OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Public Health & Safety Committee Meeting - May 18, 2026

City Council — Monday, May 18, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, May 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:37:05

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

To call to order our public health and safety standing committee for today, Monday, May 18th, 2026.

0:09

May the clerk please call the roll.

0:11

Yes, good morning.

0:12

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero.

0:14

Good morning, present.

0:15

Councilmember Denzel and Ton McCampbell.

0:18

Present.

0:19

Councilmember Mary Waters.

0:22

Madam Chair, we have quorum.

0:24

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

0:26

Given a quorum, we'll get into the agenda for today.

0:31

We have received our minutes from our last session.

0:33

If there's a motion to approve, motion to approve.

0:37

Hearing no objections, our minutes will be approved from our last session.

0:43

For chair remarks, uh we have a pretty standard agenda for today.

0:50

And we can get right into our agenda by going into general public comments for public comments this morning.

1:00

If you are in person and you would like to make general public comment, please raise your hand now.

1:05

We'll make sure that you jot down your name and that we get your information.

1:08

If you are online and you would like to make public comments, please raise your hands virtually.

1:23

And I've just been notified that you can't hear committee on Zoom.

1:32

We might still be able to hear committee on the channel, but uh for IT.

1:42

If anyone can help us, we got it now.

1:46

All right, thank you all so much.

1:48

So again, if you are online and you would like to make public comments, I will cut off public comments at 10.07.

1:55

So two minutes to raise hands.

1:58

And we'll begin with the folks that we have here in person.

2:04

Everyone will have two minutes for general public comment this morning.

2:14

And we will begin with the again with the folks that we have here in person.

2:17

I see Brother Cunningham, if you wouldn't mind going over to the mic, taking a seat.

2:24

We'll begin with Brother Cunningham.

2:25

We'll begin with the folks that we have here in person.

2:29

Mr.

2:30

Hanshu, you're also here for general public comment.

2:32

You can go ahead and take a seat next to Brother Cunningham.

2:35

And Brother Cunningham, the time is on the clock.

2:39

So whenever you're ready, you can go ahead and begin.

2:42

Last week I wasted my time on the internet.

2:44

They couldn't hear, but glad today everything is working.

2:47

Just being persistent.

2:49

313 444 9114 313 4449114.

2:55

313 4449114.

2:57

That number was made so you can remember it.

3:00

Um so I give out bus tickets at the bus stops and uh just some things from last week.

3:08

I have to limit them to 15 a day or 20 a day so I can so it can be stretched and also add about 300 to it, 300 worth to it from donations.

3:20

And so I had somebody cuss me out.

3:24

So this is what it is.

3:26

I've had somebody key my car.

3:28

It is what it is.

3:30

Um while helping folks, things happen sometimes.

3:35

And um, sometimes it's a dangerous situation.

3:38

So I stay prayed up.

3:39

I'm asking you to stay prayed up.

3:41

Um I need to pray for all those in authority, everyone in this room, especially chief.

3:49

And when he was deputy mayor, I was homeless for over 10 years, and he assisted me getting housing.

3:55

So I'll I'll never ever forget that.

3:57

After all those years of advocacy.

4:01

He steps in and uh councilman pro Tim Young's office.

4:07

Um so I'm asking everyone to pray.

4:10

Uh I've been praying periodically in the Holy Spirit and unknown tongues, and people scratch their head, laugh.

4:15

That's cool.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety███████████████████████████████████████████43%
Contract Management█████████████████17%
Procedural█████████████13%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████10%
Technology and Innovation████████8%
Community Engagement███████7%
Blight█1%
Workforce Development█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Health & Safety Standing Committee Meeting - May 18, 2026

