Internal Operations Committee forwards dozens of officer indemnification requests and settlements to formal session

The Detroit City CouncilInternal Operations Committee on Monday voted to send a large group of legal representation and settlement items to the councilformal session with recommendations to approve, while postponing a handful of items for follow-up or closed-session review.

Committee members repeatedly used the method "hearing no objection, that action shall be taken" to advance most line items to formal session. The items included requests for legal representation and indemnification for multiple Detroit Police Department officers and several settlement requests tied to the Department of Transportation.

Why it matters: The committeeaction moves a slate of litigation-related decisions to the full council for final consideration. Many of the items involve individual lawsuits against officers or the city and potential taxpayer-funded settlements or defense costs.

The committee advanced indemnification or representation requests for officers including Marca Swayze, Dana Ford, Jeremy Miller, Angelica Robinson, Felicia Washington, Deputy Chief Kyra Hope, former officer Michael Cardenas, Shanita Moore, Christopher Young, Lamont Gibson, Detective Dion Corbin, Christopher Bush, Jacob Rains, Nari Mitchell, Lashontia Oliver, Samar Kazali, and Corporal Steven Murdoch. Several items were combined and moved as grouped motions.

Settlements and amounts explicitly mentioned during the meeting included a $30,000 settlement in James Townsend v. City of Detroit, Department of Transportation (line item 5.1); a $9,500 settlement for AS Medical Group, PLC (line item 6.2); an $18,750 Department of Transportation award in Ronald Cross v. Darrell Russell (line item 6.19); and a $100,000 settlement in Kennedy Shannon v. City of Detroit (line item 6.20). Committee members said those items would be sent to formal with recommendations to approve.

A small number of items were not advanced without further action: line item 5.2 (request to draft a resolution reestablishing the Youth and Civic Engagement Task Force and the Human and Sex Trafficking Task Force) was returned for one week of follow-up; line items 6.6 and 6.17 (related matters involving former officer Michael Cardenas and officer Shanita Moore) were postponed pending scheduling of a closed session; line item 6.16 was returned for one week; and line item 6.21 (a retiree fast-track program request) was scheduled to return in two weeks.

Committee members and law department attorneys described the practical differences between first-party settlement matters and third-party tort claims when members questioned whether settlements could be challenged or reduced. Attorney Graham Anderson, Law Department, said that in first-party matters the presence of an accident typically leads to a settlement unless "you can show just complete absolute fraud," a high bar for the city to meet.

Several members pressed for follow-up information on specific items, including whether DDOT vehicle cameras exist and are operational (see separate article on DDOT cameras) and whether any personnel actions accompanied settlements in particular cases. Committee chair and members said they would request written follow-up from relevant departments before formal votes.

The committee recorded these procedural recommendations and postponements for the councilformal session to handle the final approvals or scheduling of closed-session discussions.