Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Unarmed Response Program topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Ypsilanti police advisory commission asks to participate in unarmed-response talks after LEAP presentation
Summary
The Ypsilanti Police Advisory Commission voted to send a resolution requesting inclusion in City Council and administration discussions about an unarmed-response program after a LEAP presentation; commissioners debated costs, overlap with local groups and community engagement.
The Ypsilanti Police Advisory Commission on a voice vote approved a resolution asking City Council, the city manager and the police chief to include the commission in next steps evaluating and facilitating an unarmed-response program following a LEAP presentation to council on Aug. 12.
Commissioners and meeting participants described LEAP as a consultant that analyzes 911 and dispatch data and helps communities design unarmed-response programs rather than directly providing unarmed responders. A staff member who attended the LEAP presentation summarized the organization’s role, saying LEAP “goes through and do[es] all the background work and help[s] guide you” by reviewing calls and advising on what could be handled without an armed police response.
Discussion at the commission meeting focused on several recurring concerns: the projected cost to bring LEAP in (participants discussed a $15,000 figure), overlap with existing community programs and groups, volunteer capacity, and whether the initiative would divert finite city resources from priorities such as police hiring. One commenter described a broader worry in blunt terms, calling unarmed-response programs “a segue into doing away with the police force,” and other participants raised liability and duplication concerns.
Several commissioners and participants urged better coordination among city boards, community organizations and existing programs. Multiple speakers said community groups—examples named in discussion included My Brother’s Keeper, community violence intervention efforts and local advisory groups—were not consistently looped into the LEAP conversation and that conversations had proceeded without broad notification to all interested stakeholders.
The commission adopted a motion that, in substance, requests YIPAC be allowed to participate with City Council, the city manager, the chief of police and administration in the next steps of evaluating and facilitating an unarmed-response program and to be included in future discussions on policing in Ypsilanti. The body voted in favor by voice; the meeting record does not record a counted roll-call tally or individual vote names for the motion.
Clerical next steps discussed on the record included having the resolution sent to City Council as a communication within days after the meeting so it would appear on council’s docket. Commissioners also suggested organizing a joint conversation that would bring together representatives of existing community groups and commissions to reduce silos and ensure those groups have a seat at the table.
The commission did not adopt program designs or allocate funds; the action was a request for inclusion in city-level deliberations and further discussions.
