Grosse Pointe Park Police Protest Demands Investigation Of Racist Videos Allegedly Made By White Cops
A local Detroit minister is demanding that police conduct a swift and independent investigation after demeaning videos surfaced online allegedly showing public safety officers compelling African-American men, to sing, dance and make animal sounds.
Malik Shabazz, head of the Marcus Garvey Movement/New Black Panther Nation and a frequent critic of race relations in metro Detroit, led a group of protesters and media through the Department of Public Safety offices in Grosse Pointe Park on Wednesday to photograph his meeting with police leadership.
Shabazz's protest comes about a week after a blog called Motor City Muckraker published videos and a photograph demonstrating the alleged harassment of African-Americans by police officers in this upscale neighborhood bordering Detroit. The Huffington Post reported on Friday the police department had opened an internal investigation.
Shabazz said that as a result of the meeting, officers of the public safety department -- which provides police, fire and EMS services to the town -- will all be individually questioned.