GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Mayor LaGrand shared what he calls clarification after comments he made at this week's Mayor Monday event.
LaGrand holds the weekly event as an opportunity for "community conversations." This week, many neighbors pressed for answers in the police shooting death of Da-Quain Johnson. While LaGrand told the group he could not specifically talk about the case, he did discuss policing in general.
His comments on gun culture resulted in criticism, including from the Kent County GOP.
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In his clarification comments, LaGrand said in part, "I am fully aware that the Second Amendment and state law limit the policy options available to a municipal leader...Therefore, my comments were not a signal of impending policy, but an expression of personal frustration and deep sorrow."
Another comment that received backlash involved police K-9's, in which he said, "It is time that we ask, what are dogs good for. Like if you need a dog to find someone in the woods, go get a hound dog. If you need to chase somebody in back yard why couldn't you do that with a drone. If my dog did what I saw in that video, I'd put my dog down."
In his clarification, he said in part, "I recognize there is a profound difference between a household pet and highly trained police K-9...While no tool is perfect, K-9s often provide our officers with a less lethal option that is designed to protect both the safety of the suspect and the safety of the responding officers in highly volatile situations."
