Council resolution would direct police training and ask city attorney to draft ordinance to protect places of worship

Staff member Chris told the Human Rights Commission that Ann Arbor’s mayor and several councilmembers recently introduced a resolution asking the city to strengthen police training and consider drafting an ordinance to protect places of worship.

"There's an article about it in MLI," Chris said, adding that the resolution asks the city attorney's office to draft language similar to a New York law that prohibits criminal interference with access to places of religious worship. "The major piece of this is the ongoing protests in front of the Beth Israel synagogue that escalated in different ways."

Chris described two main components: increased police training on responding to incidents that could disrupt worship and a request that the attorney’s office draft an ordinance to give houses of worship greater certainty to meet and worship without disruption. "The ordinance piece will be coming through the attorney's office," Chris said.

Commissioners asked for follow-up on who in the attorney’s office will draft the ordinance and said they want to monitor the draft once it is available. Chris said the resolution’s sponsors include Mayor Taylor and councilmembers Redina, Iyer, Harrison and Cornell and that the item appears in Legistar and the council meeting video.

Why it matters: commissioners said the protests have continued for years and have recently become more heated. The proposed ordinance and training changes could affect how police respond to demonstrations near houses of worship and could lead to changes in local code if the city moves forward.

Next steps: staff recommended the commission track the ordinance drafting and, if appropriate, coordinate with the police or city attorney to provide input; commissioners signaled they would follow the item as it moves through Legistar and upcoming council meetings.