Kalamazoo police chief responds to criticism of handling of Proud Boys rally – MLive.com

KALAMAZOO, MI Until my boss tells me any differently, I am the chief of public safety, Karianne Thomas told MLive Tuesday.

The Kalamazoo Public Safety chief has come under scrutiny, including facing calls for her resignation, over how her department handled the Proud Boys rally and counter-protests that occurred Saturday, Aug. 15, in downtown Kalamazoo.

Many community members speaking out some still upset over the handling of Black Lives Matter protests that occurred in the wake of George Floyds death in the city called for Thomas resignation during last nights Kalamazoo City Commission meeting.

Related: Citizens call for new leadership in Kalamazoo after failure during Proud Boys rally

Thomas said during a Sunday afternoon press conference she understood the criticisms from the community, as well as the frustration many were feeling.

When asked Tuesday what her department needs to do to restore faith in the institution among the Kalamazoo community, Thomas said she believes the department need to be consistent in their after-action reviews, learn from these types of events and be both open and responsive.

Im committed to this community and Im committed to this department and its continuous improvement, she told MLive during an interview Tuesday, Aug. 18. If there was a simple answer we wouldnt be in Day 82 in Portland of riots or the Magnificent Mile in Chicago.

If I, in little old Kalamazoo, had those answers believe me, Id be wanted everywhere in the world.

Much of why the department has come under scrutiny is that, despite violent clashes between the alt-right group and counter-protesters, none of the 10 individuals arrested by police were associated with Proud Boys. Some of the violence between members of the groups was captured on video.

Related: None of them saw a single repercussion, counter-protester says of Proud Boys who rallied in Kalamazoo

In total, nine adults were arrested and one juvenile, Thomas said. The juvenile was released to the custody of his parents. Eight of the adults have had their charges dismissed, she said.

Seven of the adults arrested, according to the city attorney and county prosecutors offices, are from Kalamazoo County.

A ninth person arrested Saturday, 31-year-old Travis Anderson of Adrian, was charged with resisting and obstructing a police officer. Anderson was arraigned in Kalamazoo County District Court on Monday, Aug. 17. Anderson was released from jail on a $1,000 bond.

Among those arrested was MLive reporter Samuel Robinson, who was initially charged with impeding traffic and jailed. The charge was later dismissed, and Thomas issued Robinson a public apology during the Sunday news conference.

Related: Charge dropped against MLive reporter, chief apologizes for arrest at Kalamazoo protest

The chief said Tuesday there are no active internal investigations at this time looking into the arrest of Robinson or any of the other arrests during Saturdays protests.

She said the department will take a closer look at what media credentials mean in terms of access at such an event. She also said the department is committed to working with members of the media to educate one another moving forward.

We are doing our after-action review and going through what happened and thats ongoing, Thomas said. We have detectives assigned to look through all of those videos, to see are there any other assaults there. If anything else comes to light, well look at that as it happens.

Addressing rumors of local homeless people having been attacked on Saturday, Thomas and Assistant Chief David Boysen each said they have seen no evidence of such actions thus far. No one has come forward to say they were assaulted on that day, they said.

We have found no evidence to corroborate that whatsoever and our analysts are looking at all the footage, pouring through all the news footage, the body cam footage and our footage recorded from our over-watch (camera), Boysen said.

When asked if any suspects in the violent clashes who were among the Proud Boys group have been identified from that footage, Thomas said investigators were simply not that far into the process.

These things dont happen overnight, she said. They can take weeks.

Thomas boss, Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema, said during Monday nights city commission meeting that he felt things should have been done differently, but that he stands behind the chief.

We shouldnt have arrested people from Kalamazoo and should have arrested Proud Boys, Ritsema said.

The city manager said, in addition to the department reviewing footage of possible criminal acts committed by Proud Boys, his office will also conduct a review of how police handled the situation. That will include probing whether police should or could have had units closer to the Proud Boys, acknowledging the criticism from some that police were not on scene until some time after the violence began.

It was a very serious situation and no one said it was anything less than that, Thomas said Tuesday. Its easy to Monday morning quarterback and to be a Google cop.

Its human dynamics and people are trying to make it seem like it was a simpler situation than it was. It was anything but that.

Among criticisms of the departments handling from residents included claims from some that Proud Boys appeared to receive police protection while leaving the Radisson Plaza Hotels parking garage in their vehicles.

Michael Barker, who called into the virtual city commission meeting Monday, said it felt as if the department provided security service for the Proud Boys. Barker, who said he was in town to peacefully protest on Saturday and was arrested, shared a similar sentiment as Kalamazoo resident Adam Danis, who was also arrested and later saw that charge against him dropped.

They were never going to get a better opportunity to take statements, take names, try to suss out which of those people were involved in the actual crimes that they knew had been committed, Danis said, criticizing police ushering traffic out of the garage.

Thomas, as she did Sunday, reiterated on Tuesday that it was not realistic for officers to have stopped vehicles at that time.

The Proud Boys were in and out of town in 90 minutes, which is a success, she said. We wanted them out of town. We told them to leave the parking ramp. They left the parking ramp and once we go through all the videos, and see if theres anything else out there, well address that as it comes.

City officials have asked that if anyone has video of assaults that occurred during the days events, or was assaulted, to reach out to Kalamazoo Public Safety so those incidents could be investigated.

People can contact Kalamazoo Public Safety at 269-488-8911 or Silent Observer at 269-343-2100 or http://www.kalamazoosilentobserver.com.

Also on MLive:

Kalamazoo City commissioners scrutinize police response to Proud Boys visit

Police chief says Proud Boys completed their mission by causing chaos in downtown Kalamazoo

Charges dismissed against eight involved in Proud Boys rally and counter-protests in Kalamazoo

Rally turns violent as Proud Boys met by counter-protesters in downtown Kalamazoo

Outside investigator will review police use of tear gas on Kalamazoo protesters

Outside agitators forced officers to deploy tear gas, pepper spray in Kalamazoo, police say

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Kalamazoo police chief responds to criticism of handling of Proud Boys rally - MLive.com

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