Grand Rapids, Michigan Wants to Make It Illegal to Call 911 on People of Color Who are Just ‘Living Their Lives’

Grand Rapids, Michigan lawmakers are considering a measure that would make it illegal to call 911 on people of color who are, as one summary of the ordinance puts it, “participating in their lives,” reports The Washington Post.

The propsed legislation includes a section on “biased crime reporting,” which would make it a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500 fine, to call 911 on people of color and other protected classes who have not done anything wrong.

“If you’re in a park or see someone coming through the neighborhood who doesn’t look like you, check your bias before you call the police,” said Patricia Caudill, the city’s diversity and inclusion manager, according to The Post.

Yes, don't call the police until you have actually been mugged or you house has been robbed.

There was sanity from one resident:

 “How will investigators of the alleged bias determine what is truly a sinister and criminal motive from a simple misunderstanding?” one resident wrote, adding the onus should fall on dispatchers, who must be able to discern a low-level report from a crime that deserves an aggressive response.

Of course, the real solution is to take policing out of the hands of government (See: Foundations of Private Property Society Theory: Anarchism for the Civilized Person)

 -RW