Police staffing is back to normal Saturday a day after 16 Detroit police officers at the Northeastern District didn't complete their shift Friday evening as a part of an apparent protest over Mayor Dave Bing's proposed 10 percent pay cuts.
Sgt. Eren Stephens said Saturday the staffing level is normal at the Northeastern District on East Nevada and that Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. is expected to give a media briefing update on Monday.
The DPD internal affairs department is investigating a Friday night incident in which 16 police officers did not finish their 4-8 p.m. shift, said Godbee. He said he believes it is a "concerted effort isolated to one shift at one district."
Police officers were redeployed Friday to plug the gap left in this shift, and all operations were normal, Godbee said in a written statement Friday night.
Earlier this week, Bing said he'll push for 10 percent pay cuts across the board for city employees. It was a part of his speech before a live audience Wednesday calling for a plan to fix the city's budget.
His proposals called for givebacks of $40 million from city workers — including police and fire employees — as well as outsourcing services and major concessions from the city's unions. The proposal also calls for a hike in the corporate income tax. On Friday, he called for up to 1,000 layoffs, but not from police and fire.
Across the street from the Northeastern precinct at the FullBelly Café, manager Patty Coates said she would rather see police officers on the streets rather than the city take 10 percent of their pay.
"We need our police officers on the street," she said. "It's scary anywhere without them."
Bing spokesman Dan Lijana said Saturday the protest was an "isolated incident."
"Mayor Bing has been a staunch supporter of public safety since the day he was elected," Lijana said.
From The Detroit News:
http://detnews.com/article/20111119/MET ... icers-didn’t-finish-Friday-shift#ixzz1eH3LV1MC
