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Kalamazoo Police Chief Describes Department's Work on Racial Bias

Sehvilla Mann
/
WMUK

The head of Kalamazoo Public Safety says the department is taking multiple steps to address racial bias in its policing. That’s in response to a study from last year, which showed that on average, Kalamazoo police were stopping African-American drivers twice as often as other motorists.

Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley reported to the city commission last night. He says the department’s efforts include training officers to recognize unconscious prejudices. It’s also led to a department-wide reevaluation of which traffic stops call for a search.

Hadley says the department eventually plans to recreate the traffic stop study to measure the city’s progress. But he added it could take a year or two to see marked improvement in the results.

Sehvilla Mann joined WMUK’s news team in 2014 as a reporter on the local government and education beats. She covered those topics and more in eight years of reporting for the Station, before becoming news director in 2022.