Garrett Burton - Candidate for Police Commissioner - District 6

1) Citizen complaints require timely and fair adjudication to build trust. What is your strategy to address this long-standing issue and expedite the resolution process?

Response: Since 2020, the Board of Police Commissioners has allowed thousands of complaints against police to go uninvestigated. That resident-complaint backlog is a crisis. As those complaints pile up, Detroiters lose trust in our police department, and in turn, the police department loses legitimacy. That makes us less safe: the backlog makes Detroiters less likely to report crimes or cooperate with police.

Taking care of the backlog should be the commission's first priority. To resolve the crisis, the commission should stem the flow of citizen complaints and investigate existing complaints more quickly. That means police officers need to be trained on our use-of-force procedures—and on how to treat citizens fairly. The commission should require officers to undergo procedural justice training to make sure that happens.

To work through existing complaints, the commission should prioritize investigations into repeat offenders. Criminologists have learned that a small number of officers commit the vast majority of misconduct. We should prioritize those repeat-offender complaints so that the worst offending officers aren't able to commit further misconduct. The commission should also work to expand the number of investigators, retain experienced investigators, and collaborate with outside experts to streamline the investigation process.

2) Binding arbitration, such as under Public Act 312, can influence disciplinary actions. What is your perspective on its impact on effective decision-making within the department?

Response: As a UAW member, I know just how important organized labor is to our city. At the same time, I recognize that binding arbitration can make it harder to discipline bad cops. That's why police commissioners must be certain that they're following all the rules when they're disciplining an officer.

Unfortunately, the commission has failed to do that. The office of inspector general investigated and found that the commission closed hundreds of complaints without properly investigating them. As a lawyer, I can make sure that doesn't happen in the future.

3) Civilian oversight is essential for accountability, yet recent challenges—like unfilled positions and disqualifications—highlight gaps. For example, in one district, no one filed, and seven candidates were disqualified from various districts. Additionally, five of the districts will not have a primary, as there are only two candidates on the ballot.

How would you strengthen the efficacy of the elected Board of Police Commissioners and ensure robust civilian leadership?

Response: To strengthen the Police Commission, we need to make it more accessible. That happens in two ways. First, it needs to be easier to be a police commissioner. It's an unpaid, volunteer position that meets during the day on Thursdays. I'm lucky because my job is flexible, but most people can't swing that time commitment. Second, in Detroit, it's hard to run for office. A lot of people pulled petitions to run for police commissioner, but signature-gathering requirements kept many would-be candidates from making the ballot. If someone hasn't run for office before, it's difficult to know how to identify in-district registered voters, have them sign your petition, and make sure their signature matches the qualified voter file. Without change, the police commission is missing out on a lot of smart, hardworking folks. If the police commission is going to get better, we have to rethink how the police commission operates and how people join the commission.