Were Detroit police short-staffed when gang conflict led to mass shooting at block party? (2024)

Detroit — Detroit Police officials said they're questioning staffing decisions that left the unit charged with breaking up block parties shorthanded during the recent July 4 weekend, and why a supervisor allegedly drove past a crowded celebration but "failed to act" before the festivities turned violent.

About an hour after the supervisor drove away from the July 7 block party on Rossini Avenue on the city's east side, Detroit Assistant Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald said a shootout between rival gang members left two people dead and 19 others wounded — the most victims in a mass shooting in Michigan history.

"We're looking into why (the supervisor) failed to act," Fitzgerald said. "He reported to Notification and Control that he went to the party at 1:38 a.m., and that there were only about 60 people, although I've looked at video and it appeared to be close to 80 to 100. It later grew to more than 300, but if all he'd done was to sit there parked with his flashing lights on, that party would’ve probably started to clear out."

Fitzgerald added: "I'm concerned we were understaffed last weekend."

Days before the shooting, Detroit Police officials sent emails to members of the department's Mobile Field Force warning them they'd be below normal strength during the holiday weekend, because the precincts needed to be adequately staffed, according to police documents obtained by The Detroit News. The Mobile Field Force handles protests, block parties and other large gatherings.

Detail sheets reviewed by The Detroit News show that on the night of the mass shooting, there were only 20 officers and two supervisors assigned to the Mobile Field Force — about half the number that should staff the unit, according to Fitzgerald.

After the shooting on Rossini, Detroit police officials sent a memo to all precinct commanders, informing them Mobile Field Force duty, which was a voluntary detail, would be mandatory moving forward, and that three officers from each of Detroit's 12 precincts would be assigned to the unit on weekends.

"The Mobile Field Force should be about 40 officers," said Fitzgerald, who said many officers stopped volunteering for the duty after the unit's commanding officer, Lt. Brandon Cole, was suspended for verbally sparring with a woman who was protesting U.S. support of Israel during President Joe Biden's May 19 speech to the NAACP in Detroit.

Cole filed a federal lawsuit July 9 claiming Detroit Police Chief James White violated his First Amendment rights by suspending him without formal charges after he told the protester to "go back to Mexico," where she'd recently been on vacation. In a statement, White said the allegations "are baseless, unfounded, and lack any semblance of merit."

In addition to the Mobile Field Force, on Thursday, 80 officers were deployed to newly formed units called Neighborhood Response Teams to help deal with block parties. Detroit Police officials also moved calls about block parties to the Priority One category, which means police will respond to those runs first.

With the Mobile Field Force understaffed, Fitzgerald said "all the other available levers weren't pulled" during the extended holiday weekend from July 4-7, when police officials said 27 people were shot, three fatally, at six illegal block parties. Some supervisors failed to deploy other units to help deal with the block party chaos, including Special Operations, Tactical Services Section and precinct Strike Force crews, he said.

"So many in leadership should have taken an active role," Fitzgerald said.

Darryl Woods, chairman of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, said the board is "looking for answers about this."

"We want to know how many 911 calls were made reporting this party, and if there was any dereliction of duty," Woods said. "If anyone did anything to violate department policy, I expect Chief White will hold them accountable."

Officers attacked

A police department email on July 3 titled "Block Club 7-5-24 to 7-7-24" informed members of the Mobile Field Force that "MFF will not be able to do an east west split," meaning the unit would not be able to send separate contingents to Detroit's east and west sides during the holiday weekend.

On July 4, an email was sent to the 4th Precinct's Mobile Field Force members, explaining that one of the three officers who'd volunteered for weekend Mobile Field Force duty would be pulled back to regular patrols "in an effort to provide adequate staffing for the precinct."

City and police officials said in March the police department had filled most of its vacancies by hiring 300 officers last year, and that the new hires enabled the department to redeploy more than 40 officers to patrol Detroit Department of Transportation buses. Fitzgerald said the department is making the transition in increments and that 24 officers were sent to transit duty on July 1, with the rest to be redeployed a few at a time.

"We have enough officers for the precincts," Fitzgerald said. "But during the holiday season, everyone wants to be nice and give people an extra day off here and there. We're trying to figure out if that's what happened last weekend."

White said officers must have time off during weekends and that supervisors should plan ahead when making up schedules.

"We cannot restrict every weekend and that personnel need time off," White said in a statement. "It is my expectation that supervisors will properly manage their operations and personnel."

As part of the review of the events of July 7, Fitzgerald said officials are also looking into the actions of a sergeant who was trying to break up a block party of about 200 people on Waltham Street, when the gunfire erupted about two miles away on Rossini. When a dispatcher instructed all nearby units to respond to the shooting scene, the sergeant replied that he couldn't send anyone.

The sergeant and other officers were being assaulted by people at the party on Waltham when the shooting started on Rossini, Fitzgerald said.

"People were throwing bottles at them and all sorts of other nonsense," Fitzgerald said. Officers are regularly assaulted when trying to break up block parties, he said.

A 40-year-old man was arrested in connection with the Rossini shooting after police followed him from the crime scene and confiscated a "AR-style rifle" from his truck, according to a federal agent's affidavit filed Tuesday in Detroit U.S. District Court. The defendant, Cortez Lindsey, is being held in federal custody, with a detention hearing scheduled Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Stafford. Lindsey's attorney Daniel Reid declined to comment.

Sandra Turner-Handy, an organizer with the Denby Neighborhood Allianceon the city's east side, said neighbors called to complain about the party on Rossini before it became violent.

