Investigation of Kzoo police inches forward

The investigation into the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety’s mishandling of protests over the summer of 2020 have moved into a new phase: Analysis.

Last year, city leaders hired the OIG Group to investigate a pair of incidents that took place in Kalamazoo last summer. One was its full-on response to Black Lives Matter protests after the death of George Floyd. The other was its hands-off response to a rally by a far-right group that descended into violence.

Earlier this year, the OIG Group held public sessions to hear testimony from people who were involved in those events. Now the group is focused on reviewing the data it’s gathered.

“I don’t have a running total of how many individuals we have talked to but collectively and individually we have been impressed with the number of folks interested in engaging and will report on that as part of our final report,” said Michael Gennaco of the OIR Group in an email interview with MLive.

It isn’t clear when that final report could come. According to its contract with the city, the OIR Group is supposed to analyze the two events from the perspective of public equity – that is, whether KDPS treated protestors fairly and equitably in its handling of the incidents.

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