Kentwood police report increased year-to-date calls; fire chief details Wyndham Gardens sprinkler activation

Chief Litwin presented the Kentwood Police Department’s November 2025 monthly report to the City Commission, saying the department handled just under 1,400 calls for service for the month and a year-to-date total above 16,000.

Litwin said violent-crime tallies for the month were driven largely by aggravated-assault incidents and that property crimes included 4 burglaries, 73 larcenies and 9 motor-vehicle thefts. "Eight of those nine vehicles all had the keys in them when they were stolen last month," he said, urging residents to avoid leaving keys in unattended vehicles.

Litwin also noted 94 adult arrests for the month and described a recent significant arrest handled by detectives that is pending in court. He told commissioners the department completed a transition to a new Taser and VR training and provided code-complaint and citation totals.

Fire Chief Sloan told the commission the fire/EMS team responded to about 410 calls last month and that EMS accounts for roughly 68% of calls. Sloan described a Wyndham Gardens room fire in which two sprinklers activated and contained much of the damage; some drywall fell to the first floor and inspections and electrical checks followed.

Sloan reported year-to-date increases in plan reviews, business inspections and smoke-detector installs and said Narcan administrations are down this year. Commissioners asked technical questions about storage near sprinklers and about the effect of false or overlapping calls on response times; Sloan and staff agreed to run additional numbers.

The commission moved to "receive and file" both department reports; the motion passed by voice vote.