Grand Rapids police chief defends documentary collaboration; says pepper-ball response dispersed large downtown fight with no serious injuries

Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Windstrom told the Committee for Public Safety he supported a filmed collaboration with a documentary crew to increase recruitment and transparency, and he addressed community concerns about footage distribution and trauma.

Windstrom played a trailer to the committee, acknowledged an unofficial shorter trailer had circulated among staff and that the department had not intended broad distribution, and said the collaboration was aimed at recruiting and showing "what's actually happening in the Grand Rapids Police Department." "My name is Eric Windstrom, and I'm the chief of the Grand Rapids Police Department," he said in the trailer shown to the committee.

Why it matters: The chief framed the project as both a recruiting tool and a transparency measure. Several commissioners and the city manager raised community concerns about potential retraumatization from footage that includes violent incidents; the chief said the producers and the department had discussed editorial balance.

Documentary and circulation questions

Commissioner Kilgore asked why an unauthorized trailer circulated and why a later trailer differed. Windstrom said an initial clip was shared among department recipients to obtain sign-off for scenes that included his son; that clip then spread informally. He described three rationales for the collaboration: recruitment, public transparency about department changes and training, and a belief the documentary would show the city—s broader public-safety ecosystem and community responses to tragedy.

Windstrom said the project could help recruiting and diversity efforts by showing careers in policing, and he emphasized he had not yet seen the final cut: "I haven't seen a finished product yet. But I believe the whole the the best part about all this is gonna show Grand Rapids is a kinder, safer city that values humanity."

Dispatch accreditation and operations

Windstrom reported the city—s dispatch center earned a gold-standard accreditation from the national commission that evaluates law-enforcement and public-safety accreditation; he described a recent hearing in which the dispatch center performed strongly and said other jurisdictions had asked to observe the center.

March downtown crowd-control incident

Committee members asked about a March incident on the 100 block of Commerce, where a crowded venue overflowed with an estimated 400 people in a space with roughly 200-person capacity during a busy weekend, the chief said. Officers who encountered multiple fights used pepper spray and a "pepper ball" launcher for area denial; Windstrom said the tool fires an irritant payload to the ground to disperse crowds and that it had been purchased within the last three years to phase out less-lethal shotguns.

Windstrom described the event as five separate fights among the crowd. He said officers arrested five people, reported no complaints and that no one suffered serious injury. "Fortunately, no weapons came. A gun never showed up. A knife didn't show up," Windstrom said, calling the outcome better than potential alternatives. He added that the pepper-ball launchers are assigned to sergeants and were used by senior supervisors familiar with policy.

Community concerns and response

Several commissioners asked about trauma concerns and whether the documentary could retraumatize community members. Windstrom described outreach and said the documentary producers included interviews with victims— family members and that the project was not intended as a police "cheerleader" piece. The city manager and the mayor voiced support for transparency while acknowledging the need to balance public sensitivity to trauma.

Ending

Windstrom took questions about policing trends, including auto theft, robberies and homicide clearances. He reported improvements in several clearance and crime-rate metrics and defended the department—s transparency initiatives, saying openness helped regain community trust after prior incidents. No formal actions or votes on the documentary or policy changes occurred during the committee discussion.