Residents press Hamtramck council for civilian police oversight; petition resurfaces during public comment

Several residents used the public-comment period to urge the Hamtramck City Council to create a civilian oversight or citizen review committee for the local police department.

A public commenter said the city needs “a citizen's oversight committee for the police department,” describing a proposed panel of seven to nine residents drawn from the community to review complaints and police conduct. The commenter said the NAACP and other local groups previously proposed such an oversight body and urged council members to start a dialogue on the issue.

A second commenter, speaking at length about past litigation and the city’s relationship with police, said the police department in Hamtramck has historically been “heavily protected” and that citizens’ complaints usually produce little change. He called for renewed public and council attention to establishing an oversight mechanism, pointing to other cities’ examples where citizen review boards were created to address repeated complaints.

Speakers asked the council to begin a formal dialogue and to consider how an oversight body could be constituted and sustained. One public commenter encouraged the council to engage community groups that previously supported such a commission, saying “We need dialogue. We can start now.”

Council members did not adopt a formal action to establish a review board at the meeting; commenters called for the council to open the topic for future council consideration.

No ordinance or resolution creating an oversight commission was proposed during the meeting. The matter remains a request from residents for council follow-up and policy discussion.