A powder keg was set off that day
Dear Reader,
The Proud Boys far-right group was propelled into the national spotlight at Tuesday’s presidential debate. But they got to Kalamazoo first.
On Aug. 15, the Proud Boys marched into that city’s downtown, prompting violent clashes with people protesting for social justice. Police in riot gear arrived after the fighting was over.
As the Proud Boys drove past police leaving town, many without license plates on their cars, police in turn were arresting 10 people, including an MLive reporter who was documenting the scene. No Proud Boys members were arrested.
A powder keg of social justice issues was set off that day, and the reverberations are still being felt.
“The real focus has been on why the police were not there to be a division between these two groups, to prevent the violence,” said Mark Tower, the MLive news leader for Kalamazoo. “It’s more than the police not being there; I think the criticism is also (that) the actions they did take appeared to be one-sided to a lot of people.”
Tower was my guest on this week’s Behind the Headlines podcast, where we discussed how fallout from the Proud Boys’ incident has complicated a dynamic already fraught from the equity issues that arose from the police killing of George Floyd in May.
Protests across the country in the wake of Floyd’s death ignited civil unrest and damage to cities across the country, including Kalamazoo, Detroit, Grand Rapids and other Michigan cities. Taken together, a spotlight has been focused on the relationship between a police department and citizens in a community.
In Kalamazoo, “it has turned from criticism of what happened on those dates, to criticism of how the police department and city officials have responded to that criticism,” Tower said.
Protests continue every week in Kalamazoo. The chief of the public safety department that played a central role in the drama that day has retired. One review of the city response that day has been criticized by activists as being a whitewash, and an independent investigation is pending.
And through it, MLive journalists are digging for answers. We’re seeking more records that show city planning for the Aug. 15 protests, we’re seeking body cam video from the police officers, and we’re seeking information on the city leaders’ response to what transpired. It hasn’t been easy.
“When there is controversy, when there is criticism, that puts up walls that make it more difficult to get information,” Tower said. “We have trouble reaching city officials who usually are much more accessible; we’ve had difficulty getting our Freedom of Information Act requests properly considered within the timeline the law requires.
“Of course, we will continue to hold the city commission and other city officials accountable as they continue looking back at what happened, as well as looking forward to what they want to change.”
The challenges Kalamazoo is facing, and the wounds it is nursing, represent what is happening across our state and nation. However, Tower notes there are some positives coming out of the challenges and conflicts, and that needs to be reflected in our stories, too.
“One bright spot is that we have had a chance to talk to people about their concerns in a way that maybe we haven’t been able to do before,” he said. “There are groups with things to say that are gathering in our downtown, and it has been a real benefit to be able to tell their story, as well as the story of what is really happening.”
Our coverage of these difficult discussions is integral to our readers and our communities understanding what is happening, and what is at stake. It’s more relevant and meaningful than broadsides thrown in political debates.
“We truly want to tell the story to inform and put context around what is happening, and hopefully help us find ways to eliminate divisions and build a better future together,” Tower said. “I expect this is not the last story we tell you about Kalamazoo.”
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John Hiner Executive Editor Vice President of Content Mlive Media Group
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