Stories of alleged everyday Michigan State Police misconduct are providing the latest issue for supporters of CAP, Community Alliance for the People, led by Jeff Bulls, the founding president.
But while Bulls questions the City Council, Mayor Brenda Moore and at least several members offer an inquiry in return: What exactly does this new CAP group want them to do?
“I’m seeing a good group with much potential for working to make Saginaw a better place,” Moore says. “I would simply hope they would become more specific, pick out achievable goals and then join us in pursuing them.”
Bulls responds that his first “achievable goal” is to persuade state police representatives to attend CAP’s next monthly forum at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at downtown’s Saginaw Marketplace, 203 South Washington. Other law enforcement agencies are welcome to take part.
Moore joins other council members who are puzzled why CAP was virtually a no-show on April 3, when state police took questions at City Hall during the regular Monday session. Some members’ confusion was because they had issued the invite, upon a motion by Councilman Michael Flores, in response to complaints and testimonials from CAP’s March session.
Although the mayor says she has nothing to do with whether state police attend on April 15, she maintains her view that CAP missed an organizing opportunity on April 3.
“They seem to get things started, but then they don’t follow through,” Moore says. “Like with the housing (CAP’s January and February mainstay), Daniels Heights, what has come from all of that?”
Denita Dorsey was one of the few CAP representatives to attend.
“After the meeting,” she says, “I spoke with both of the representatives from MSP and engaged them in conversation for about 20 minutes and gave a personal invite to our next CAP meeting. In regards to CAP not following through, Rome wasn’t built in a day. We listen to the community at our CAP talks and we are diligently working on the community’s concerns. Solutions to problems brought up at CAP talks are in the works but solutions take time.”
Bulls also has expressed a personal belief that allegations of MSP misdeeds are so prevalent that the City Council should ask troopers to end their 11-year increased presence in the urban core and direct their “directed patrols” elsewhere.
MSP now provides about one-fourth of the city’s patrol coverage, offering state-funded manpower for a city force that has been depleted to fewer than 50, down from 150 at the turn of the millennium.
The reason for pursuing the issue, Bulls says, is that the grievances that emerged at CAP’s March session were in regard to everyday incidents, moreso than the more extreme and highly publicized video beatings last year, first involving a 48-year-old male passenger on Annesley street and next a 28-year-old man who was walking along Webber.
He says dismissals of the abusive officers in those two cases does not resolve the question of ongoing tactics that critics describe as stop-and-frisk, and he asserts that City Council questions in this regard were not strong enough on April 3, one reason for the April 15 invite.
Moore believes police conduct complaints should be addressed with vigor and discipline should occur, as demonstrated in the pair of recorded beatings, but that the cash-strapped City Hall budget (ARPA funds cannot be used to hire more cops) remains in dire need of outside assistance and that troopers as a group are performing honorable work.
Reggie Williams II, the Buena Vista police chief who serves with Moore on the council, attended the March CAP meet and said to participants that if state police somehow were removed, “Do you have any idea what the city of Saginaw would look like in six months?”
Bulls answers that studies indicate that for reducing crime, community agencies and projects are proven more effective than more police. He cited one report that a Philadelphia vacant lot cleanup led to, not coincided with, a 29 percent overall reduction.
Williams and Mayor Pro-Tem Annie Boensch at the table have questioned CAP’s accuracy on stats such as this, and the mayor joins them.
“The problem is that we have people who end up quoting these statements as fact,” Moore says.
CAP’s research is proven and factual, responds Bulls, who often makes use of overhead graphics in his presentations.
His summary: “I personally don’t want to get into a back & forth with council. It’s counterproductive and we’ve advanced as an organization far beyond that. Myself and Mayor Pro-Tem Boensch have a very good relationship and we will continue that. Mayor Moore has been invited to every CAP Talk and has yet to attend. Not sure how she can ascertain what we do from a distance, but our door is always open.”
Moore says she will not attend a session “where I’m going to get beat up” and asks whether CAP might take part in regular grassroots activities, such as her annual spring cleanup on Saturday, May 13.
The council’s next regular City Hall meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 17, two days after the CAP followup forum.
When Michigan State Police (MSP) Third District Capt. Greg Morenko spoke to the City Council, he mentioned an unnamed trooper who was assigned to a new role of community services trooper.
Trooper Christopher Kustra has been working with the MSP for five years. He hails from Pinconning and says he has always had an interest in law enforcement. He has been assigned to the community services role for a little over a year, ever since the Annesley Street incident. He first became interested in the community service role when he started seeking out opportunities to work on public relations activities within the community.
“You have to have an open personality, listen to people’s needs, and be organized,” Kustra says, “I attend a lot of meetings and citizens make good suggestions. It’s a unique role and I’m in a good position to help make Saginaw a better, safer place to live, work and play.”
He focuses his efforts in the City of Saginaw, but also works the rest of Saginaw County. Recently, he presented about prom safety at Swan Valley High School. Trooper Kustra can often be found reading to pupils in elementary school classrooms and helping caregivers install their infant car seats. He identifies issues within the community and finds ways to address them. Some issues he’ll be presenting about soon include cybersecurity awareness, internet safety, and teaching parents to identify unsafe behaviors in their teens.
A major effort tackles teen vaping. For parent presentations at Thompson Middle School, he brings a trailer that serves as a walk-in bedroom simulator and advises how to look for hiding places.
Within city boundaries, he is at the table for groups that range from ALPACT, Advocates and Leaders for Police And Community Trust, to NAAG, Neighborhood Association Action Group.
Kustra also is an MSP recruiter. He runs the Tri-City Post’s Explorer Program, Stop the Bleed Instructor, CRASE (Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events), and is a ThinkFirst Instructor. These are all tools he uses to help educate the public and make the community a better place.
To local old-timers, this would be somewhat similar to the city’s Officer Ed (Nowaczyk), and later Officer Browning (Dennis), who upon retirement served as mayor.
As for the concerns that CAP raises, the young trooper defers to his supervisors. His role, he says, is to build public relations and help educate the public to make the community a safer place.
“The East Side is a great community full of amazing people,” Kustra says, going on to note that positive MSP outreach is one way to help rebuild trust in the community. His phone number is (989) 495-5555.
For a report and video of CAP’s March meeting, click here.
To view the April 3 City Council discussion with MSP, click here.
