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Ferndale Chief: 'Statistics are what they are' after activist accusation of racial profiling cop stops

By and David Komer
Updated  August 17, 2023 6:05pm EDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 2 Detroit

Activist accuses Ferndale police of racial profiling traffic stops

Tough words from the leader of CAIR, the Council on Islamic Relations, talking about Ferndale cops profiling people of color.

FERNDALE, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Civil Rights group is accusing Ferndale police of racial profiling -- alleging they routinely cross the border into Detroit to write tickets. Now the Ferndale police chief is responding.

"Black people are not prone to more criminality than white folks," said Dawud Walid. "I myself avoid driving through Ferndale."

Tough words from the leader of CAIR, the Council on Islamic Relations- talking about Ferndale cops profiling people of color.

So, according to numbers provided by the US Census and the City of Ferndale -  68 percent of all arrests - and 45 percent of all traffic stops in Ferndale,  involved African-Americans based on data from 2019 to today -- despite Ferndale’s Black population of just 5 percent.

"The statistics don’t lie Ferndale," said Walid.

Ferndale Police Chief Dennis Emmi was not afraid to address the allegations head-on.

"It is true, the statistics are what they are," Emmi said.

FOX 2: "Some say Ferndale police racially profiles. How do you address that?"

"Well, we don’t," Emmi said. "Our fair and impartial policing audit process entails supervisors randomly pulling videos from traffic stops and police officer-initiated contacts looking specifically for evidence of biased policing."

And there’s a public report - and stats - on the dashboard for Ferndale Police. But there’s one other issue.

"The Ferndale Police Department doesn’t need to be policing Eight Mile going eastbound of motorists who don’t even drive through the City of Ferndale," Walid said.

FOX 2: "Can a Ferndale cop pull someone over in Detroit if it’s on a border street?"

"Yes," said Emmi. "The infraction is actually committed on a border street. But Eight Mile, in fact, is mostly City of Ferndale property."

However, Walid is calling for a third-party review.

"They should welcome an outside agency like the Department of Justice to come in investigate and they should cooperate," he said.

"We have absolutely nothing to hide in the City of Ferndale or our police department," Emmi said.

FOX 2: "Would you meet with CAIR?"

"We met with CAIR the past, and we're willing to meet with CAIR anytime," the chief said.