ID: Riders board a Detroit Department of Transportation bus at the Rosa Parks Transit Center
The Detroit Police Department plans to take over DDOT patrols on July 1 if the City Council approves shifting between $5 million to $7 million in city funding from Transit Police to the Detroit Police Department. Mayor Mike Duggan will request the change during his Thursday budget presentation to the council, his spokesman John Roach said.
As city officials consider making the switch, a group of nonprofits want Transit Police to continue patrolling DDOT buses, in part because they argue that transit officers are trained better than Detroit police officers to deal with disabled or mentally ill passengers. Transit Police Chief Ricky Brown said his officers are doing "good work," but declined to take any further stance.
"We are particularly concerned about the potential impact on disabled residents and riders who may have particular needs that are not adequately addressed by DPD officers," said a Jan. 31 letter to city and police officials from the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26 and nonprofits Detroit Disability Power, Detroit People's Platform, Transportation Riders United and Warriors on Wheels of Metropolitan Detroit.