Detroit Police Chief James Craig credited the city’s success in remaining peaceful during nationwide protests and riots with having a city that has stood together and a police force that refuses to give up “the ground to the radicals.”
In an appearance on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight on Tuesday, Craig told Carlson that “we don’t retreat here in Detroit.”
“We weren’t giving up ground to the radicals; we just didn’t do it,” Craig said. “…Detroiters are fed up with the radical protesters. I’m not talking about the peaceful protesters. I’m talking about the core group, these misguided radicals that have tried to incite violence in our city.”
Protests started shortly after the killing of George Floyd earlier this year in Minneapolis.
Craig said that having a city that comes together and city leadership that supports the Detroit Police Department have been key in quelling violence.
“We have a city that has stood together,” Craig said.
Craig, who lived in Detroit during the riots in 1967 and has worked with the Detroit police for more than 40 years, said in a May appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight that he cannot support the mob mentality seen in rioters, who he later called “misguided radicals.”
“We support the anger, we don’t support the mob mentality,” Craig said. “We just can’t support it.”
He also said that Detroit understands what “defines community and neighborhood policing.”
“So many get it wrong when they just talk at their community, because you have to talk with the community,” he said.
Although Detroit protests have been largely peaceful, the rest of the city has seen an uptick in violence, according to the Detroit Free Press, with homicides spiking 31 percent and shootings by 53 percent.
More than 40 federal agents will be coming to the city to help manage the increase in violence, the outlet reported. The agents clarified that they were only coming to help with city-wide problems, rather than harass protesters.
Craig said Detroit has said “enough is enough” to people trying to incite violence in the city.
“Detroiters are fed up with these radical protesters,” he said. “…They said, ‘we’re not going to put up with it.’”
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter with The Michigan Star. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair. Email her at [email protected].
Photo “James Craig” by Fox News.
