GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Grand Rapids police officers who held an 11-year-old girl at gunpoint, handcuffed her and put in her the back of a cruiser as they searched for an attempted murder suspect will not be disciplined.
An internal investigation into the incident involving 11-year-old Honestie Hodgesfound the officers did not violate department policy, a late Wednesday afternoon release from the Grand Rapids Police Department said.
However, Chief David Rahinsky added that “in no way diminishes our commitment to identifying what can be done to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
“Concrete steps are being taken to ensure equitable outcomes in our interactions with the community,” a statement from the chief continued.
The release said those actions include:
- Work on policies affecting children. GRPD Deputy Chief Eric Payne has been assigned to develop an “Honestie policy” for officer interactions with children. His team will include key GRPD members, including those assigned to the Youth Commonwealth, and will work with the Police Policy and Procedure Review Task Force.
- Staffing. GRPD will commit to an “immediate comprehensive examination of its staffing model.” The chief will request adding more lieutenant positions to support each patrol shift and provide supervision and coaching to patrol officers specific to situations like the one invoking the 11-year-old. Those lieutenants will also undergo training in cultural competency and de-escalation techniques.
- Training. All officers will get more dynamic-scenario training including children. GRPD said that is not standard nationwide.
- Interaction with children. Starting right away, all patrol officers will have more interaction with community children on a rotating schedule, working with several outreach programs including the Boys and Girls Clubs, Camp O’Malley, the Explorer Program, the Youth Police Academy, Pathways to Policing, IMPACT and Grand Rapids Public Schools Partnerships.