Detroit Police
Black protesters in Detroit claim in a federal lawsuit that police in the city brutalize Black demonstrators with teargas, chokeholds and other tactics but don’t even attempt to break up protests led by white supremacists.
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Detroit Residents Challenge Policy for Water Shutoffs
Detroit residents backed by the ACLU filed a federal class action Thursday accusing city and state officials of not having a plan in place for low-income residents who face water shutoffs during the coronavirus pandemic.
Read moreFederal Judge Quashes GM’s Racketeering Suit Against Fiat Chrysler
A federal judge in Detroit ruled Wednesday that sweetheart deals motor conglomerate Fiat Chrysler got from the United Auto Workers by bribing their leaders hurt workers first and competitors second, dismissing a suit brought against the company by General Motors.
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Auto Workers Returning to Factories in Detroit
Defying a wave of layoffs that has sent the U.S. job market into its worst catastrophe in a century, one major industry is making a comeback: Tens of thousands of auto workers are returning to factories that have been shut since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Michigan Agrees to Settle Detroit Literacy Rights Case
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday announced a settlement to resolve a lawsuit on behalf of children in Detroit that described slum-like conditions in some public school buildings and a general atmosphere that could not competently deliver education to students.
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Census Reaches Out to Hard-to-Count Arab Americans
At a Michigan gas station, the message is obvious — at least to Arabic speakers: Be counted in the 2020 census.
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Access to Literacy Is a Fundamental Right, Sixth Circuit Finds
A Sixth Circuit panel ruled Thursday that a “basic minimum education” is a constitutional right and breathed new life into claims brought by a class of Detroit-area students who say they were denied fundamental access to literacy as a result of the city’s crumbling public school system.
Read moreDetroit Homeowners File Class Action Over Property Assessments
A group of Detroit homeowners claimed the city overtaxed thousands of residents in a class action filed in federal court on Thursday.
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King Holiday Observed at Tense Moment in US
To commemorate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Nicholas Thomas and more than 100 other volunteers will board up vacant houses, install school safety signs and make other improvements to a Detroit neighborhood. Their mission is to celebrate King’s legacy by being good neighbors and helping lift up a primarily black school in one of the poorer areas of the city.
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Panel Looks Likely to Overturn Ban on Anti-Muslim Ads
A conservative free speech group appeared successful Friday at persuading a Sixth Circuit panel that a Detroit-area public transit authority cannot ban its anti-Muslim ads for being overtly political.
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Detroit Tops List of Hard-to-Count Cities in Census
When the U.S. Census Bureau starts counting people next year in Detroit, obstacles are bound to arise: The city has tens of thousands of vacant houses, sparse internet access and high poverty — factors that will make it the toughest community to tally.
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Advocacy Group Attacks Detroit’s Voting Rolls
Voters who are almost 200 years old have not been removed from Detroit’s voting records, an advocacy group claimed in federal court Tuesday.
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Former Auto Union Exec Appears in Court After Resignation
A former regional director for the United Auto Workers union appeared in Detroit federal court Tuesday, just two days after stepping down amid a sprawling federal investigation into bribery and embezzlement.
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John Conyers, Longest-Serving Black Congressman, Dies at 90
Former Congressman John Conyers, one of the longest-serving members of Congress whose resolutely liberal stance on civil rights made him a political institution in Washington and back home in Detroit despite several scandals, has died. He was 90.
Read moreDetroit Students Fight to Revive Literacy-Rights Case
A class of current and former students of the Detroit public school system urged a Sixth Circuit panel Thursday to reinstate their civil rights case against the state of Michigan for its alleged failure to provide “even a minimally adequate education.”
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Men Who Sent Millions to Yemen Spared Prison
A group of Detroit-area men opened bank accounts to move millions of dollars to Yemen, their war-torn native country. Their crime: They didn’t register as a money-transfer business. Their luck: They drew a sympathetic judge.
Read moreAuto Workers Get $250 Checks as GM Strike Enters Third Week
The United Auto Workers’ strike against General Motors has stretched into its third week with no end in sight, as some workers who applied for a union-sponsored supplemental weekly payment of $250 received their first check Tuesday.
Read moreHistory Buff Finds Ships That Sank in 1878 in Lake Michigan
A diver and maritime history buff has found two schooners that collided and sank into the cold depths of northern Lake Michigan more than 140 years ago.
Read moreDetroit Police Board OKs Use of Facial Recognition Tech by Officers
The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners voted to approve the Detroit Police Department’s use of controversial facial recognition technology to help catch criminals.
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