The city may pull back an application for a $2.2 million Department of Justice grant to support a drone program for Detroit police since it was submitted without the approval of City Council.
As they prepared to vote Tuesday on whether to green-light the application, Detroit Council Members learned it was already submitted weeks ago in violation of city code.
Several council members expressed frustration and concern over the process taking place without their knowledge and that the authorization was brought to the body after the fact.
“I was not made aware of this as council president. It might not be important to some folks, but I think that I deserve the respect to at least be made aware that what’s coming before this body has actually been moved up,” Tate told representatives of the police department and city grants office, adding the situation was “very disappointing.”
Tate stressed that he supports the police department, but questioned whether there was a “loophole” to circumvent the council to submit the grant application based on the ‘tight’ timeline, but said, “there’s a process and procedure for a reason.”
According to the application documents, the Justice Reinvestment Initiative Grant was being sought to help the Detroit Police Department establish a drone as first responder program to address low-risk calls for service and to help the police department make more efficient use of its two-member scout car system.
Deputy Police Chief Mark Bliss told council members that the application was “completed abruptly” to meet a June 10 deadline.
Currently, the police department does not have an approved policy for drone use. A draft is being reviewed by the Board of Police Commissioners. Bliss told council members that DPD expects to gain BOPC approval in the coming weeks. It would then require approval of Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison before going into effect.
Terri Daniels, who heads the city’s Office of Development and Grants, acknowledged that there was no loophole and that the grant was submitted before the request made its way to council. But as a backstop, she said, all grants have to be approved and accepted by the council. So, if it was awarded, the council would still have the authority to not accept the grant funding.
“We were coming up on a very aggressive deadline and we hit the button to apply for the grant and in hindsight should have at least let you know that this was something that was on the table,” she told Tate. “That won’t happen again.”
Tate responded: “Should we believe that? It’s now July 28 and we’re only finding out now that this item is before us that you all violated protocol.”
Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who chairs the council’s Public Health and Safety committee, said the deadline for the application and submission also wasn’t shared during discussions over the grant in the subcommittee.
She said she won’t support the application in part because there’s no official policy for drone use and due to concerns about police abuse of the technology nationally.
“That is where I stand on the issue,” she said.
Detroit Chief Financial Officer Tanya Stoudemire in a statement to BridgeDetroit echoed that the grants office was trying to beat a quick-turnaround deadline to secure the grant.
“While their intentions may have been honorable, in doing so they cut a corner that they should never cut by applying for the grant without first obtaining City Council approval,” she said. “We deeply regret and apologize for this unacceptable lapse and have assured council members that this will not happen again.”
In the meantime, she added, “we are currently in the process of determining whether to withdraw the grant application or if there may still be a path forward.”
Councilman Scott Benson pulled and read language from Detroit City Code that highlights that the council must sign off on all applications for federal, state or other grants before they can be submitted. The council’s attorney, David Whitaker, who heads the Legislative Policy Division, also weighed in at the council’s request, noting that ” it was not initiated properly.”
Daniels said she did not personally submit the grant and has staff authorized to apply for grants on her behalf. She told the council the city might be able to go into the grant portal and withdraw the application. Tate, Benson, Santiago-Romero, Coleman A. Young II, Latisha Johnson and Denzel McCampbell voted against authorizing the application.
Bliss told BridgeDetroit after the meeting that the police department will be “talking internally” about next steps.
