KEEP THOSE GOING? NO JASON. I
ASKED THE CHIEF THE SAME THING,
AND HE SAYS ABSOLUTELY. THE
DOORS ARE GOING TO REMAIN OPEN.
HE ENCOURAGES MORE TOURS. HE’S
BEEN GETTING A TON OF CALLS AND
A TON OF EMAILS. HE’S BEEN
ANSWERING ALL OF THEM, HE SAYS.