Resident alleges constitutional violations by police and CPS; commission hears police quarterly report and swears in six officers

At the Kentwood City Commission meeting, resident Brandy Ritzma told commissioners she has been without contact with her children for 554 days and asked the city to open an independent investigation into what she described as an unlawful child removal and the handling of her citizen complaint.

Ritzma said Kentwood police and Child Protective Services removed her children “without a court order or exigent danger,” then labeled her subsequent complaint unfounded without interviewing her. She asked the commission to make two internal emails from Deputy Chief Stephanie Morningstar part of the public record and to conduct a full review of why her complaint was closed and why she was not contacted. “This is not how a department treats a complainant who is being taken seriously,” Ritzma said.

The commission received a lengthy public-safety briefing from Police Chief Brian Litwin, who presented first-quarter police statistics and described investigative tools and outcomes. Litwin said the department saw about 4,200 calls for service year-to-date, reported increases in aggravated assaults and burglaries in the quarter, and recorded 330 adult and 71 juvenile arrests. He highlighted the use of an automated-plate-reading vendor (Flock), saying the department averaged roughly 4.5 million plate reads per month with more than 17,000 hot-list hits during the period; those searches led to multiple arrests and vehicle recoveries and helped identify a vehicle in a recent fatal hit-and-run.

Litwin also described 16 drone deployments in the quarter and several successful uses that helped officers locate suspects and guide arrests. He said the department’s SRT team executed arrests connected to countywide investigations and highlighted community outreach such as school reading events.

Earlier in the meeting the commission formally swore in six new police recruits — Trent Brower, Nathan Ferguson, Taylor Kyle, Zoe Monica, Abigail Rohorst and Nick Van Till — bringing the department to 74 sworn officers. The clerk administered the oath and family members were invited to join the recruits at the podium.

On equipment and procurement the commission approved two police-related items. The body accepted a request to purchase 16 upgraded duty pistols with optics and flashlights to support specialized units and instructors; Chief Litwin said the department tested the equipment and plans to include further replacements in next year’s budget. The commission also approved selling 62 surplus TASER-7 devices and related holsters to an accredited security company for $24,800 after the department upgraded to TASER-10 under a new contract with Axon.

Actions and next steps: the commission voted to receive and file the police and fire quarterly reports, approved the pistol purchase and the TASER sale, and heard Ritzma’s request for an independent investigation. Commissioners and staff did not announce a formal follow-up timeline on Ritzma’s complaint during the meeting. The commission also heard questions and clarifications about statistics, asset replacement timelines and community programs.

Quotes from the meeting: “Why were these officers deposed if they did nothing wrong? And where are those reports?” — Brandy Ritzma. “We averaged about 4,500,000 plate reads per month…we had over 17,000 hot list hits,” — Police Chief Brian Litwin.

The meeting record shows Ritzma’s public-comment request and the department’s quarterly report were entered into the minutes. The commission did not announce a formal independent-investigation protocol during the session; any response to the resident’s request would be a follow-up action by staff or a future agenda item.