GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids residents, police officers, and elected leaders got a chance to meet the four candidates vying to become the city's next police chief Wednesday, pressing them on community trust, officer-involved shootings, and their vision for the department.
The candidates are current Interim Chief Joe Trigg with Grand Rapids Police, Mark Bliss, deputy chief with Detroit Police, Rafael Diaz, captain with Kalamazoo Public Safety, and Eve Stephens, former chief of police for the University of Texas at Austin.
Resident Gus Bilodeau said he wants to see whoever is selected lead with professionalism and balance competing priorities.
"I want them to do the job well in general with professionalism and respect of the law, obviously. Being able to balance safety concerns for everyone and the individual rights that are guaranteed to us," Bilodeau said.
When asked what success looks like one year from now, each candidate offered a different vision.
"Get a better relationship with OPA, because I know there's been some criticism there. Stand on our policies and see where we can improve. Be open to showing what we do, and be confident. Take pride in what we do, and open it up. If there's something we need to do better, then let's talk about it. Let's figure out how we can improve," Trigg said.
"Positive community engagement, where individuals in the community, some of that angst, some of that concern about — are we on the right path or are we missing steps," Diaz said.
"My success would have to be number one: a closer community. That's number one, because coming into this, I know that there's been some challenges. So the success is the community looking and saying I trust what the chief is doing, I trust what he's telling me right now, and then just being very open and honest. If we've made mistakes, we correct them," Bliss said.
"The first three months are going to really be about listening, watching, learning, observing, taking it all in. But really, I also want to start looking, you know, doing a SWOT analysis, and that's a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Trainings for the police department," Stephens said.
Concerns about approximately a dozen officer-involved shootings over the past five years also came up during the forum. The candidates were asked how they would address those concerns.
"In order to build trust, that we're talking about letting them know, letting the community know that I do have empathy for all of them, and for all of this going on. So, between all of this, making sure that I am present, visible, and engaged, making sure that they know I'm a competent leader, and making sure that I have empathy for the situation," Stephens said.
"As the chief of police, you have to unpack all that. You have to look at those investigations. I haven't had a chance to look at those investigations, but on the outset, were they justified? Was there de-escalation attempts? Did we do any of those things? Some things that you have to look at," Bliss said.
"People are motivated, they're concerned, and so I need to give a voice to those concerns and hear what they're saying. And then I have to go back to the department and kind of look at where we're at. You can look at training and policy," Diaz said.
"The officers have a responsibility to defend themselves, so they're going to go out there and try to keep the community safe. We're going to recruit and retain employees here, they have to be willing to be able to defend themselves, but if there's any other resources that we can look at, as far as always looking to prove, so if there's other ways we can try to de-escalate the situations," Trigg said.
City Manager Mark Washington has the final say in the decision and said he will take neighborhood input into account. He described what he is looking for in the next chief.
"We want somebody who is really passionate about making sure that Grand Rapids is one of the safest cities in the community, and that requires someone with significant experience and passion for not only law enforcement, but doing public safety with the community, and making sure that we continue to make Grand Rapids safe together, both law enforcement and partnering organizations," Washington said.
Washington is conducting one-on-one interviews Thursday and said he could have a decision by the end of the month.