The Detroit City Council's Public Health and Safety Standing Committee met on Monday, May 18, 2026, to discuss several items, including a contentious proposal to extend the ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology contract. The meeting featured extensive public comment opposed to the renewal, a detailed presentation by the Detroit Police Department (DPD) supporting the technology, and council deliberation on multiple contracts and memos. Key votes were deferred or sent to formal session with recommendations or without.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Brother Cunningham (in-person) – Spoke about distributing bus tickets and the importance of prayer. Urged support for public safety efforts.
  • Mr. Hanshu – Opposed the ShotSpotter contract renewal, citing proven ineffectiveness, privacy concerns, and the potential for misuse as surveillance. Stated that 95% of people before the Board of Police Commissioners are anti-ShotSpotter.
  • Richard Clay – Opposed ShotSpotter, calling it wasteful and a potential tool for spying. Urged council to vote no and redirect funds to community needs.
  • Mo (District 6 resident) – Quoted an AP investigation highlighting ShotSpotter's inaccuracy, misclassifications, and human bias. Argued the $2 million contract could fund mental health and youth programs.
  • Alejandro Navarrete (District 6) – Noted DPD cannot prove causality between ShotSpotter and crime reduction. Cited that gun crime was already declining and that other precincts without ShotSpotter saw sharper declines.
  • Mr. Foster – Spoke about RICO, unsolved cases, and the need for transparency in law enforcement.
  • Jadante Smith (virtual) – Opposed ShotSpotter, citing lack of conclusive evidence from Board of Police Commissioners meetings. Requested more youth programs and meetings with council.
  • Carolyn Hughes (virtual) – Opposed ShotSpotter, criticized surveillance expansion (Flock cameras), and argued the $9 million total could be better spent.
  • Molly Menning (Wayne Law postgrad fellow) – Urged non-renewal, citing studies showing ShotSpotter does not improve response times, arrest rates, or deterrence. Advocated for community violence intervention (CVI) funding.
  • William M. Davis – Opposed ShotSpotter, noting the $2 million could fund home repairs. Raised racial profiling concerns.
  • Maya Sapori (Detroit Anti-War Committee) – Urged ending the contract and redirecting funds to CVI programs.
  • Gwendolyn Howard – Opposed ShotSpotter due to cost and privacy concerns.
  • Jacob Smith (District 5) – Opposed ShotSpotter, citing data: police response time of 14 minutes for 911 calls vs. 30 minutes for ShotSpotter, only 12% of alerts led to arrests, 1% led to EMS. Suggested funds for schools and rec centers.
  • Alexandria Trombly (trauma/addiction researcher) – Opposed, supported proven CVI interventions.
  • Danielle Sayan – Opposed, noting less than 3% of arrests from ShotSpotter and arguing funds should go to schools.
  • Victoria Camille (Police Commissioner, District 7, speaking personally) – Opposed renewal, warned against over-reliance on technology, and asked to reallocate funds to CVI, de-escalation, and youth programs.
  • Carolyn Hughes (returned) – Opposed ShotSpotter and Flock cameras, cited illegal origins of contract, and urged funding rec centers.

Discussion Items

  • ShotSpotter (Sound Thinking) Contract Extension (Item 6.5) – DPD Chief Todd Bettison and Deputy Chief Mark Bliss presented data arguing the technology is an effective investigative tool. Key statistics: 40% reduction in gunshot alerts from 2023 to 2025 across coverage areas; 9th precinct saw 45% reduction; average response time improved from 8:08 in 2024 to 6:49 in 2025; in 2025, 24.5% of non-fatal shooting alerts had no corresponding 911 call; ShotSpotter helped close 49.2% of firearm homicide cases in 2024; collected 11,954 shell casings in 2025 (down from 16,000 in 2023). DPD emphasized the technology is reactive and part of a broader CVI strategy. Councilmembers Santiago-Romero and McCampbell questioned the cost ($2.58M for 9 months), privacy concerns (audio data storage, vendor practices), lack of independent research, and the inability to prove causality. The contract was brought back in two weeks after a motion to continue discussion.

  • Specialty Uniforms Contract (Item 5.1, Ally Brothers) – Discussion on why a Livonia-based company was chosen over Detroit-based Enterprise. DPD cited capacity and timeliness issues with Enterprise. Council asked for documentation of those failures. The item was brought back in two weeks.

  • Emergency Demolition at 1456 Trinity (Item 5.2) – Brought back in two weeks.

  • Hydrogen Fueled Buses Report (Item 5.3) – Brought back in two weeks.

  • 36th District Court Accessibility (Item 5.4) – Brought back in three weeks awaiting response.

  • Office of Neighborhood Community Safety Services (Item 5.5) – Brought back in one week.

  • After-Hours Establishments Memo (Item 5.6) – Brought back in three weeks.

  • Securing City Property Against Federal Overreach (Item 5.7) – Received and filed; draft ordinance to be reviewed.

  • Advertising Signs Amendment (Item 5.8) – Sent to formal for introduction and public hearing.

  • Pre-Sale Inspection Ordinance (Item 5.9) – Brought back in two weeks for law department review.

  • Stevens Thompson Mason School Property (Item 5.10) – Brought back in two weeks.

  • After-Hours Establishments Ordinance (Item 5.11) – Brought back in three weeks.

  • Blight Fines Waiver Ordinance (Item 5.12) – Brought back in three weeks.

  • DPD Storage Requirements Report (Item 5.13) – Brought back in two weeks.

  • Safe Fire Response Contract (Item 5.14) – Sent to formal without recommendation after work was completed.