Residents of the area knew "something would happen, witnessing way too many people on the block," Turner-Handy said. "They called, but the police couldn't send a car out because they were already at a different scene with 200 kids, some with guns."

Police board Chairman Woods said the community is still "feeling lot of pain" from the shooting.

"Folks need to understand the level of trauma that's being felt in that neighborhood," Woods said.

Dozens of people gathered Wednesday in Edmore Marbud Park, a few blocks north of the shooting scene, to mourn the victims and decry the violence.

Detroit's police chief said he's focused on bringing the shooters to justice, while looking into his department's actions before, during and after the shooting.

"We know our community continues to reel from this tragic shooting," White said. "The Detroit Police Department is committed to bringing all individuals involved in this heinous act to justice and remains focused on holding the shooters accountable.

"Since the summer began, additional resources have been devoted to curbing unlawful block parties. This includes DPD analysts in our 24/7 Real Time Crime Center who utilize a data-driven approach toidentify potential problematic locations and allocate personnel to disrupt these activities. DPD executive officers can redeploy resources to ensure adequate police coverage. The Department will conduct a full investigation into the planning and response to the July 7th shooting."

"The men and women of the Detroit Police Department put themselves in harm’s way daily to prevent violence. We continue to find innovative approaches to keep our community safe. However, no plan can succeed without community participation in ensuring their safety and not permitting lawlessness or weapons at events."

Mandatory duty

On Tuesday, two days after the Rossini Avenue mass shooting, Detroit Police officials sent emails to precinct commanders, alerting them that Mobile Field Force duty was mandatory, adding: "If we don't reach our number of volunteers, we will be assigning personnel."

Fitzgerald said it was necessary to require Mobile Field Force participation, because the pool of officers available for Mobile Field Force duty has dwindled since Cole's suspension.

"We used to have 140 people for the Mobile Field Force, and it was easy to get volunteers," Fitzgerald said. "Since the Cole thing, we're down to about 60 people. Every person who graduates from the (Police Academy) gets Mobile Field Force training, and we're not doing it as a volunteer unit now, so we won't run into that problem."

Cole's attorney Solomon Radner said Detroit Police officials were forced to require Mobile Field Force duty because officers are reluctant to volunteer, fearing they'll be thrown "under the bus."

"It is not because of the officers' solidarity with Lt. Cole, but rather because they have no confidence that Chief White will have their backs," Solomon said in a statement.

Cole's lawsuit alleges he was "deprived of his liberties without any procedural due process" when he was suspended without pay.

White said Cole's suspension was handled properly.

"Speaking directly to the due process claims, Lieutenant Cole’s suspension was carried out in accordance with applicable provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement," the chief said. "This included a hearing in front of the Board of Police Commissioners in which Lieutenant Cole was represented by counsel and union officials, and was afforded an opportunity to speak on his own behalf. The Board ultimately concurred with the Chief’s recommendation that Lieutenant Cole be suspended without pay. He will remain in this status until the Department’s investigation is complete."

Shooting was gang 'retaliation'

The Mobile Field Force was created in 1993 following the riots in Los Angeles after officers were acquitted for the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King and as former Detroit Police Officers Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn were set to stand trial for the Nov. 5, 1992 beating death of Malice Green.

"The Mobile Field Force (MFF) is designed to provide a rapid, organized, and disciplined response to civil disorder, crowd control or other tactical situation," a 2008 Detroit Police directive said.

The shooting on Rossini was a "retaliation" between two rival gangs, Fitzgerald said.

"A group of girls was fighting, and these guys from another gang came up between two houses and opened fire," Fitzgerald said. "When the dust settled, the knuckleheads in the other gang started shooting back at nothing. They were trying to help out their own people, but they had people diving everywhere."

A 20-year-old woman and 20-year-old man were killed by the gunfire, with 19 others ranging in age from 16 to 27 years old also shot. Detroit police officials said Wednesday 11 of the victims had been released from the hospital.

As a Detroit police squad car responded to the shooting, the officers spotted a black Dodge Ram truck "speeding southbound on Gratiot in excess of the posted speed limit," according to an affidavit filed July 9 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"The officers began to follow the Dodge Ram and activated their overhead lights and sirens," the affidavit said. "The driver of the Dodge Ram did not pull over. Officers momentarily lost sight of the Dodge Ram but caught up to it after it stopped in the middle of the street near the intersection of Coplin Avenue and Flanders Street in Detroit. The Dodge Ram had significant front-end damage and appeared to have crashed."

As the officers approached the truck, they saw Lindsey, "appearing to try to retrieve something from the passenger side of the vehicle," the affidavit said. "Lindsey ran from the scene. Officers chased after Lindsey and ultimately got him into custody. Officers looked inside the Dodge Ram and observed an AR-style rifle. Officers opened the passenger door and recovered a black American Tactical Hybrid multi-caliber rifle. The rifle was loaded with .223 caliber ammunition and was missing approximately six rounds, as the magazine had a thirty round capacity."

Lindsey, who is being detained on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, appeared in federal court Thursday for a detention hearing in which ATF agents were to argue why the defendant needed to remain in custody. Reid, Lindsey's attorney, asked that the proceedings be postponed so he could get more information about the case.

Fitzgerald said Lindsey is being prosecuted under the Detroit One partnership between DPD, the U.S. Attorney's Office and Wayne County Prosecutors that sends gun crimes to federal court, because federal cases often result in more prison time.

ghunter@detroitnews.com

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@GeorgeHunter_DN

Detroit News Staff Writers Sarah Rahal and Robert Snell contributed.