Category: Watchdog
KDPS chief loses misconduct review, wins retirement deal
Kalamazoo’s chief of public safety stands accused of discrimination and harassment during the brief time he was in charge of the department. But Vernon Coakley is being allowed to retire with a year of pay and full benefits.
A look in the mirror
A consultant hired by the city of Kalamazoo didn’t just recommend 40 policy changes, it also suggested better communication to the community and a police department more receptive to critique – two ways to avoid a repeat of the summer of 2020.
Progress, in-progress
A consultant recommended dozens of changes to Kalamazoo city administration and police policies following the controversial summer of 2020 protests. Over a year later, a quarter of them have yet to be fully completed.
Cash crunch prompts change to downtown Kalamazoo operations
A worst-case scenario played out over years, ultimately dooming the three decade-long way downtown Kalamazoo has been funded and managed. But it has also opened the door to new ways of doing things.
What do the unhoused do in a system that doesn’t work well?
When Kalamazoo city officials broke up encampments, they told people to seek help at the Gospel Mission and Ministry With Community. From there, the search for assistance continues in a poorly organized system.
School kids to face higher COVID-19 risk, despite vaccine access
Many school districts are removing the protection that masks have provided as hospitals raise red flags and local and state leaders decline to intervene.
Who keeps school children safe as they cross the street?
That’s a question parents and the crossing guard at King-Westwood Elementary have been asking of a bureaucracy slow to answer.
KDPS chief loses misconduct review, wins retirement deal
Kalamazoo’s chief of public safety stands accused of discrimination and harassment during the brief time he was in charge of the department. But Vernon Coakley is being allowed to retire with a year of pay and full benefits.
A look in the mirror
A consultant hired by the city of Kalamazoo didn’t just recommend 40 policy changes, it also suggested better communication to the community and a police department more receptive to critique – two ways to avoid a repeat of the summer of 2020.
Progress, in-progress
A consultant recommended dozens of changes to Kalamazoo city administration and police policies following the controversial summer of 2020 protests. Over a year later, a quarter of them have yet to be fully completed.
Cash crunch prompts change to downtown Kalamazoo operations
A worst-case scenario played out over years, ultimately dooming the three decade-long way downtown Kalamazoo has been funded and managed. But it has also opened the door to new ways of doing things.
What do the unhoused do in a system that doesn’t work well?
When Kalamazoo city officials broke up encampments, they told people to seek help at the Gospel Mission and Ministry With Community. From there, the search for assistance continues in a poorly organized system.
School kids to face higher COVID-19 risk, despite vaccine access
Many school districts are removing the protection that masks have provided as hospitals raise red flags and local and state leaders decline to intervene.
Who keeps school children safe as they cross the street?
That’s a question parents and the crossing guard at King-Westwood Elementary have been asking of a bureaucracy slow to answer.