  • Ordinance to Address Federal Overreach (Item 5.15) – Brought back in three weeks.

  • Lee Plaza Encroachment Petition (Item 5.16) – Brought back in two weeks pending map and resolution.

  • Demolition Cost & Collections Report (Item 5.17) – Brought back in three weeks.

  • Post-Trauma Prison Disorder Resolution (Item 5.18) – Sent to formal as amended.

  • South Fort Street Road Diet Resolution (Item 5.19) – Brought back in two weeks.

  • Police Activity at Lovely Vibes Bar & Grill (Item 5.20) – Brought back in two weeks.

  • Police Training Programs & Employment Requirements Response (Item 5.21) – Received and filed.

  • DPD Oakman Boulevard Renovations (Item 6.1, Gandalf Construction) – Sent to new business with recommendation to approve after confirming union workforce.

  • Citywide Firehouse Renovations (Item 6.2, W3 Construction) – Sent to new business without recommendation due to incomplete information on specific projects.

  • DFD Annex Additions (Item 6.3, Major Contracting) – Sent to new business without recommendation; extension only, no additional funds.

  • Mount Elliott Senior Community Center Renovation (Item 6.4, DMC Consultants) – Approved with recommendation to new business (80% complete, sewer line issues).

  • Asphalt Paving Mixtures (Item 6.6, Ajax Paving) – Sent to new business without recommendation after councilmember noted low Detroit resident workforce (33%).

  • Dangerous Building Findings (Items 6.7, 6.8) – Received and filed.

  • Ordinance on Cannabis Locked Storage (Item 6.9) – Received and filed.

  • Alley Vacation Petition (Item 6.10) – Approved for formal session.

  • Adult-Oriented Businesses Memo (Item 6.11) – Brought back in two weeks.

  • Hazardous Materials in District 5 Memo (Item 6.12) – Brought back in two weeks.

  • Fire Department Plan Update Memo (Item 6.13) – Brought back in two weeks.

  • Drudas Promise Day Resolution (Item 6.14) – Brought back in two weeks.

Key Outcomes

  • ShotSpotter extension (Item 6.5) – Brought back in two weeks for continued discussion; no vote.
  • Uniforms contract (5.1) – Brought back in two weeks pending documentation.
  • Firehouse renovations (6.2) – Sent to new business without recommendation.
  • Asphalt contract (6.6) – Sent to new business without recommendation with a note on Detroit resident hiring.
  • DPD renovation (6.1) – Approved to new business.
  • Other items either approved, filed, or scheduled for future committee meetings.

Meeting Transcript

To call to order our public health and safety standing committee for today, Monday, May 18th, 2026. May the clerk please call the roll. Yes, good morning. Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero. Good morning, present. Councilmember Denzel and Ton McCampbell. Present. Councilmember Mary Waters. Madam Chair, we have quorum. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Given a quorum, we'll get into the agenda for today. We have received our minutes from our last session. If there's a motion to approve, motion to approve. Hearing no objections, our minutes will be approved from our last session. For chair remarks, uh we have a pretty standard agenda for today. And we can get right into our agenda by going into general public comments for public comments this morning. If you are in person and you would like to make general public comment, please raise your hand now. We'll make sure that you jot down your name and that we get your information. If you are online and you would like to make public comments, please raise your hands virtually. And I've just been notified that you can't hear committee on Zoom. We might still be able to hear committee on the channel, but uh for IT. If anyone can help us, we got it now. All right, thank you all so much. So again, if you are online and you would like to make public comments, I will cut off public comments at 10.07. So two minutes to raise hands. And we'll begin with the folks that we have here in person. Everyone will have two minutes for general public comment this morning. And we will begin with the again with the folks that we have here in person. I see Brother Cunningham, if you wouldn't mind going over to the mic, taking a seat. We'll begin with Brother Cunningham. We'll begin with the folks that we have here in person. Mr. Hanshu, you're also here for general public comment. You can go ahead and take a seat next to Brother Cunningham. And Brother Cunningham, the time is on the clock. So whenever you're ready, you can go ahead and begin. Last week I wasted my time on the internet. They couldn't hear, but glad today everything is working. Just being persistent. 313 444 9114 313 4449114. 313 4449114. That number was made so you can remember it. Um so I give out bus tickets at the bus stops and uh just some things from last week. I have to limit them to 15 a day or 20 a day so I can so it can be stretched and also add about 300 to it, 300 worth to it from donations. And so I had somebody cuss me out. So this is what it is. I've had somebody key my car. It is what it is. Um while helping folks, things happen sometimes. And um, sometimes it's a dangerous situation.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com